(not necessarily in that order)
Recent events have me trying to understand the subtleties of opinion, perspective, and delusion.
What should we do when people we love and respect come from a perspective, or hold strongly to an opinion, that is diametrically opposed to our own?
It might be tempting to describe them as being “in delusion,” but they would probably sincerely believe the same about us.
I’m not really seeking an answer here. Just doing my best to live the question.
Now that the concert is over, we’re getting caught up on some of the lighter aspects of Christmas.
Such as going “festive” for this morning’s Sunday service. I especially enjoyed the men’s Christmas ties. 😄
This evening we had invited friends over to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the original half-hour version with Boris Karloff narrating, of course!), which motivated us to finish the Christmas tree, set up the nativity scene, get out all the Christmas cups, and generally spiff up the apartment.
Now it’s really feeling like Christmas has arrived in our home — and just in time!
We came, we sang, we felt the joy of channeling beautiful music.
Many friends, Expanding Light guests, and fellow Village residents came to listen and be uplifted by the vibrations of beautiful music.
We all rejoiced in the first full concert of live music in the Temple of Light since December 2019.
Personally, I’m now looking ahead to April 2022 for our first Oratorio in the Temple of Light.
It’s time.
It’s been a big week and tomorrow’s our Christmas concert.
So, I’m going to keep this short and sweet, then go home and take it easy!
Getting pretty comfortable with needles these days. Lots of blood drawn on Monday, then got our booster yesterday.
Very grateful to have it, though we definitely felt the effects today (nothing serious, just sore arm, chills, achy, and tired).
We still managed to have a wonderful rehearsal for Saturday night’s Christmas concert but felt completely done in by the end.
Despite the recent snow and today’s unsettled weather, Jyotish and Devi decided this morning to go ahead with their scheduled community satsang this evening.
They wanted to make it fun and festive and informal, so we volunteered to sing a couple of Christmas carols.
But because it was so last minute, our soprano couldn’t join us.
Then I forgot to put the words for “Joy to the World” in the binders that I quickly threw together.
So when the time came to sing it was rather — well, rough. Which was no big deal, as it was just “family” and rather spontaneous. But still…
Then Devi read her most recent blog post — beautiful and inspiring — and Jyotish read a story that had come to him in meditation — powerfully inspiring! Then they both added comments and insights that were deeply moving.
And then, Ramesha asked a question about how best to prepare for the upcoming 8-hour Christmas meditation, and as they both answered the inspiration went through the roof.
And I finally understood. The weather was uncertain enough that if we hadn’t volunteered to sing, we might very well have pooped out and stayed home.
In this instance, singing wasn’t the point. Rather it was the means of making sure we were exactly where we were supposed to be tonight.
I’m starting to realize that I’m never going to get completely accustomed to living where it snows.
Since 2002 I’ve mostly lived in places with real winter weather — Assisi, Lugano, then Ananda Village; our three years in Los Angeles were a brief exception — and yet the first snow of each year continues to feel like a big deal to this San Francisco native.
Enough came down last night and this morning that we made the decision to simply work from home, which actually made a nice balance to all the running around I did yesterday.
After a mild autumn, the sudden onslaught of serious winter weather comes as a bit of a shock to the system!
I would have been quite happy to stay inside, rather than out in the high winds and heavy rain, but I had two appointments in town — getting blood drawn for fasting labs in the morning and physical therapy in the afternoon.
In between I had my breakfast shake in the hospital lobby while replying to emails on my phone.
I got gas and cashed checks at the bank; took advantage of being in town to grab a few Christmas-y items; picked up our grocery order; then ate the snacks I brought for lunch while sitting in the car.
An intense physical therapy session, then one final errand: picking up artwork for the music office from the frame shop.
All while driving with extra caution in the rain and doing my best to stay dry while popping in and out of the car. By the time I got home I was completely done in.
Now it’s time for dinner and an early night.
It’s been such a busy time that I haven’t made a lot of progress on my Swami stories project. However, it’s definitely been percolating in the back of mind.
I find memories surfacing as I sing a particular song or find another photo, and I’m doing my best to make notes so I’ll remember them when I start writing.
In the meantime, I’m seeing the truth that when you focus on something you attract more of it!
Completely out of the blue today, I received an message from a photographer friend saying she had just found a stash of photos from our Assisi wedding back in 2004.
I guess it could be “just a coincidence” (but I don’t think so). 😊
We’re so happy to be offering an actual live, in-person Christmas concert this year (though it’s sad to still be without our big choir). It will also be live streamed, of course; you can save the link above (or even set a reminder) to be ready to view on Saturday, December 18 at 5:00pm (PST).
Last year’s Christmas concert was completely online, with singers from various Ananda communities contributing videos.
Since May our small singing group has been performing regularly for Sunday services and occasional special events, but usually just two songs at a time; never more than three or four.
So it came as a surprise how tired I was feeling during our second rehearsal for the Christmas concert! I realized that we haven’t done a full concert since Christmas of 2019, and now an hour-long concert feels like a LOT of music!