1. Turn on the i Pod and go to tune 21, then stretch out and listen to music and breathe.
2. Draw cards. I have a history of drawing many cards while at the Jesuit Center. Now I am 21-ing people at work. I printed out a copy of the school's phone directory and while I did choose the first person to get a card, but then I counted 21 names and drew the next card, then again, then again. When I reach 21, I may be staring at a name that brings on a variety of reactions, but that is part of the exercise. The 21 gets a card. I sign the card, then write hope and peace on the envelope and stick it in their mail slot.
March is going to be crazed. An on-line class on teaching physics has begun and will end the first week of April. Three craft shows in four weeks. And there is that ever present day job as a teacher. So can I afford to listen to jazz with God and to step into the studio and not work on a commission or a piece for a show? The bigger question is, what if I said I didn't have time for these things?
I am enjoying the evening ventures into the love poems sent from God through St Francis. As a Pennsylvania German I was not trained in running wild with forces that reside within me. There have been moments though.
And in my studio when a new design emerges, does God feed on the bread of life. If this is the case, I am a happy man.
May your forces find outlets so we can turn giant stones that grind our talents, not into dust, but into flour.
peace and hope
and what come to my mind as I sit here, this Joni Mitchell tune, not heard in years, which may have planted a seed or two:
Wild Things Run Fast
by Joni Mitchell
He came
She smiled
She thought she had him tamed
But he was just as wild
Eating from her hand at last
Wild things run fast
In the dark
He could see
The trap that was lying in her
Sweet company
Eating from her hand at last
Wild things run fast
Winter beat the pines about
He heard the heater
Cutting in and out
While she dreamed away
In the night
It snowed
Fast tracks in the powder white
Leading out to the road
Winding from her tender grasp
Wild things run fast
Wild things run fast
Wild things run fast
What makes you run?
Wild thing
I thought you loved me
The Wee Trio ~ Ashes to Ashes
Jazz takes on David Bowie
OK, so I grant that my memory is far from the best, but if it is accurate, one of the first two LP's I bought was by David Bowie.
unfold... while many other LP's were bought by musicians, who fell out of favor, Bowie hung on strong through high school and college.
Unfold... Five months after college I met Mosaic Woman, who was also a big Bowie fan, maybe not as big as her sister, but they both introduced me to gaps in my Bowie collection.
Unfold... years of sharing music and changing taste. Jazz emerges as our favorite genre eight years ago.
Unfold... Two years ago I went to a convention of science teachers and a buddy of mine from work went as well. We decided to linger in the big city one evening to hear some jazz, and that is how I heard of the Wee Trio, because they were playing at Chris's Jazz Cafe that evening.
Unfold... A year ago we heard about Kickstarter and started supporting jazz musicians, who were searching public support. The Wee Trio was there one night when I was seeking for a new project. They wanted to be funded to bring Bowie to jazz. We leapt in.
Unfold... Two months ago I see The Wee Trio is coming back to Philly, back to Chris's.
Backup--- A year ago when slashing our budget to make way for Mosaic Woman to quit unemployment/job search and focus on our business, I made a new line item:
After we subtracted the following from our monthly art sales, if anything was left we would put a portion of the money into a BIG DATE FUND.
expenses
taxes
what was needed to keep a balanced budget
Unfold... Thursday night we saw the Wee Trio play originals, standards, and of course... Bowie.
Backup--- First I said hello to them.
I am so glad my life unfolds into space and time and jazz and Bowie
On Saturday Margaret took over the nightly reading, as we switched from Rabia to St Francis of Assisi. And this is what she read the night before our show reception at Pebble Hill Interfaith Church...
The Shadow of Wayne Stratz Jesuit Retreat Center Wernersville, PA
"Troublemakers: Since no one really knows anything about God, those who think they do are just troublemakers." -~~~~ Rabia 8th century Sufi woman.
with that said, this is what I learned and/or retaught in 24 hours of silence:
If you are really tired, then God will let you sleep through dinner and then will encourage you to go off grounds to get a meal.
God will provide you with prophets who speak of hope and allow you the time to reflect upon your childhood.
God will encourage you to draw designs, once you are rested.
God will let you see the nature of time and retreats.
God will have you listen to your heart and when it aches with some spiritual anxiety over letting go of your annual 8 day retreat, your spiritual director will send you a message: "God knows what you are letting go of and will find a way to provide what you will miss."
God will give you a plan that lifts your spirit and hope to face the future.
God digs hanging out with people who listen to jazz.
