Hafiz

SB and I recently took a trip to the bookstore in search of poetry. He had a hankering for the complete poetic works of Allen Ginsberg (which I can easily get behind) and I was just browsing. What I ended up being most drawn to was a collection of poems called "The Gift" by the Sufi master Hafiz. While most of the poems ultimately express love and devotion to and from God, it is not always so explicit and often comes off as expressions of gratitude, delight in the human experience, interconnectivity, transcendental experiences, and other beautiful things that do not feel associated with organized "religion" so much as generic "spirituality," if you will. Anyway, after conditioning it for fear that the word God will turn people off, here are a few samples (note: he reminds me very much of Rumi):

Courteous to the Ant

God

Blooms

From the shoulder

Of the

Elephant

Who becomes

Courteous 

To

The 

Ant.

I am Really Just a Tambourine

Good

Poetry

Makes the universe admit a 

Secret:

"I am

Really just a tambourine,

Grab hold,

Play me 

Against your warm

Thigh."

Two Giant Fat People

God

And I have become

Like two giant fat people

Living in a 

Tiny boat.

We

Keep

Bumping into each other and

L

a

u

g

h

i

n

g

.

The Foundation for Greatness (for my fav presidential candidate...)

Greatness

Is always built upon this foundation:

The ability

To appear, speak and act

As the most

Common

Man.

Bobby D

SB and I will be seeing our main man, Bob Dylan, when he comes to town in early November. While SB has already seen Dylan with his mom and best pal more than a handful of times, I have only seen him once (and at an outdoor show where my short stature is a real disadvantage). Despite the fact that Dylan is admittedly in pretty rough shape these days, we decided to go all-out and get great seats. I am SO excited. Not that I'd wish away time, but can't wait for three weeks to pass and the concert to be upon us.

This is a video for one of the fabulous songs off of the new album (some songs are certainly better than others, but overall I honestly enjoy the new album) -- beware of brief unnecessary violence in part of the video...

On a separate musical note -- I love the new Cat Power album and am re-discovering her earlier albums. Highly recommended.

Tonight: Lentil soup with zucchini and carrots and banana bread. Umm yes.

Big Chill

This morning I volunteered at a breast cancer walk -- at 7am. Oh man, it was cold outside. Even approaching the start of the event - around 10am - it was still really chilly. There is something about moisture in the air that makes low temperatures feel even cooler. So, when I arrived home I promptly thawed in the shower, napped under my covers, and am now roasting beets while simultaneously slow-cooking what will hopefully be a spicy beef stew. As I write this I can smell the onions browning sweetly. YUM.

Like many, these early cold days bring out a total nesting instinct in me. Eventually I'll get used to it and likely just go through the motions again, but I am so stirred by the change in season -- it makes me more present and gives me cravings for sensory experiences that are out of my normal routine. Lately it has been tea, red wine, root vegetables, apples, wild rice and, surprisingly, meats. This weekend I'm also going to try a recipe for sweet potato drop biscuits. ANYTHING sweet potato sounds like heaven to me these days. If they turn out as delicious as they sound, I'll post the recipe.

My other pleasure of late has been The Big Sleep audio book and the noir genre more broadly. SB and I have spent a lot of evenings chatting about books and we both really enjoy the genre - both books and films. We got really into Humphrey Bogart films this year. We always said that if we'd ever co-write a novel, it'd be a detective-style noir book.  :)

Headed North

Today I head North for my best friend's wedding! There are at least a dozen items on a checklist for my morning (including big things like laundry, dishes, and packing...), but I hope to get on the road before noon. There is a blizzard in the forecast and, although I know how to pack for cold weather, I'm having a hard time actually wrapping my brain around just how cold it might actually be. Regardless of the cold, it is going to be a LOVELY weekend and I am so excited! I was so full of anticipation last night that I could hardly sleep. On that note, time to start checking items off of the list so I can hit the road!