It had been over twenty years since I saw Richard and Jim, so what a thrill it was to find that the love and joy we’ve always felt in one another’s company hadn’t diminished one iota over the years!
They live near Guerneville and this time Ramesha and I managed to schedule a visit while we’re here.
We go way back to my freelance flutist days in San Francisco — Jim played piccolo with the SF Opera and Richard was the driving force behind The Flute Exchange, a flute quintet with which we performed and recorded through much of the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s.
Gosh, we had a lot of fun and we made some glorious music.
Enjoying time together (while actually NOT working)
Today’s blog post is pretty much a photo dump of today’s activities.
Things started rather inauspiciously when a tree fell and the power went out for several hours. We were already planning to go to the coast, but it turned out that we couldn’t get a decent coffee except by driving to the coast.
We once again totally enjoyed Cafe Aquatica, as well as the incredible views of the coast.
Sea, sky, and RameshaThe view from Cafe Aquatica
In the afternoon we once again visited Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, enjoying it just as much as last year, but walking even farther (by accident; we got turned around).
RedwoodsIt’s just a spider web…,,,but sunrays transformed it to astral beauty
The Ananda Singers touring Italy back in 2002-2003
…without leaving Ananda Village!
A group of us gathered to sing Swamiji’s Italian songs, eat bruschetta and other Italian-themed goodies, and listen to stories about time spent in Italia–at Ananda Assisi itself or as part of small or large singing groups over the years.
Ten or so of us shared our living-in-Italy experiences and it made me rather nostalgic.
The opening of La La Land is, of course, a thrilling dance scene which I’ve watched over and over because it’s incredible on so many levels.
But what is really intriguing me is the way it has inspired so many people to recreate it — either literally or with revised lyrics.
There’s something so joyful and uplifting in the music itself, amplified by the exuberant movement, and it’s clear that people are having so much FUN with it!
And that why I say I’m a little obsessed, because I’ve watched maybe thirty different versions of “Another Day of Sun” throughout this afternoon and evening.
There are versions by dance companies; versions in high schools, college dorms, and summer camps; versions by medical students and students from MIT; a virtual choir/orchestra version; versions from all over the US, as well as Japan, Korea, India, France, Chile, China, South Africa, and Scandinavia.
I even found versions where it was a wedding couple’s First Dance, with friends and family who obviously learned the choreography beforehand so they could join in.
It’s so heartening to me, seeing such a wide variety of people of all ages who put serious time and energy into these projects, having the time of their life dancing and singing together.
Ramesha often wakes up in the wee hours of the night and can’t go back to sleep, so he gets up and does his morning meditation practices — at 2:30 or 3:30 am — then goes back to bed.
Well, last night was my turn to have trouble sleeping, finally getting up at 3:30 am. I read my book for a while; drank some chamomile tea; and meditated.
But instead of going back to bed I figured it was a rare opportunity to shift myself to more of an “early to bed and early to rise” routine.
I was pretty pooped all day, but I’m hoping it will prove to be worth it.
Is it the last gasp of Mercury retrograde or do I simply need a break?
During a meeting this morning the next topic under discussion was “Summer Program” and the first thing I said (just for clarity, you know!) was “This summer, right?”
At which point my colleague just looked at me while I oh-so-slowly caught up to reality, saying with a laugh: “Oh right, we’re already in October!”
Wrong again, but by this point we were laughing too hard to care.
Later in the day I sent an urgent text about a project deadline which had been moved up to “TODAY, Sept 15!” — to which I received a calm reply that the 15th was two days away, on Friday.
At which point I remembered that today was Wednesday and there was no need to panic.
I really kind of wonder if there’s something wonky going on with the time space continuum right now.
The below excerpt was posted on Facebook today by a friend. I’ve read it before, of course, but it was especially powerful reading it today — the 75th anniversary of the day Swami Kriyananda took discipleship from Paramhansa Yogananda.
The accompanying photo of Swamiji’s meditation room in his apartment at Crystal Hermitage also touch me deeply.
So, I decided to share both in today’s blog post.
A devotee was marveling at Swamiji’s many accomplishments. “In one lifetime you’ve done the work of ten men!” she said. “Perhaps you’re right,” Swamiji said quietly. “Nothing I have done is important, however, except to the extent that it has helped people individually to deepen their love for God. “At the end of this life, the only thing that will matter to me is ‘Have I been a good disciple?’” — From the final chapter of Swami Kriyananda As We Have Known Him by Asha Nayaswami
After dropping Ramesha at the airport for his flight to Portland, I headed to the town of Dixon to visit a friend who moved here six months ago or so.
Nancy and I have been close friends since we were fifteen — which was an amazing fifty-plus years ago. So, today was a wonderful opportunity to catch up on, well….everything!
Everything included the wonderful (but hard) work that she and her husband are putting in to create a beautiful sanctuary out of their yard.
I particularly loved this heart path leading to their front door.
