A Life of Wonder

Weeping Willow, originally uploaded by alexbrn.

“Even in the midst of great pain, Lord, I praise you for that which is. I will not refuse this grief or close myself to this anguish. Let shallow men pray for ease: ‘Comfort us; shield us from sorrow.’ I pray for whatever you send me, and I ask to receive it as your gift. You have put a joy in my heart greater than all the world’s riches. I lie down trusting the darkness, for I know that even now you are here.”
-Free-form translation of a Psalm IV composed by Stephen Mitchell.
Source: http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2009/approaching-prayer/transcript.shtml

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Albert Einstein, originally uploaded by mansionwb.

Einstein was asked, “Do you believe in the God of Spinoza.”

To which he replied:

“I can’t answer with a simple yes or no. I’m not an atheist and I don’t think I call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations….” – Einstein, A Life, Dennis Brian, Page 186

I love the beauty and simplicity of this–and especially the phrase–“a universe marvelously arranged,” how better to describe the sublime beauty beyond our understanding.

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I place this here to remember it. the power of this photography to capture a moment of horror and sadness is beyond words. don’t look.

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Here is a video of my mother singing to my niece. I love the video and the song and would like to share it with you:

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Reading Annie Leibovitz’s At Work

The book is introspective, honest and personal. It takes you to the story behind

each picture and does so as if she’sconfiding to a friend. She writes: “I’ve been on many tour buses and at many concerts, but the best photographs i’ve made of musicans at work were done during the Rolling Stones tour. I probably spent more time on it than on any other subject. For me, the story about the pictures is about almost losing myself, and coming back, and what it means to be deeply involved in a subject. The thing that saved me was that I had my camera by my side. It was there to remind me who I was and what I did. It separated me from them. “

What separates is what saves. And it’s true–the parts of yourself that prevent you from joining fully are those which define you. Do you have an object that does this for you? That reminds you who you are?

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Starburst and Beach Grass On Turquoise, originally uploaded by Pink Sherbet Photography.

I read something beautiful this morning. I’ll share the stanza with you here. If you have a chance, read the entire poem:

“I cannot look at forsythia now
without loss, or joy for you.
You step delicately
into the wild world
and your real prize will be
the frantic search.
Want everything. If you break
break going out not in.
How you live your life I don’t care
but I’ll sell my arms for you,
hold your secrets for ever.”

-To a Sad Daughter
Michael Ondaatje (1984)

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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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