At approximately 900 acres, Ananda Village is big and spread out enough that those of us who are self-isolating (because we’re in a high risk category due to age or health issues) can easily go days seeing only a bare handful of fellow residents. One definitely starts to miss running into friends at work or the market…or at choir rehearsal!
Which is why it was so incredibly sweet when ten choir members got together for our first ever Village Choir Zoom Chat this evening! We chatted and checked in and laughed (a lot) and shared ideas….and it was wonderful just to see all the smiles! Here are some pics to give you the idea…
Koral kept us particularly well entertained by “traveling” the world throughout the course of the meeting!
Koral at a castle in EuropeKoral in ItalyKoral at the Matterhorn
Somehow I missed getting photos of Bandhu and Ramu (oops!), but it sure was great to see you all! Hopefully more choir members can make it when we meet again next week. 💗
The current uncertainties are contributing mightily to some personal inner unrest. The end result is a gradual but definite tendency towards a return of late nights.
A screenshot of Ramesha and Bhagavati singing “Shawl of Gold” in their living room. The video was recorded on March 28 for Sunday service in the Temple of Light on March 29!
Doesn’t it feel as though the entire world switched to online everything from one day to the next?!? As music ministers, we’ve been creatively expanding our knowledge base and skill set in order to maintain our voluntary self-isolation while still providing music for Sunday service at Ananda Village.
Of course, orchestras and choirs all over the world are extremely motivated to experiment along these exact same lines. As one person put it, we’re hardwired to perform, to make music together. Even when we can’t be together.
The end result is that we’re seeing the supposed barriers of time and space dissolving right before our eyes. We may be physically separated, playing or singing our part at different moments in time, but the power and magnetism of the music are still palpably present. Why? Because, in actuality, there is no time or space. We’re all one, right now.
Here at the Village we have a ways to go in terms of technology and resources. But here’s an example of the infinite possibilities…
I don’t usually mind the rain. After all, I live in California, which is pretty much always on the verge of a drought!
But add self-isolation into the mix and suddenly all bets are off. I’ve been waiting for it to clear up all afternoon, but instead I see that it’s predicted to rain all day tomorrow as well. Sigh.
And that’s when I caught myself inwardly chanting the old nursery rhyme…
Seems I can’t get enough of Finlandia this week! Here’s the full tone poem from which A Song of Peace (aka Finlandia Hymn) from yesterday’s blog post originated. Not only is the music wonderful, but the video of Finnish nature and wild animals is stunningly beautiful.
A uplifting and soothing way to finish off a crazy week.
I’ve loved the melody of Finlandia forever but only recently tuned into this version of the lyrics. Oh my goodness, how it speaks to my heart at this time!
Praying that the beauty of the music and inspiration of the words bring solace to your soul (many thanks to Cantus for this deeply touching performance).
The Finlandia Hymn(This Is My Song) music by Jean Sibelius • text by Lloyd Stone
This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine; this is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine: but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine; but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine: O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.
It all feels so huge right now. Huge and overwhelming. And when the overwhelm starts to drag me under I have to go for a walk and ground myself in the trees and the sky and the breeze.
Then I can remember that no matter what is going on, God is bigger. Regardless of whether He feels bigger to me in every moment, I believe that He is bigger than all of it.
But sometimes that’s all it feels like: belief…which isn’t the same as knowing. And isn’t the same as having faith.
Which reminds me of something I heard in a class at my Unity church several decades ago. The teacher pointed out that most of us had more faith in the United States Postal Service than we did in God. When we all looked properly shocked at her statement, she pointed out that we routinely put our letters in the mailbox without questioning for a moment whether they would get where we wanted them to go. Whereas we were always doubting and second guessing God!
So in this time of upheaval and uncertainty and general angst, I’m doing my best to remember the quote by Anandamayi Ma: “Don’t you think that He who created this world knows how to run it?”
After all, He’s bigger than any person, any politician, or any virus. Of course, He’s not going to take away our (global) lessons and/or karma, much as we may wish that He would. But He remains ever-present, loving us throughout the entire process, no matter what.
Here are two quotes that I find reassuring in these crazy times…
God is the one great Reality. To know and experience Him is the whole purpose of human existence. So do not hesitate to strive to achieve this great goal. Be patient in all the ups and downs of life. Everything will right itself. Do all that is necessary to be done, but do not be anxious. Do your best and leave the rest to God.
Sri Anandamayi Ma
Attune yourself to the active inner Guidance; the Divine Voice has the answer to every dilemma of life. Though man’s ingenuity for getting himself into trouble appears to be endless, the Infinite Succor is no less resourceful.
When I’m out walking nowadays I usually see somewhere between three to five other people, either walking or driving by.
What a contrast to the “good ole days” of two weeks ago(!), when a Tuesday saw me moving from home to the music office to Master’s Market or Expanding Light for lunch to the mail room to the Temple of Light for choir rehearsal. I could easily encounter a hundred friends in the course of the day!
Now, in order to check in and see how friends are doing, I need to either write, call, video chat, or text. Which means putting it on my to-do list so I don’t completely forget about it in the midst of all the other tasks of my day.
I’ll never take all those brief, spontaneous, joy-filled encounters for granted again.
I’ve been in denial about death for most of this lifetime, although for the past five years or so I’ve been consciously seeking to face up to its reality….a little bit at a time. So it was a big step for me to sign up for an online course titled Losing the Fear of Death through the Science of Yoga.
It feels to me like the current state of the world is giving new urgency to our need to transcend whatever fears and limitations hold us back from our full potential…cause I think we’re going to be drawing on every last bit of that potential to emerge victorious on the other side of these challenges.
At any rate, many thanks to Brahmachari Sagar for the joyous enthusiasm he brought to this deep and profound topic.
Cooking at home every day. Putting together furniture. Listening to music. Playing music. Sitting in the sun while playing music! Going for walks. Learning exciting new ways to be online.
