For a couple of days I was walking around in a fog. I was fatigued, exhausted from doing nothing. My body hurt. It felt as if there was a cord stretching all the way from my left foot up to my neck ... which was pulled so tight that all the muscles were in a constant state of cramp. Something was inflamed.
I thought it may have had something to do with the grey skies and the wet weather.
"Be thankful for the good and the bad." Somehow realizing that feeling icky is good too made me feel better.
This morning I woke to the sun streaming in my window. The sky was bright blue. The day was glorious. I feel better. Everything passes.
Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see
Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long
Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you're in love, my how they fly
Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on.
-Irving Berlin
FAMOUS
Michele called a few nights ago to let me know that she was going to be quoted in the New York Times about her experience trying to give a home to an abandoned dog. Here is the article.
Isn't the internet wonderful?
We left the house early this morning.
When we came home,
Pete no longer had a gallbladder.
Everything went well.
Have you been looking at the sky lately? There is a twinkling star low in the Western Sky.
What makes it twinkle?
What star is it?
Anyone know?
Yesterday I went to the dentist. While the hygienist was doing her work, she told me that she was superstitious. We started talking about luck. I contributed to the conversation at those rare moments when she took her hands out of my mouth.
The hygienist told me that she is careful to act nonchalant when she is winning any game for fear that the win will be taken away from her. She and her husband both have lucky objects. I couldn't help but laugh and nod.
I told the hygienist that I was lucky. I believe I am. I don't know when exactly I started thinking I was lucky, but I think that it was sometime around the time I started to focus on gratitude.
Our language is filled with phrases to ward off evil spirits. Most of us have some sort of ritual to insure luck even if our rational minds reject the hypothesis. Many carry objects to insure good luck.
My study of folklore in college made me start paying attention to all the old myths that filled the culture of modern folk today. I started to notice how often we all participate, even when we think the idea is ridiculous.
Dieter commented on luck today and posted a lovely picture of shamrocks.
I am lucky because I think I am lucky. I think, therefore I am. Bet you are lucky too. :-)
I was noticing how everything was looking so green today, even on a day where the famous California Sunshine turned liquid.
The trees on our street
are blooming with flowers.
Everything is alive. Verdant.
It is strange that even though one does not have even a drop of Celtic Blood, everyone here is Irish on Saint Paddy's Day. Even the folks at Dictonary.com are in on it. :-)
My friend Anita sent the following notice from the news:
With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week.
Larry LaPrise, the man that wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at the age of 93 The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin.
They put his left leg in........ And then the trouble started.
Shut up. You know it's funny.
It is amazing what happens when I cannot blog. For more than a week my blog was broken. I felt as if someone had cut off my voice ... and I pretty much stayed away from my computer. I kept wondering whether Bush and Company had decided to go after desenting grandmothers.
I'm sure the men in my family were thinking; "There she goes again!"
But then, they weren't aware of the McCarthy Era as I was. I doubt that my dear husband's family was up in arms about what was happening in the Land Of The Free as mine were.
Most of the time I feel that it was a blessing that I was raised in a family that paid attention to what was happening here and around the world. But sometimes I wish I wasn't so aware. It is easy to let my mind run away with me.
It is at these times that I have to take the time to focus on what is real. Everything that changes is not real. Only one thing is real. And it is not a thing.
Ashes and Snow took my breath away. I have never experienced anything remotely like it.
This exhibit will make you want to shout;
"WOW WOW WOW'!
Entering the beautiful structure designed by architect Shigeru Ban expressly for Gregory Colbert's photographs is like entering a cathedral. When you enter this space, you enter another world. A world that is sacred, magical, mystical and meditative.
Everything about Ashes and Snow is exquisite.
The sights, sounds, and the feel of the Nomadic Museum are all mesmerizing. Even the shadows of hanging photographs add to the perfection. Absolutely beautiful and amazing!
So, if you live in or anywhere near LA, get down to the Santa Monica Pier and experience it yourself. It is only here until May 14th. After that date it will be packed up and will go to Japan, then on to Bejing.
Here is a good video to watch... And, you can listen to an interview with photographer Michael Colbert and composer Michael Brook here
"The whales do not sing because they have an answer. They sing because they have a song."
Listen to Mom... Mom says Go and experience Ashes and Snow!. You will thank me.
Looking at the sky never fails to fill me with awe. Day or night. No matter the weather.
Tonight I walked into my bedroom. It was dark.
Looking out the window, there were no stars, but you could see a large cloud outlined in the dark grey that passed for blue. We are expecting rain.
It surprises me when I find out that some don't even seem to notice. ...Or look up to appreciate the wonderful shades of blue, the shape and hew of the ever changing clouds. Such beauty is regularly overlooked.
It's a shame.
There is beauty all around us.
Everywhere.
Take time to notice.
Appreciate!
This moment will not come again.
Well, maybe it will....
There is always the String Theory.