Although there were only four of us in the Temple of Light this evening, we definitely felt united in singing with all the people (there were at least a hundred!) who joined us online.
In addition to Ananda Village residents and friends in Sacramento, we were joined by people in the states of New York, Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, Oregon, Maine, and Hawaii, as well as the country of Colombia.
This was different than our usual concerts because we wanted everyone online to feel they were active participants, so we had our friends Lisa and Dambara in the Temple with us. They helped so much by responding to the live chat and sharing people’s comments.
All in all, it was deeply inspiring and also a whole lot of fun.
P.S. Because the event was recorded (see the video below), you can join and sing along any time you wish. The lyrics to all the songs can found here.
We were so looking forward to once again having full choir for our Christmas concert this year, but — for the third year in a row — health considerations have made singing together in a large group too risky.
The concert is tomorrow — Saturday, December 17 — at 5:00pm. In order to still share the spirit of Christ through music, our small singing group will be in the Temple of Light, performing the program our choir had been rehearsing since October. And we’re inviting everyone — choir members, Village residents, our global Ananda community, and friends and family everywhere — to sing along with us via the live broadcast.
Our hope is to feel that we are all singing together, energetically connected through the music, no matter where we are in the world.
P.S. We’re hoping to make lyrics and some sheet music available. Of course, you’re also welcome to just enjoy the music. 😊
Today was full in a way we haven’t done in quite some time.
We started off first thing this morning with a Sangha meeting (our Ananda outreach ministries version of a monthly staff meeting, which we attended while in Sacramento via Zoom), followed by a few minutes to answer emails before packing up and checking out of the hotel.
Then it was off to my bone marrow transplant follow-up appointment, after which I stopped to get blood drawn for labs.
Then we drove home, where I spent a fair amount of time researching and then scheduling my COVID vaccine “re-do” (it’s not so easy to find primary doses any more, as opposed to boosters).
And, finally, our quartet ran through the entire program for our upcoming Christmas concert.
Everything about the day was lovely, productive, and fun. But I definitely don’t have the energy to write anything particularly meaningful tonight!
Returning to East Sacramento feels a bit like a homecoming; everything is so very familiar.
J Street. Folsom Blvd. Trader Joe’s. 51st Avenue. Driving down U Street. Even being at the Marriott Hotel again.
We met my Dad and sister at the Starbucks on Folsom for a nice pre-Christmas visit. We sat outside so we could chat without masks, but — boy! — did it get cold after a while!
Remembering how “into it” the neighborhood was when it came to Halloween decorations, I had hoped to take photos of Christmas-decorated houses, but it got too late and we were too hungry to put off dinner.
However, I was delighted to encounter these horses behind the Rite Aid drugstore, of all places! Evidently one can hire a carriage and view the holiday decorations in style.
Today was the first time since the end of July that I had an appointment with my oncologist here in Nevada City.
From January through July we were at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital literally everyweek (at least twice a week), so it was rather strange to return after an absence of four full months!
This is also the week that we drive to Sacramento for a follow-up appointment at UC Davis Cancer Center.
Two months without a single doctor’s appointment was actually quite nice. Hopefully I’ll just need occasional follow-ups from here on out.
An early morning dental appointment — following a night of freezing temperatures after days of rain — required extra careful driving today on my way out of the Village (especially our famous S-curve!) and on the way into town.
It also brought to mind a memory from my brief relocation to Ashland, Oregon in the mid-90’s.
A lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, I was not accustomed to winters with regular ice and snow. I also had an slightly decrepit Dodge Colt that leaked when it rained and whose windshield defroster didn’t work very well.
After months looking for work, I was hired for a temp job at an Imation plant a good thirty minute drive from my home in Ashland. It was past Medford in a town called White City. I usually worked from mid-morning into the afternoon, but a co-worker asked me to switch with her, which meant being there at 6:00am.
Being somewhere that early was already a challenge, but what made it super crazy is that the weather turned really cold and the news reports were full of warnings about black ice — something I had never seen, didn’t know how to recognize, and wouldn’t know what to do if I encountered it!
I was already pretty well terrified before leaving the house. To make matters worse, it was pitch black outside and the lack of a defroster meant that I couldn’t see through the windshield very well at all. So, I had my window rolled down and would stick my head out periodically to make sure I was staying on the road. I was also driving slow because of my worry about black ice.
Needless to say, I was not popular with other drivers on the freeway and I was a wreck by the time I got to work. But I did get there safely.
Remembering that experience put this morning’s town trip in perspective; after all, now I have a solid, dependable car with a working defroster and it was bright daylight. But I was still cautious and very grateful to arrive safely.
Ananda volunteers at the book table during an event in Los Angeles
This afternoon we celebrated World Brotherhood Day here at Ananda Village.
Unfortunately, it had to be switched to online only (due to a surge of COVID and other illnesses), with only the speakers, a small singing group, and three or four other guests in attendance.
But I found it as inspiring as ever to hear about Ananda’s outreach ministries and all the wonderful work they’re doing around the world.
In fact, I’m reminded of when I lived in Switzerland (from 2004-2006) and would receive Ananda’s annual appeal in the mail. I was still relatively new, and I remember being absolutely thrilled to know I was — in my own small way — a part of such an expansive work. I even sent a donation (though I’m not sure how I managed to afford it at the time!).
Of course, Ananda’s work has exploded in so many directions since then, and Ramesha and I play a much larger role in the worldwide music outreach nowadays. But the basic feeling is exactly the same as it ever was.
This quote from Swami Kriyananda describes it perfectly: “We are part of a great tide of loving, joyful energy that wants to give and give as long as people are happy to receive it.”
What a blessing it is to be part of that great tide of loving, joyful energy!
Tonight’s choir rehearsal was cancelled due to so many cases of COVID and flu happening in our community. The December 17 Christmas concert is also in jeopardy.
We certainly don’t relish the thought of pulling the plug on the first concert to include full choir in three years(!), but we really, really don’t want to create a superspreader situation either.
