Processing today is going to take some time.
From start to finish it was full, joyful, inspiring, challenging, successful, and deeply satisfying.
I look forward to having time to reflect on the many blessings of this day.
Joyful, swirling thoughts
Early mornings vs late nights
The really good news is that I’m on track to complete my June walking goal, thanks to getting up early enough to walk to the Temple each morning of SRW.
The not so great news is that with so much planning and prep each night, I’ve been getting to bed late, then getting up early to walk.
End result? Three nights in a row of not nearly enough sleep has me feeling wiped out. Which is actually pretty good news, because I think that maybe the habitual late nights are soon going to be a thing of the past!
Off to a GREAT start!
The music this morning absolutely made my week…and we’re only on Day 1!
But the group was so present and so tight, I was one big goose bump by the end of “Go On Alone,” which is an amazingly powerful song to begin with.
Of course, there were wonderful talks by Jyotish and Devi to experience as well.
So, we’re off and running. Tonight was the kirtan and tomorrow’s another early day with lots to accomplish before the morning class.
The last few (hundred) things!
I could have sworn there were only two or three simple tasks remaining before I felt completely ready for the big week to begin.
Ha!
Luckily — though the morning was filled with singing for Sunday service followed by a kirtan rehearsal, and a concert run-through rehearsal is scheduled for the evening — I had the afternoon (yes, the entire afternoon) to address my seemingly endless to do list!
So now I really am as ready as I’ll ever be. 😊
Spiritual Renewal Week: ready, set, GO!
Stocked up on groceries for the week. ✅
Laundry done (eight days of jewel tone tops). ✅
Choir reminders scheduled. ✅
Joy Singer songs rehearsed. ✅
Kirtan and concert videos received. ✅
A final few tasks to complete tomorrow and then the fun begins!
Time for reading, not writing
I feel an overwhelming urge to indulge myself by sitting and relaxing with a good book.
So that’s what I’m going to do.
It’s starting to feel like old time SRW
SRW (Spiritual Renewal Week) 2019 was our amazing, miraculous, almost-unbelievable 50th anniversary celebration.
SRW 2020 was chaotic and disorienting; completely online; scrambling to figure it all out.
And now it’s time for SRW 2021. We’ve survived! We’re not entirely back to normal, but making progress. It’s easy to still feel a little disoriented due to the continuing changes and adjustments as things slowly open back up.
The good news is live singing is happening, and it feels great to be tackling the challenge of scheduling singing, chanting, and instrumentals for daily classes, evening kirtan, evening concert, and Sunday service.
Yes, it’s a bit exhausting but also exhilarating, because we’re almost all the way back to our good old, normal, crazy-busy SRW!
Feeling whimsical
Thanks for the inspiration, Ravenous Butterflies! This put me back in touch with the “me” that believes in fairies and devas and the little people.
All the names I know from nurse:Â
Gardener’s garters, Shepherd’s purse,Â
Bachelor’s buttons, Lady’s smock,Â
And the Lady Hollyhock.
Fairy places, fairy things,Â
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,Â
Tiny trees for tiny dames—Â
These must all be fairy names!
Tiny woods below whose boughsÂ
Shady fairies weave a house;Â
Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,Â
Where the braver fairies climb!
Fair are grown-up people’s trees,Â
But the fairest woods are these;Â
Where, if I were not so tall,Â
I should live for good and all.
— The Flowers, from A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Choir’s back!
It’s not the entire full choir yet, but what a huge step in the right direction!
It was thrilling to hear voices joined in song once again. It was the first time since March 2020, and it sounded beautiful.
It was both a profoundly joyful and a deeply moving experience.
And I was struck once again by the realization of what a gift our music is, and how extremely important it is to the health and well-being of Ananda’s global network of communities.
Really truly officially a grown-up…
…and it’s actually kind of shocking.
I’m not going to say what number I turned this year, but — yes — it’s a big enough number that I’m having a harder and harder time explaining how (or why) it is that I still don’t feel grown up!
So this quote really works for me right now! 😄