OPTIMISTIC VOICES
You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night. Step into the sun, step into the light. Keep straight ahead for the most glorious place on the face of the earth or the sky. Hold onto your breath, hold onto your heart, hold onto your hope. March up to the gate and bid it open...
When asked what he thought of Western Civilization, Ghandi replied,“I think it would be a great idea.”
1. When you allow another driver or pedestrian to cut in front of you, isn’t it great to get The Wave? That simple hand gesture that says, thanks bud’, how cool of you to let me in.
2. When you take someone out or have them over for dinner, doesn’t it make you feel so appreciated when they give you a quick call or email the next day to acknowledge the treat?
3. A little “hello” or “g’day” when walking by someone on an otherwise empty sidewalk is so civil and sweet. (Ignoring each other in such close and fleeting proximity is dismally absurd.)
4. When a telemarketer calls, we try to resist the burning urge to be horribly rude (after all, they’re just trying to make a living.) Try this quickie: I appreciate that this is your job, but I’m not the right person for your questions, so I’m going to hang up now. Thank you anyway. Your simple kindness could renew their faith in humanity.
5. Personally, we like to receive voice mail messages that specify the reason that the person is calling. (When someone just says “Hi it’s So-and-So, can you give me a call back?” We wonder if we’re in trouble, or feel frustrated that we can’t move things forward in the mean time.)
6. How about just saying thanks when you leave the office, the gym, or class? It’s simple: See you tomorrow, thanks. There is always something to be thankful for.
7. Muster the love and courage to make eye contact with street peddlers—whether you’re giving them money or not. They feel invisible.
8. Spitting on the sidewalk is illegal in Switzerland. ‘Nuff said.
THIS WEEK: Adopt one new way of being civilized and kind. Be sure to notice how you feel in your moment of courteousness.
And even if the dignity is not reciprocated, know that the being classy is a lifestyle that has its own rewards. Manners are, as Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it, “the happy way of doing things; each one a stroke of genius and love.” So, maybe holding doors and sending thank you notes can change the world after all.
I’m making a list of the things I must say For politeness, And goodness and kindness and gentleness, Sweetness and rightness: Hello Pardon me How are you? Excuse me Bless you May I? Thank you Goodbye If you know some that I’ve forgot, Please stick them in your eye!
QUOTE: "Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use." ~ Emily Post
It was substantially more detailed than I originally thought... making it a dense yet enjoyable read - I can truly say it was life-changing for me, as I continue my search for healthy living, mind body and spirit. I loved the balance of Kingsolver's lyrical text, her husband Steven's snippets of facts/figures/websites and her daughter Camille's youthfully-infused essays/recipes - daughter Lily couldn't be an official contributor (too young to sign the contract), but her innocent yet practical take on life is woven throughout (don't name animals you're going to eat... :-)
To quote the author: "This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."
The Boston Globe says: "More so than even the best cookbooks, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes you want to go out and eat: to cook and garden and think, and to live a passionate and sensate life. My great fear in reviewing this book is that I might make it sound like the treatise of a hokey earth mother and do-gooder, rather than a profound, graceful, and literary work of philosophy and economics, well tempered for our times, and yet timeless."
Since we theme our menu around the monthly book choice, I had asked people to bring dishes of fruits and vegetables, organic or locally-grown, emphasis on fresh - the offerings were a virtual cornucopia of culinary delights: my zucchini casserole, No's pasta salad, S's confetti salad, E's chickpeas and spinach, Na's Green Jade Soup (with quinoa and asparagus), K's key lime pie and J's guacamole... and we feasted in that can't-believe-it's-so-delicious-yet-so-good-for-us kinda way... :-)
Thankfully, everyone else enjoyed the book as well, and our discussion was lively - we talked about ways we can be pro-active about our food choices: buying in-season, organic or locally-grown (within a 100 mile radius, preferably), either through local farmer's markets or food co-ops; planting Victory or container gardens of our own; cooking to maximize nutrients; canning and freezing for future use; buying fair-trade products (coffee, clothing, etc.); composting... and so many other ways to make a difference...
Wonderful evening on so many levels - so glad I finally made the time to read this amazing paean to the miracle of the Circle of Life!
[Added 9/26/08: Can't remember how I stumbled across this blog, but I've been avidly following for close to a year - you don't have to be gluten-free to enjoy her recipes, her passion for fresh food and her melt-in-your-mouth poetic descriptions of living a succulent life...
Also clicked through to this from the newly-renovated Carrie and Danielle site this morning - good timing! ]
P.S. Okay... I got a little carried away with the quotes... :-)
The Grower of Trees, the gardener, the man born to farming,
whose hands reach into the ground and sprout
to him the soil is a divine drug. He enters into death
yearly, and comes back rejoicing. He has seen the light lie down
in the dung heap, and rise again in the corn.
His thought passes along the row ends like a mole.
What miraculous seed has he swallowed
That the unending sentence of his love flows out of his mouth
Like a vine clinging in the sunlight, and like water
Descending in the dark?
QUOTE(S): "It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." ~ Lewis Grizzard
"If organic farming is the natural way, shouldn't organic produce just be called "produce" and make the pesticide-laden stuff take the burden of an adjective?" ~ Ymber Delecto
"The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me and I to them." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Did you ever stop to taste a carrot? Not just eat it, but taste it? You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie." ~ Astrid Alauda
"Vegetables are the food of the earth; fruit seems more the food of the heavens." ~ Sepal Felicivant
"Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are." ~ Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Thanks so much to all for the thoughts and prayers - I spoke with Mari last night about 7:30 p.m. and all seemed to be stabilizing. I had asked her to ask the doctor what percentage the lung collapse was (20 - 25% is manageable) - his reply was 5% (sheer relief at hearing that number). They continued to take X-rays to determine what the procedure would be to handle - in the meantime, Mom is on some serious pain medication, which is keeping her comfortable and immobilized to prevent more damage to her already-compromised lungs...
Mari called me this morning a bit before 9 and said the hospital was releasing Mom - they finally left about 11 a.m. (after waiting 2 hours for paperwork to be resolved). They should get the test results back in 3 to 5 days - thinking very positive...
P.S. Thanks to Melanie for the picture inspiration! - I couldn't make the one she sent work, but this one is similar... <3
The most difficult time to be generous is when we ourselves are feeling poor. While some of us have experienced actually being in the red financially, there are those of us who would feel broke even if we had a million dollars in the bank. Either way, as the old adage goes, it is always in giving that we receive. Meaning that when we are living in a state of lack, the very gesture we may least want to give is the very act that could help us create the abundance that we seek. One way to practice generosity is to give energy where it is needed. Giving money to a cause or person in need is one way to give energy. Giving attention, love, or a smile to another person are other acts of giving that we can offer. After all, there are people all over the world that are hungry for love.
Sometimes when we practice generosity, we practice it conditionally. We might be expecting to “receive back” from the person to whom we gave. We might even become angry or resentful if that person doesn’t reciprocate. However, trust in the natural flow of energy, and you will find yourself practicing generosity with no strings attached. This is the purest form of giving. Remember that what you send out will always come back you. Selflessly help a friend in need without expecting them to return the same favor in the same way, and know that you, too, will receive that support from the universe when you need it. Besides, while giving conditionally creates stress (because we are waiting with an invisible balance sheet to receive our due), giving unconditionally creates and generates abundance. We give freely, because we trust that there is always an unlimited supply.
Being aware of how much we are always supported by the universe is one of the keys to abundance and generosity. Consciously remember the times you’ve received support from expected and unexpected sources. Remember anyone who has helped you when you’ve needed it most, and bless all situations that come into your life for the lessons and gifts they bring you. Remember that all things given and received emanate from generosity. Giving is an act of gratitude. Plant the seeds of generosity through your acts of giving, and you will grow the fruits of abundance for yourself and those around you.
I've been working on this blog post since last Friday, trying to find the perfect mesh of themed selections, as well as processing what generosity means to me. It was mentioned in a Words for All Ages story at church the other day that sharing is easy when you already have more than you need - the point of giving is to sacrifice a bit as well.
This lesson was driven home yesterday, with Marti Forman, head of Broward County's Cooperative Feeding Program, during our UU Sunday service - I am proud to say I helped coordinate the event, taking the suggestion of having her speak for a few minutes on the Empty Bowls project and extrapolating it to a full program, with Marti giving the sermon.
The kids did a Stone Soup re-enactment... and we painted bowls after the service (to be baked later and used for the fundraiser) - the most impactful, though, was Marti's talk... as she told stories of various clients of all genders, ages and income levels, and the unfortunate decline in donations over the last year and the damaging effects of less food to spread to more people. The entire sanctuary was weeping (as was Marti during her delivery) - the good news is that we raised almost $500 among us for the CFP... and we've rededicated ourselves to making a major commitment to eradicate hunger in Broward County.
The concert series I coordinate has always asked patrons to bring a non-perishable food item in addition to regular admission, and we will emphasize that even more from now on - I would also like to volunteer with Marti at least once a month in some capacity.
Really... this hit so close to home - "there but for the grace of god" indeed...
P.S. I've been distracted/worried all day, because my mom is in the hospital having an outpatient biopsy to check some enlarged lymph nodes in her lung area (thank goodness my sister and brother are there with her) - if it's inflammation, they'll treat with steroids... if it's infection, they'll treat with antibiotics... and we're not really dealing with the third possibility: cancer. I heard from my sister that Mom was being moved to the Recovery Room and they'd have test results in 3 to 5 days - Mari then called back, saying Mom has pneumothorax (a collapsed lung) and they were keeping her in the hospital. An Internet search says it could be a result of her COPD... or possibly a complication from today's surgical procedure - whatever the case, any thoughts/prayers/candles are much appreciated for Connie's swift and smooth recuperation.
Today is my 32nd wedding anniversary - im-f*cking-possible to believe!
Then again, it feels like just yesterday - I vividly recall our college meeting, our long-distance courtship and our simple wedding. I wholeheartedly cherish our ongoing flare-ups, passions, commitment, disconnects, conversations, silences. It has never been easy - it has always been worthwhile.
R loves me unconditionally, a status I am always trying to achieve but come up short - I love him no less, but my family history includes strings attached, a very difficult pattern to break.
He is the calm to my storm, the ground to my clouds, the 33 1/3 to my 45, the waltz to my polka, the reason to my emotion, the carousel to my rollercoaster, the string to my kite, the balance to my spinning - he supports but never suffocates, respects but never expects.
I am a very lucky woman - I need to remind myself of that on a regular basis...
Click here for the link to view last year's series of five blog posts on marriage - here's/cheers to another 30+... :-)
When she says margarita she means daiquiri. When she says quixotic she means mercurial. And when she says, "I'll never speak to you again," she means, "Put your arms around me from behind as I stand disconsolate at the window."
He's supposed to know that.
When a man loves a woman he is in New York and she is in Virginia or he is in Boston, writing, and she is in New York, reading, or she is wearing a sweater and sunglasses in Balboa Park and he is raking leaves in Ithaca or he is driving to East Hampton and she is standing disconsolate at the window overlooking the bay where a regatta of many-colored sails is going on while he is stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway.
When a woman loves a man it is one ten in the morning she is asleep he is watching the ball scores and eating pretzels drinking lemonade and two hours later he wakes up and staggers into bed where she remains asleep and very warm.
When she says tomorrow she means in three or four weeks. When she says, "We're talking about me now," he stops talking. Her best friend comes over and says, "Did somebody die?"
When a woman loves a man, they have gone to swim naked in the stream on a glorious July day with the sound of the waterfall like a chuckle of water rushing over smooth rocks, and there is nothing alien in the universe.
Ripe apples fall about them. What else can they do but eat?
When he says, "Ours is a transitional era," "that's very original of you," she replies, dry as the martini he is sipping.
They fight all the time It's fun What do I owe you? Let's start with an apology Ok, I'm sorry, you dickhead. A sign is held up saying "Laughter." It's a silent picture. "I've been fucked without a kiss," she says, "and you can quote me on that," which sounds great in an English accent.
One year they broke up seven times and threatened to do it another nine times.
When a woman loves a man, she wants him to meet her at the airport in a foreign country with a jeep. When a man loves a woman he's there. He doesn't complain that she's two hours late and there's nothing in the refrigerator.
When a woman loves a man, she wants to stay awake. She's like a child crying at nightfall because she didn't want the day to end.
When a man loves a woman, he watches her sleep, thinking: as midnight to the moon is sleep to the beloved. A thousand fireflies wink at him. The frogs sound like the string section of the orchestra warming up. The stars dangle down like earrings the shape of grapes.
QUOTE: "A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time." ~ Anne Taylor Fleming
I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice.--Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.
I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.
But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism, which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth,ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.
I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country choose those candidates, the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.
Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists, nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered.
As she said herself of the Iraqi war, 'It was a task from God.'
Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.
She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.
Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States . She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.
Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.
Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.
I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S. , but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning--or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.
If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, 'Drill Drill DRILL.' I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.
Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?
POEM: Exquisite Candidate by Denise Duhamel and Maureen Seaton
I can promise you this: food in the White House will change! No more granola, only fried eggs flipped the way we like them. And ham ham ham! Americans need ham! Nothing airy like debate for me! Pigs will become the new symbol of glee, displacing smiley faces and "Have A Nice Day." Car bumpers are my billboards, billboards my movie screens. Nothing I can say can be used against me. My life flashes in front of my face daily. Here's a snapshot of me as a baby. Then marrying. My kids drink all their milk which helps the dairy industry. A vote for me is not only a pat on the back for America! A vote for me, my fellow Americans, is a vote for everyone like me! If I were the type who made promises I'd probably begin by saying: America, relax! Buy big cars and tease your hair as high as the Empire State Building. Inch by inch, we're buying the world's sorrow. Yeah, the world's sorrow, that's it! The other side will have a lot to say about pork but don't believe it! Their graphs are sloppy coloring books. We're just fine—look at the way everyone wants to speak English and live here! Whatever you think of borders, I am the only candidate to canoe over Niagara Falls and live to photograph the Canadian side. I'm the only Julliard graduate— I will exhale beauty all across this great land of pork rinds and gas stations and scientists working for cures, of satellite dishes over Sparky's Bar & Grill, the ease of breakfast in the mornings, quiet peace of sleep at night.
QUOTE: "We have now sunk to the point where the restatement of the obvious is the duty of intelligent [wo]men." ~ George Orwell
On the occasion of the release of Dar Williams' new CD, Promised Land, this past Tuesday, I posted the following to the Dar-list the next day:
Hello, All -
Michael in Chicago/South Bend wrote:
Unfortunately for me, I won't be able to get it today because my pre-order was severely interrupted by a back order issue with that free DVD--Music Space held up the whole order. And it took me forever to get around to calling them. HOPEFULLY the Cd's are shipped out today. The Customer Service rep was very helpful (so thank you!). But still annoying. I've had issues with other promotional pre-order deals from other companies as well. Not enjoyable. Anyone else sharing my misery???
I too took advantage of the MusicSpace offer a while back... and received an e-mail yesterday informing my Visa had just been charged and they were processing my order - realizing that, from End of the Summer on, I'd *always* purchased a new Dar CD on the release date, I knew I had a streak to uphold... and stopped at Barnes & Noble on the way home!
Not sure if they had more copies elsewhere, but I got the only one in the Pop/Rock section under W - haven't yet had a chance to listen to the whole thing, but so far it's wonderful. It's really a different experience since, other than the few Dar performed at Falcon Ridge, they're all new to me - I know the lyrics are in the liner booklet (although I may have to spring for a higher magnification pair of reading glasses)... but does anyone know if they're available online?
Loving the artwork as well - looking forward to the daily/weekly/monthly process of new discovery, note by note, word by word, layer by layer... :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First of all, don't worry, Nance - one of the new Dar CDs in the delayed order is for you, and I'll arrange a time to deliver as soon as it arrives!
In the meantime, each rotation on my car stereo (I'm on 6 or 7 by now) brings new insight and revelation - Dar's ability to capture intangible emotions as well as vivid stories never fails to amaze. Her voice is absolutely gorgeous on this album, very Green World-ish ethereal and dreamy - loving the two covers as well as her original material. I remain in perpetual awe of Buzzer - to quote Dar from her Out There Live commentary: brilliant, brilliant...
Since Dar only gets to South Florida every two or three years (although I'm going to do my best to get her here in the next year), I've decided I need a fix - while on vacation, I found out she'll be performing at Eddie's Attic in Atlanta Saturday, November 1... so I spoke to my sister about me flying up for the weekend. I've already reserved a table for 4 (me, Mom, Mari and her daughter Julia) for the early All Ages show - I've found a round-trip plan for $158 (unheard of) and, with the $100 voucher from Delta awarded after my cancelled flight debacle on the way up to Falcon Ridge, this trip is beyond affordable (not to mention the time with family - priceless!).
To get a bit of my history with Dar, click here for a link to the 25 blog posts which reference her (most titled with her songs) - in looking over them, I realized I don't really have a comprehensive Why I Love Dar post (how much cyberspace do we have?!?... :-) Will have to remedy that soon - my heart/brain are hopelessly/joyfully entwined with her equally challenging and uplifting songs... and I can honestly say my life changed from the moment I first heard You're Aging Well in 1995.
“With every album, I’m trying to figure out what I don’t have to say, while still giving each song its due,” Dar Williams says. Of her new album, Promised Land, Williams commented, “On this one, I was paring the stories down to their core. I wanted the songs to sound simple and down to what they were meant to be, which is hard to do. It takes a lot of knowledge to get to the point where you can say what you need to say — no more, no less.”
To peel her insightful, melodic story-songs down to their essence, as well as inject them with the energy and momentum they clearly called for, Williams enlisted Brad Wood, a Grammy-nominated producer and musician known for his work with rock singer-songwriters Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, and Ben Lee. “Dar was looking to try something different and get out of her comfort zone,” Wood says. “She had made a number of records and it seemed like a good time, career-wise, for her to make a change. I was flattered that she thought to ask me to help. Her voice is so great that you can do just about anything behind her and it’s going to sound cool!”
Personally inspired by the spindly live feel of late ’70s/early ’80s albums by the Police, Elvis Costello, and the Pretenders, Wood manages to make Williams’ elegant, worldly songs sound visceral and urgent, while preserving the integrity and emotion that have been hallmarks of her sound (along with a beautifully intimate, bell-clear voice) since Williams began playing out on the Northeast singer-songwriter circuit in the early ’90s.
“Brad understood the songs and gave them the space they needed,” Williams says. “I love that clean, straightforward sound he gets.” And so Promised Land includes several immediately engaging toe-tappers, such as “It’s Alright,” “The Easy Way,” “Buzzer,” and “Go to the Woods,” as well as Williams’ trademark thoughtful balladry, including the keenly felt “Book of Love,” “The Tide Falls Away,” and “You Are Everyone.”
There are also two covers, Fountains of Wayne’s “Troubled Times” (“I’m a sucker for a tragic protagonist conveyed through what seems like a really pleasant pop song,” Williams says) and “Midnight Radio” from the stage musical and film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, whose soundtrack Wood produced, though Williams says he had nothing to do with her choosing to record the song. “Midnight Radio” was written by composer Stephen Trask, an old friend of Williams’ from her college years. “Stephen and I go way back. He wrote a song for a student film I was in where I played a dancing potato,” she recalls with a laugh. “But we also go way back in that spiritual sense, so I always wanted to do that song.”
Throughout, Promised Land brims with the renewed vigor that Williams clearly felt working with a new producer and group of musicians, including Better Than Ezra drummer Travis McNabb, who adds a welcome bounce and spring to the proceedings, and noted multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz, who has played with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Wilco, and Sheryl Crow. Other guest musicians include Williams’ pals Marshall Crenshaw (guitars on “It’s Alright”), Suzanne Vega (backing vocals on “Go to the Woods”) and Gary Louris from The Jayhawks (“The Tide Falls Away”).
In the past, Williams’ songwriting has located the personal in such universal topics as politics, religion, sexuality, and family. This time, rather than tie the songs together around any particular theme, Williams presents a collection of disparate stories and characters. She writes about trying to be open to major life change on “It’s Alright,” trying to take the high road in past relationships on “The Easy Way,” the perspective that comes with age on “The Tide Falls Away,” and the Milgram obedience experiment that took place at Yale University in the ’60s on “Buzzer” (“a subject I have been obsessed with since reading about it when I was 18”). However, Williams, a wife and mother of a four-year-old son, did find what she calls “the high seas of parenthood” influencing several of the songs, which she began writing after she finished her second children’s book Lights, Camera, Amalee (published by Scholastic in July 2006).
“I’ll go through a day where the only people I’ll talk to are my husband, my son, and the person behind the counter at CVS,” she says, “but being a parent has pushed me out into my town too. It connects me to all the stuff that I care about, but on a local level, like politics, the environment, one’s town, and all the interesting personalities in it. I’m interested in those stories. I see them connecting to the big picture of how people approach life. I think that’s in the songs.”
Williams’ passion for the big picture has led to a long-held connection to social and environmental issues, which she nurtures by getting involved with various projects, including community gardening and lobbying for renewable energy in the upstate New York town where she lives. “I’m as green as you get for what I do for a living, which require, you know, things like flying,” she says. “I think about the environment all the time. The biggest deal to me right now is trying to get my town’s elementary and middle schools to look at geothermal as an option,” she says. Williams’ other passions include local-food movements and arts outreach with kids. She will often perform at benefits in small towns that are struggling to save a local theater, bookstore, or farmer’s market. “I love to get into these places and learn about their battles,” she says. “In my mind, this country is like a patchwork of towns filled with people hanging out, growing gardens, listening to music, and talking about important stuff. In a way, that’s what the album title is about. I found myself making a distinction between the Promised Land we claim and the actual promise of the land that we try to live up to. ”
Williams’ growth as a person over her 15-year career has gone hand-in-hand with her evolution as an artist. Raised in Chappaqua, NY, and educated at Wesleyan University, Williams spent 10 years living in the thriving artistic community of Northampton, MA, where she began to make the rounds on the coffeehouse circuit. An early fan of her music was Joan Baez, who took Williams out on the road and recorded several of her songs. Williams self-released her debut album, The Honesty Room in 1993, then signed with Razor & Tie Entertainment in 1995, which has been her label home ever since. She has released one live album — Out There Live (2001); six studio albums — The Honesty Room (1993), Mortal City (1996), End of the Summer (1997), The Green World (2000), The Beauty of the Rain (2003), and My Better Self (2005); and one live DVD — Live at Bearsville Theater (2007).
Through it all, Williams’ motivation as an artist is to “experience meaning without fooling myself,” she says. “There are these moments where everything feels connected, and I think my art is about trying to find the stories that make us feel connected. That’s the verve of my life. It’s what keeps things interesting.”
The grasses are light brown and ocean comes in long shimmering lines under the fleet from last night which dozes now in the early morning
Here and there horses graze On somebody's acreage
Strangely, it was not my desire
that bade me speak in church to be released but memory of the way it used to be in careless and exotic play
when characters were promises then recognitions. The world of transformation is real and not real but trusting.
Enough of the lessons? I mean didactic phrases to take you in and out of love's mysterious bonds?
Well I myself am not myself
and which power of survival I speak for is not made of houses.
It is inner luxury, of golden figures that breathe like mountains do and whose skin is made dusky by stars.
O fresh day in February Come along with me under pine whose new cones make flowers. In a mellow mood let's take anything and you're better in the peaceful flowing in the beach in the bird who flys up out of coyote bush, bob cat who crosses the road.
For who could think I could see the grace of other souls born, and reborn before in crab shells snail shells, the head of a grebe molesin, new onions up. Drawn by your clever sleigh of tortoise I listen for the melody to sing along.
QUOTE: "The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light." ~ Joseph Campbell
On the 7th (impossible to believe) anniversary of 9/11 and the impending landfall of Hurricane Ike on the Texas coast - prayers, blessings and love to everyone involved (that would be all of us...) [ Added 9/15/08: Watched 102 Minutes That Changed America last night - what an impactful documentary, especially because there is no narration or commentary... ]
Swoops, making the air gasp, tearing the crest off one,
Setting it down bleeding on the next.
Ground gives. The heaven’s weight
Lifts up off Atlas like a kettle lid.
Capstones shift. Nothing resettles right.
Telluric ash and fire-spores boil away.
QUOTE: "There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go." ~ Author Unknown
Just because... I love purple and lavender (the color, the flower, the scent, the mood it conveys) and the songs of Christine Kane, oh my... :-)
From Wikipedia:
Lavenders are widely grown in gardens. Flower spikes are used for dried flower arrangements. The fragrant, pale purple flowers and flower buds are used in potpourris. Dried and sealed in pouches, they are placed among stored items of clothing to give a fresh fragrance and as a deterrent to moths. The plant is also grown commercially for extraction of lavender oil from the flowers. This oil is used as an antiseptic and for aromatherapy.
POEM: I Planned To Have a Border of Lavender by Paul Goodman
I planned to have a border of lavender
but planted the bank too of lavender
and now my whole crazy garden
is grown in lavender
it smells so sharp heady and musky
of lavender, and the hue of only
lavender is all my garden up
into the gray rocks.
When forth I go from here the heedless lust
I squander—and in vain for I am stupid
and miss the moment—it has blest me silly
when forth I go
and when, sitting as gray as these gray rocks
among the lavender, I breathe the lavender's
tireless squandering, I liken it
to my silly lusting,
I liken my silly indefatigable
lusting to the lavender which has grown over
all my garden, banks and borders, up
into the gray rocks
QUOTE: "I judge that the flowers of lavender quilted in a cap and worne are good for all diseases of the head that come from a cold cause and that they comfort the braine very well." ~ William Turner, 1551
"These are the times that try [wo]men's souls" ~ Thomas Paine
Lots going on these days, both locally and globally, such that we are challenged to think realistically as well as wax optimistically - I have always been a firm believer in the Power of Positive Thinking (no duh, Susan!) and I am intentioning my patootie off right now... :-)
First of all, let's talk about this hurricane season - we've been unbelievably lucky the last few years... and it's natural to give in to the mindset of "oh well, they had to catch up with us sometime". I beg to differ - I have wished strongly for Fay, Gustav and Hanna to present as near-misses... and they have. Upcoming Ike may be more of a challenge... but I'm not giving up (my money's on the southernmost track on the computer model) - obviously, we are taking this day by day... and there is a fine line between anxiety and preparation.
We're fairly well-stocked with canned goods, water and non-perishables (cereal bars, granola bars, crackers, etc.) - I'll stop on the way home and fill up the car with gas and get cash from the ATM. The next few days will determine whether or not we put up the hurricane shutters and take down the windchimes (ugh) - in the meantime, thoughts/prayers/purple candles are much appreciated... <3
And then... there's the election coming up in November - I'm an Obama woman (another no duh). This deserves a whole other post but, scratching the surface, I am trying not to be annoyed that McCain's VP choice is just so *insulting* to women - how dare he think he can play the gender trump card... and females all over the country will fall for the bait and switch and ignore the fact Palin is so staunchly conservative. My friend Judi sent me this YouTube link - love it!
Storms on the horizon indeed - as my dear Todd Snider sings:
Many spiritual seekers feel called to far-flung places across the globe in the interest of pursuing the path of their enlightenment. This may indeed be the right course of action for certain people, but it is by no means necessary to attaining an enlightened consciousness. Enlightenment can take root anywhere on earth, as long as the seeker is an open and ready vessel for higher consciousness. All we need is a powerful intention, and a willingness to do the work necessary to moving forward on our path.
In terms of spiritual practice, at this moment, there are more tools available to more people than at any other time in history. We have access to so much wisdom through the vehicles of books, magazines, the Internet, television, and film. In addition, the time-honored practice of meditation is free, and sitting quietly everyday, listening to the universe, is a great way to start the journey within. There is further inspiration in the fact that the greatest teachers we have are our own life experiences, and they come to us every day with new lessons and new opportunities to learn. If we look at the people around us, we may realize that we have a spiritual community already intact, and if we don’t, we can find one, if not in our own neighborhood, then on-line.
Meanwhile, if we feel called to travel in search of teachers and experiences, then by all means, we should. But if we can’t go to India, or Burma, or Indonesia, or if we don’t have the desire, this is not an obstacle in terms of our spiritual development. In fact, we may simply be aware that our time and energy is best spent in our own homes, with our meditation practice and all the complications and joys of our own lives. We can confidently stay in one place, knowing that everything that we need to attain enlightenment is always available right where we are.
A few months ago, I stumbled across the Carrie & Danielle website and have very much enjoyed: the Daily Q & A, their blog, the profiles - each reading gives me a better sense of their priorities, which helps me better connect to who I am. As Dar sings, "sometimes I see myself fine, sometimes I just need a witness" - nothing like a cyber-soundingboard (even if they don't know it) upon which to bounce ideas and feelings.
The recent inspiration was motivated by something Danielle wrote last week (in italics below) - I continue to struggle with weight issues (written previously about here over a year ago), but I feel as if something clicked this time.
We’ve all heard it before.
You. Are. What. You. Eat.
It is so simply profound that we’d like to call your attention to it today and ask you this: are you trans-fat soaked chips in a plastic bag? Or are you a juicy mango mama grown with love?
What we put into our bodies doesn’t only show up on our gut and our butt, it radiates through our tone of voice, our complexion, our clarity of mind, our relationships, and our creative expression. Garbage in. Garbage out. Healthy in. Healthy out.
Your genuine self is unprocessed, Grade A, four-star nutritious.
THIS WEEK: It may seem cheesy (pun intended), but imagine yourself as a meal. Are you French cuisine or lentils and creamed butter served in a pottery bowl? Are you a bushel of apples, dark cocoa, or a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings? This week, before you bite it, bake it, or get it to go, ask yourself, “Is this me?”
You are what you eat.
Feed your soul.
As I just wrote this morning in a book to deliver to a dear friend tomorrow:
Dear _____,
Day/Week/Month 1 again... sigh... - well, at least that's been our mindset up until now...
I suggest we recalibrate our thought processes... and embrace the struggle/journey/challenge - just because we'll never be perfect (speaking for myself only!), doesn't mean we shouldn't stop trying. Being mindful of meeting our needs (physical/emotional/spiritual) keeps us tapped into tangible ways to move forward, positively, along our path - feed the soul indeed... <3
To paraphrase Danielle's delivery: Feed. My. Soul. - that's my new tattoo... as well as my new mantra... :-)
What a great loooooong Labor Day weekend - I loved having the extra day off, and found the balance all three days between productivity and puttering. Focused on lots of paperwork and e-mail catch-up - my husband was out of town on soccer stuff and my son worked late one night and then up early the next... so I had a good bit of alone time around here (that never happens!).
I slept late this morning (that never happens either) - I've also been vigilant with my eating habits, starting up a food journal again (more on that another post).
The main accomplishment was putting together 4 new chairs for the patio (although I paid about half that price for each set), complete with cushions (so comfy!) - 4 more remain but, given that they were very easy to assemble, it won't take long. I love Overstock.com - I thought about ordering the matching table, but it's out of stock (back in soon, I hope).
Watched No Country for Old Men on OnDemand cable, a big mistake with both of my guys out of the house - I've been a fan of the Cohen brothers ever since Blood Simple, but their movies do tend to be on the suspenseful, creepy side. Every once in a while I'd still/pause and look out the windows, making sure all was safe and sound - it took me a while to fall asleep...
Returning to work tomorrow (oh well) - it was nice while it lasted.. :-)
QUOTE: “Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.” ~ Susan Sontag
"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words." ~ Goethe
"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." ~
E. B. White
"Every day I walk out into the world to be dazzled, then to be reflective." ~ Mary Oliver
"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see." ~ John Burroughs
"So much working, reading, thinking, living to do! A lifetime is not long enough." ~ Sylvia Plath
“Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it.” ~ Claude Monet
“My heart wants roots. My mind wants wings. I cannot bear their bickerings.”
~ E. Y. Harburg
Wife/mom/Lala, vegan, fanatical reader, music lover. I'm a committed-to-aging-well, unable-to-do-anything-in-25 words-or-less, ruby-slipper-wearing eternal optimist, attempting to figure out the circuitous journey I call my life: where I've been, where I am, where I'm going and who will be my traveling companions, continued or new.
In my 6+ decades on this planet, I've realized that change is not necessarily worse, just different; I've learned that saying "I don't know" has become incredibly liberating; I've intuited there is no such thing as perfection (whether it's a seashell or another person); I have become less demanding and more forgiving/flexible by the relaxation of my guidelines; and I've figured out that, even though I'll always be an Instant Gratification Leo, sometimes delaying the reward can heighten the pleasure, too.
I am more discerning to minimize the negative influences in my daily dealings (while still understanding the importance of moral obligations), and attempt to surround myself with people, activities and things that bring me joy. I want to make every glorious moment count, and I'm committed to making this world a better place, One Day At a Time... :-)
Beginnings (best first song lines ever - a work in progress... :-)
"I'm waitin' at the station, I can choose my destination, I'm a free soul, I got no chains, but it's a long time between trains" ~ Susan Werner, Time Between Trains
"Load the car and write the note, grab your bag and grab your coat, tell the ones that need to know, we are headed north" ~ The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
"She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol, and I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal" ~ John Prine, Spanish Pipedream
"When I die, let them judge me by my company of friends" ~ Danny Schmidt, Company of Friends
"Dad coaches baseball and I am on the team, Mom thinks she’s Jesus Christ the Nazarene." ~ Joe Crookston, The Nazarene
"I love North Dakota 'cause you have never been there." ~ Kris Delmhorst, North Dakota
"I am not in love, but I'm open to persuasion." ~ Joan Armatrading, Love and Affection
"I took time out to write to my old friend, I walked across that burning bridge." ~ Michelle Shocked, Anchorage
"When she was three, her Barbies always did it on the first date." ~ Barenaked Ladies, Life, in a Nutshell
"Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog where no one notices the contrast of white on white." ~ Counting Crows, Round Here
"I can't believe you, you bend your words like Uri Geller's spoons." ~ Toad the Wet Sprocket, Nanci
"I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand, I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn't check." ~ Dar Williams, When I Was a Boy
"There's a Coke machine glowin' through the parking lot, call it a room with a view." ~ Todd Snider, Just Like Old Times
"There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to the thief." ~ Jimi Hendrix, All Along the Watchtower
"Hello, darkness, my old friend." ~ Simon and Garfunkel, The Sound of Silence
"The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves." ~ Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road
"Common Cool, he was a proud young fool, in a kick*ss Wal-Mart tie." ~ Dave Carter, Ordinary Town
"Just before our love got lost, you said, 'I am as constant as a Northern Star', and I said, 'constantly in the darkness, where's that at? If you want me, I'll be in the bar.' " ~ Joni Mitchell, A Case of You
Eight Days a Week
What's So "Punny" 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding?
All You Need is Love
Across the Universe
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, copyright 1952
Four Strong Winds
The Four Agreements
Everything we do is based on agreements we have made - agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that come from fear, deplete our energy, and diminish our self-worth."
In this powerful book that has remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for over five years, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. When we are ready to change these agreements, there are four deceptively simple, yet powerful agreements that we can adopt as guiding principles. The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.
1. Be Impeccable With Your Word Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don't Take Anything Personally Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don't Make Assumptions Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
8 Simple Ways To Be Civilized And Kind That Could Make The World a Better Place 
