October 28, 2012 ~ For Every Storm a Rainbow

October 28, 2012 ~ For Every Storm a Rainbow

"When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in.

That's what this storm's all about"

~Haruki Murakami

"There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm."

~John H. Vincent

   

Tonight my thoughts and prayers are with friends and loved ones who live along the east coast as they prepare for the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, predicted to be the biggest storm ever to hit the mainland. Dubbed "Frankenstorm" by the National Weather Service, this arctic storm wrapped around a hurricane is a expected to cause widespread wind damage and flooding all along the eastern seaboard.

Watching news reports and checking my iPhone for Hurricane Sandy updates has got me thinking about the awesome power of mother nature, and how humbling it is to experience a storm such as this one. It feels like a reminder of just who is in charge here. We feel pretty powerless in the face of howling winds and pounding rain, toppled trees, and rising tide surges. With loss of power, perhaps for many days, life becomes a bit of an adventure. Without our usual creature comforts, we are reminded of how much we take for granted...one misses the simple things, like the ability to take a hot shower in the morning or make toast and coffee. Survival is the order of the day.

Yet there is something magical too that takes place as we hunker down to weather a storm. There is a pioneer spirit that emerges, as priorities shift to the essentials of life. We pull out the Coleman stove and flashlights, we dine by candlelight, and sit beside the fire to stay warm. We read, we engage in conversation or play games together when we might otherwise be watching TV. We check in with our neighbors to see if they're alright. There is a spirit of unity, of pulling together to help one another and share our resources. 

It seems that facing adversity seems to bring out the highest and best within us. And that is what I am grateful for—the hidden gifts in the storms of life. We don't know how strong or courageous or kind or caring we can be until we are called upon to rise to the occasion. And in times of extreme adversity, in stormy weather or the storms of life, we are invited to connect more deeply with what is essential—with the mystery and majesty of the universe, with our own wild nature, and most importantly with others. And of course, after the storm comes the rainbow, a sort of divine promise of the good—the peace and beauty—that always prevails.

Feeling deep gratitude tonight, I leave you with an Irish blessing:

"May God give you...For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and and an answer for each prayer."

October 21, 2012 ~ Peace, Love and Rock & Roll: The '60s

October 21, 2012 ~ Peace, Love and Rock & Roll: Celebrating the '60s

"This is the largest group of people ever assembled in one place, and I think

you people have proven something to the world: that a half a million kids can

get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but

fun and music, and I God Bless You for it!"

~Max Yasgur, to the crowd at Woodstock

"Like wow, these people are really beautiful—the cops, the storekeepers,

the army, everybody."

~Laura Glazer, an 18-year-old Woodstock attendee

Last night I caught part of the PBS special Ed Sullivan's Rock & Roll Classics: The '60s, and was surprised by the emotions it evoked and the memories that came flooding back to me. Something about hearing The Association sing "And Then Along Comes Mary", and seeing a very young Mick Jagger prance across the stage (much as he still does today and looking amazingly not much older) singing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", and watching the Beatles perform "She Loves You", took me right back in time. As nostalgia swept over me, I found myself feeling very grateful to have lived through this amazing era of the 60's.

You might say "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." There was no 'sitting it out' in the 60s—it was a time of questioning authority, speaking out for what one believed in and taking action, a time of social harmony and group protest, coming together en masse for social and political change. We had the Civil Rights movement, rioting in the streets, non-violent anti-war protests, sit-ins, love-ins, the Women's Liberation movement, the Sexual Revolution, and loosening up of social mores. How about Woodstock? Talk about social harmony...500,000 young people gathered in a field for three days, camping out in the rain in extremely crowded conditions, and there were no acts of violence. Can you imagine anything like that happening today?

The popular music of the 60s really defined the era. The Beatles embodied the cataclysmic changes throughout the decade, with each new album reflecting those changes. Their early hits of 1963 were simple, innocent love songs: "I Saw Her Standing There", "Please Please Me", and "Love Me Do". By 1967-68 their music was veering more into counter culture and and the psychedelic experience in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Magical Mystery Tour, with songs like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life". In The White Album they shared their discovery of Eastern spirituality and introduced us to transcendental meditation and sitar music. And the decade ended with the release of Let It Be and the break-up of the band (how we grieved the loss; we had to learn how to let it be and let them go). What a 'long and winding road' it was indeed, and we traveled along with them all the way. Their music expanded our consciousness and our awareness of the world, and reassured us that ultimately 'all you need is love.'

The 60s brought us John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, Mother Theresa, the first man in space, and the first walk on the moon. The 60s brought us civil rights, women's rights, a horrific war that we viewed nightly on our TV sets. It also brought freedom of expression, creativity, and light. You might say, "...it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope..." We got to view earth from space for the first time, and it took our breath away, to see this beautiful blue jewel that is our home. It awakened within us an awareness of unity, of our being part of a global community, and inspired notions of harmony, peace, and justice for all people. 

Some say it was 'the dawning of the Age of Aquarius' (cue music :-) and the birthing of a new era of enlightenment. In joyful appreciation for all of it, I leave you now with these words of inspiration from John Lennon: "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can, no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people sharing all the world. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one." May it be so.

October 6, 2012 ~ Honey: Nectar of the Gods

October 6, 2012 ~ Honey: Nectar of the Gods

"How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour, and gather honey all the day from every opening flower."

~Isaac Watts

"Well, said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called."

~A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

I'm with Pooh—just thinking about honey, picturing this glorious golden nectar, simply anticipating the rich sweet taste—Mmm Mmm, almost, but not quite, better than the actual experience of eating it! I love honey drizzled on buttered toast or biscuits; honey in my tea; honey-ginger glaze on grilled salmon; or simply a spoon full of honey right out of the jar—"honey in the morning, honey in the evening, honey at supper time."

Did you know that there are more than 300 different kinds of honey produced in the United States? And what really amazes me is the process of its creation. I read somewhere that the 60,000 or so bees in a beehive may collectively travel as much as 55,000 miles and visit more than 2,000,000 flowers to gather enough nectar to make a pound of honey. What amazing little creatures honeybees are. Honeycombs are wonders of efficiency in structural design: somehow honeybees figured out that in creating a lattice of cells with a hexagonal structure, the least amount of wax is used to hold the most honey. Pretty smart, those bees! 

I personally have an allergy to bee stings, so I can't believe I'm celebrating bees...however I do have a deep appreciation for their presence in the world. They pollinate the flowers, and they provide us with this wonderful golden elixir without which life would not be as sweet. And they provide us with beeswax for candles, and the wonder food product bee pollen—filled with vitamins, minerals, protein, and folic acid—that many people testify has miraculous healing properties.

Honey has long been a symbol of richness and sweetness in spiritual traditions, a symbol for abundance and God's blessings. The Bible describes the Promised Land as flowing with milk and honey; in Greek mythology honey is the drink of the Gods of Olympus; and according to the Koran, "Honey is the first blessing that God gave the earth."

Today I am in gratitude and appreciation for the blessings that nature bestows upon us in the form of this sweet nectar, and the honeybees that make it possible—and I am wishing for you, dear reader, all the sweetness that life has to offer.

October 2, 2012 ~ Movie Magic

October 2, 2012 ~ Movie Magic

"...certain things stay with you. And that's why we're all interested in movies—those ones that make you feel, you still think about. Because it gave you such an emotional response, it's actually part of your emotional make-up, in a way."

~Tim Burton

Ever since my 10th birthday party, a screening of the 1963 re-release of Disney's classic Fantasia at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, I've been hooked on movies. Some other early favorites were: Hatari; Breakfast at Tiffany's; and Bye Bye Birdie. I would often buy the album of the soundtrack (back in the day of vinyl LPs :-) so I could relive the experience over and over again. I loved everything about going to the movies—sitting in a darkened theater away from the hustle bustle of the world, speaking in hushed whispers to your friends, enjoying a big tub of hot buttered popcorn, and being transported to far away places, losing oneself for a time in a really great drama.

I had such an experience this past weekend, watching a very beautiful and powerful film, Beasts of the Southern Wild. It actually felt more like a full immersion experience than simply watching a movie. Beasts is a fantasy drama set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans—a community separated from the mainland by a levee, a place called The Bathtub. The story centers on a very remarkable 6-year-old girl, her father, and their community, a band of merry men and women who are determined to stay and face the next apocalyptic storm rather than be torn from their home. It's a story about the tearing apart of the fabric of life in the face of imminent catastrophic changes due to melting polar ice and rising sea levels (a mythic tale that is somehow eerily realistic). It's a story about courage, bravery, loyalty, and the strength of the human spirit.

The remarkable thing about this film, winner of Cannes Film Festival and Sundance awards, is that none of the actors are professional. The little girl at the heart of the film, Quvenzhane Wallis, was five years old when she auditioned; in fact she and her mother "fibbed" about her age because the minimum age to audition was six. She wowed the director Benh Zeitlin (at 29 years old, this is his first film, by the way), and won the part over the 4,000 other young girls. The man who plays her father, Dwight Henry, was a bakery owner with absolutely no acting experience. He would practice his lines with acting coaches while making jelly donuts at his bakery late at night. The fascinating thing is, their performances are some of the most compelling I have ever seen.

Did I mention that I highly recommend this film? :-)  This makes the short list of my all-time favorite films. Let's see, what else is on that list: Hugo; The King's Speech; It's a Wonderful Life; Life is Beautiful; Shawshank Redemption; Forrest Gump; the Lord of the Rings series, everything by Alfred Hitchcock; everything starring Jimmy Stewart; and the documentaries I Am, What the Bleep, and Thrive (a shout out to my brother-in-law Marshall Lefferts, one of the co-producers).

Here's to the magic of the movies. Funny, with all the changes in technology and culture over the decades, the experience of going to the movies remains pretty much the same. There is something reassuring about that, being able to sit in a darkened theater eating hot buttered popcorn and being transported to other worlds, losing oneself in a really great drama...just like the old days!