Aligning with Grace

In so many ways it feels like a new life to me, after surgery. And a new life is best expressed in new sounds... A lifetime ago, I trained as a classical guitarist, starting to play at 9, taking my first lessons at 12, and continuing them in college, where I minored in music in addition to my two majors, Religious Studies and Psychology. For many years, I was absorbed in practicing, writing music, and playing at the various colleges and universities I attended, and where I also worked in Campus Ministry. But in my late twenties, some time after having my son, all that stopped, since I really no longer had the time to play. So I did something radical. Since I did not feel I could adequately practice, I quit playing altogether, and hung my guitar on the wall. And there it remained, until a dear friend of mine, a former musician, simply looked at me and said to me in horror: "You've hung your guitar on the wall? Like a piece of art?" So, I took it down and made a foray or tw...

Life is filled with ordinary moments which we notice, when we allow life to slow down to a crawl. Life these days is filled with long walks, reading several newspapers from cover to cover - yes - the old fashioned way - in print of all things - and time is also spent losing myself in novels, and enjoying fine wines and home cooked meals. Life is filled with interacting with friends and loved ones, either online or through visits, or phone calls, or other ways. Sunday, I met dear friends at a concert. That was the most dramatic thing I'd done since surgery. I went to hear Mindy Smith , whose music my friends and I had been following for several years. Today I came across this quote from Rumi, which seemed so appropriate for this time in my life right now: "Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Do not claim them. Feel the artistry moving through, and be silent." Each day, is an opportunity to observe the wonders that occur around you, through you and others - in th...