Now that I’m back to full energy and my regular “work,” I’m also falling back into old habits of getting to bed late.
It’s frustrating enough to make me want to pull my hair out!
Aarrghh…!
The struggle is real
Choir is back…and dancing!
For the first time in months…
…all our music team members were back from our various travels and present at tonight’s rehearsal.
…the full choir was back at it, with everybody ready to dive into preparations for Spiritual Renewal Week.
The ensemble has actually been meeting and holding down the fort throughout the weeks when Ramesha and I (and also Dambara) were off traveling, but it was great to be back with them again.
And to make things extra fun, Pavani led us in dancing the Horah, in order to get the right unified feel for Swami’s song, “A New Tomorrow.”
It was a great rehearsal. 😊
Being pushed vs being led
Below is today’s Momentum Dash inspiration:
And this was the quote:
“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Both hit home for me right now.
First, because I’ve been feeling that some inner shifts are trying to happen (“trust the process”).
Secondly, because now that I’m feeling well and fully able to step back into life’s fray, I’m noticing how quickly I fall back into the imbalanced pattern of responding to external pressures (“…pushed by my problems”) and not taking the time to listen for inner guidance (“led by my dreams”).
Something to ponder.
So much joy!
What a weekend it was! So I’m taking it easy this evening and simply sharing Barbara Bingham’s photo of Uma and Janaka, yesterday’s radiant bride and groom.
Maude’s wisdom
This afternoon’s wedding was glorious and beautiful, but we were really pooped afterwards.
So…since “Harold and Maude” has still been rattling around in my brain, I think I’ll share some of my favorite “Maude” quotes. To be perfectly honest, for the longest time Maude is who I wanted to be when I grew up!
Maude: The earth is my body; my head is in the stars.
[pauses] Who said that, Harold?
Harold: I don’t know.
Maude: Well, I suppose I did, then.
Harold: Maude.
Maude: Hmm?
Harold: Do you pray?
Maude: Pray? No. I communicate.
Harold: With God?
Maude: With life.
Harold: You sure have a way with people.
Maude: Well, they’re my species!
Maude: That was fun! Let’s play something together.
Harold: I don’t play anything.
Maude: Nothing? Dear me, everybody should be able to make some music. That’s the cosmic dance.
Maude: I like to watch things grow. They – grow and bloom and fade and die and change into something else. Ah, life!
Maude: I should like to change into a sunflower most of all. They’re so tall and simple. What flower would you like to be?
Harold: I don’t know. One of these, maybe.
Maude: Why do you say that?
Harold: Because they’re all alike.
Maude: Oooh, but they’re not. Look. See, some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, some even have lost some petals. All kinds of observable differences. You see, Harold, I feel that much of the world’s sorrow comes from people who are this,
[she points to a daisy]
Maude: yet allow themselves be treated as that.
[she gestures to a field of daisies; cut to a shot of a field of gravestones in a military cemetery]
Revisiting Harold and Maude
We hadn’t watched “Harold and Maude” in at least fifteen years. Ramesha had seen it only once before, while I’ve watched it probably twenty times since my late teens.
I can still remember hearing about it for the very first time. A friend in our high school church group had seen it and loved it, so he tried to describe it it to me. I was completely baffled and couldn’t imagine why he thought I would enjoy a movie that had to do with suicide!
Of course, I saw it a couple of years later and to this day it remains one of my all-time favorite movies. Largely for its humor, quirkiness, and uplifting Cat Stevens music, but even more for the joy that is Ruth Gordon and for its message that life is meant to be lived.
Wedding bells
The wedding of our dear friends, Uma and Janaka, is almost here!
Family members are arriving at the Village from Argentina and Midwest-USA and lots of details are coming together.
In fact, I’m off to the wedding rehearsal, followed by a choir rehearsal. So, I’m writing my blog now because I really don’t want to turn on the computer when I get home later.
Why? Because that will almost guarantee that I get too bed late and I’m really, really, REALLY trying to get to bed EARLY.
Playing blog hooky
Today was a full immersion back into my workaday world. Meetings, emails, and lots and lots of details.
So, tonight I’m playing blog hooky and not writing much of anything.
This makes me so happy!
For years now, Ramesha and I have wanted to travel to India to work with Ananda singers there, but issue after issue and obstacle after obstacle have repeatedly gotten in the way.
We do our best to connect when people come to visit Ananda Village, or via Zoom when in-person isn’t a possibility, but still it’s been a little frustrating.
However, in this moment I’m feeling completely heartened, encouraged, and inspired by the way this group of singers from Ananda India are taking ownership of the music and forging ahead with presenting it with enthusiasm, deep attunement, and JOY!
I found Bharat’s introductory remarks to be especially impressive.
It feels like a breakthrough moment for the music in India and for our worldwide music ministry.
Lingering Lugano influence
Today was our first “town day” together since getting back from Europe.
We usually find time to get coffee amidst our various errands. But this morning was different. We weren’t okay with getting our coffee in a paper cup with a plastic lid. It just didn’t feel right.
So, we went to Flour Garden, where we could request our drinks in ceramic cups. Infinitely more civilized!
I don’t know if this is a permanent change, but we’ll flow with it for as long as it lasts.