A Life of Wonder

joshua radin:today, originally uploaded by visualpanic.

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
-Derek Walcott

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Booster Gold: KING OF THE WORLD, originally uploaded by Willrad.

Funny how time changes things. Take the guy who stands underneth my building yelling to the world, cars (who honk at him) and people, “happy Monday!” He’s done this every Monday for the past 12. At first, I was inspired and thought was a wonderful, kind man. Then, lets say, 3 Monday’s ago at 6 am, I was looking around my room for what small things I could fling at him. I started imaging various scenarios that gave me small pleasure like inviting him to inspire other neighborhood corners, or having him escorted a way to a shinny building where other people who chant the same mantra live. And so, with that said, Happy Monday!

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http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=15884225&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

In the Room with Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom (Live Stream) from Being on Vimeo.

On a playful note, let me just say that if I ever had a documentary created about my life, I’d like him (and Morgan Freeman) to narrate. Second, this is a beautiful elegant interview. Enjoy.

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I feel very fortunate for stumbling upon this program about Abraham Joshua Heschel from American Public Media. Believe it or not, I was unfamiliar with this luminary before listening to this program he was a name I knew others admired but I did not fully understand why. There is so much I admire about him, especially his sense of humor and the simplicity that he expresses profound concepts.

Heschel reminds us that we must always be surprised. He famous said this:

“I would say about individuals, A Individual dies when they cease to to be surprised. I am surprised every morning when I see the sunshine again. When I see an act of evil I don’t accomodate, I don’t accomodate myself to the violence that goes on everywhere. I am still so surprised! That is why I am against it. We must learn to be surprised.”
— Abraham Joshua Heschel

This program includes an excerpt from his last interview before his death. Lets listen to what he says about prayer:

The Host, Carl Stern, says: “That raises the question, though, if you’re saying if God were to control every aspect of man’s life it would not be living. And that raises the question why pray to God, then? If god is not going to interfere, if God is not going to intervene, if God is not going to help, what is the role of prayer?

Rabbi Heschel: First of all, let us not misunderstand the nature of prayer, particularly in Jewish tradition. The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose of prayer is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of prayer is a song and men cannot live without a song. Prayer may not save us, but prayer may make us worthy of being saved. Prayer is not requesting. There is a partnership of God and men. God needs our help.”

Listening to this program is a reminder to be surprised, to study the world and take action, even small actions, on what you believe to be true.

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I had this book, I think it was just called “the universe,” which I used to read for hours as a kid. I remember being fascinated with Saturn, wondering about the frozen ice on Mars and trying to understand just how big Jupiter really is. I recently came across this amazing little site about the scale of the universe, which I think you’ll enjoy.

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Her mind wasn’t in New York when she passed me. I don’t even know if she noticed the cars.

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A pamphlet came to me in the mail. It did not come to me actually. It was not addressed to me. The post master rolled it up and shoved it into the little metal square where I collect mail rather than my neighbors little metal square where it was addressed. I flipped through and discovered an interview with a writer. I don’t recall his name, and his name doesn’t seem important to me right now. What is important is what he said. “Don’t start writing when you know what you want to say, if you do, that’s propaganda. Write to discover your meaning.”

His words resonated with me. I spend my day near my computer or my phone pursuing objectives. I do not want to pursue objectives in my writing. I want to discover something there I did not know. I want to follow what I discover to a place that is not my own. And through it, wake up elsewhere…Maybe I’ll recognize the sites and the sounds, but I want the feelings to be different—so much rawer than my own—a part of my life I recognize but can not claim.

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Amitabha, originally uploaded by h.koppdelaney.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” – Tom Robbins

We decided before we do. The mind has to be clear for the decision to be made. Even before we know, we know. What have you decided?

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how to pray the japanese way, originally uploaded by Jesslee Cuizon.

Did you pray as a child? The words sound different when said when you were young. Did you pray as a child? The music of prayer heard in the inner ear means something as a child; as we grow, the music grows, and expands, from ear to heart from heart to song. It’s not the words that create meaning for us, it’s their sound in the ear, their memory that expands as we grow, the song of prayer.

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Street art, oh no, originally uploaded by Dani Ka.

It’s good to want. Want and not have. It’s good to want, it keeps you honest.

I read today a sentence of Rilke that was more meaningful than an entire book i was reading. He managed to capture in it the essence of a feeling, an entire summer, within one perfectly crafted line.

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