The Fragrance of the Rose

The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao-tzu’s dictum:

"Those who know, do not say;
Those who say, do not know."

When the master entered,
they asked him what the words meant.
Said the master,

"Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose?"
All of them indicated that they knew.

Then he said,
"Put it into words."

All of them were silent.

from One Minute Wisdom by Anthony DeMello

A quote from Albert

The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion.
It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity.
Buddhism answers this description...
If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism.

Albert Einstein

Singing and Such

Well this has been one interesing week. Two things of interest. The first was when Casandra called and told me that the Episcopal Church in Mountain Lakes had upped the pay scale for singers to $200 for one nights practice and two hours on Sunday. I decided to give it a try even though the practice was on my studio night. That was yesterday. The rehearsal went fine, in fact i was pleased to be able to hear my own singing better than in Masterwork. However, they turned the heat off in the place so it got cold and the rehearsal lasted for till 9:30 (I was under the impression it would only be an hour) effectively cutting out all my studio time. I thought I'd at least get a bit of painting in. So after this week I won't be doing it again unless they are truly desperate, which they usually are for tenors. But I just can't give up painting for this. Painting is my passion, my love and I will not put it on the back burner for a little money.
Secondly John Marc emailed me and said he had tickets to a Christian Rock concert and wanted to know if we wanted to go. This is usually not my thing but I decided to go since JM is a good person and has opened up new venues for me to exhibit my painting. Soooooooo, The band is Casting Crowns, which apparently is one, if not the hottest, CRband around. When I replied to JM he said we would have to leave early because he had to practice with the band. Around 250 people are being selected to sing a new version of their hit "Lifesong" with them at the concert. So I asked JM how I could get involved and he said he would make a call. The plot thickens. That night was rehearsal for the chorus and Maggie was there. Now Maggie listens to CR radio stations all the time and when I told her she went crazy. This is when I found out how popular these guys are (Oh I didn't mention they were up for a grammy this year), and asked if I could get her a ticket also as well as a chance to sing with the band. To make a long story short, we are in, there are two rehearsal dates. Tonight and next Tuesday. Deb and I had tickets to see Dar Williams tonight so I will pass on that since Tuesday we have tickets to The Odd Couple.
Its funny how all this singing and song related stuff happened within a few days. I'm listening to the universe (I always do) to see where this will lead or if its just another day trip in my life. Either way is ok with me. God isn't life amazing.

Also I have sold, or will sell, the first print from the ICE series of photos. The print is 22 x 30, with the image floating within that area. Demetria at the Y loved two of them so I had both done. Whichever one doesn't sell will go into the gallery. Too bad I don't have more money. I would have them all printed and framed and then pitch a show. Oh well. I'll have a book made instead, then maybe pass it on to Chuck and Rita whose son is up there at one of the big publishing companies. We will say. Someday something will break, hopefully it wont' be me.

Arrrrrrrgh

Last night I went to a clients 25th Anniversary Celebration beefsteak dinner. Met soem of the folk I work with but rarely see and was introduced to the whole company at the beginning of the night (yippee). However it was a very nice thing for Jan to do to acknowledge me and the work I have done for them over the last 22+ years.
The bad news is someone decided that my cashmir Hugo Boss jacket, silk chenile scarf, keys and bluetooth headset would make a nice addition to their collection.
I'm somewhat upset, I just don't get how someone could do something like that. So today I get to go get new keys for both cars, and 4 keys to the house and the studio keys replaced. What i will miss the most will be the scarf, it was really beautiful and felt so good. The jacket was really cool to and can't be easily or cheaply replaced. Also the dichroic glass key chain will need to be replaced along with the small swiss army knife I carry on it.
It was nice that Bill drove me back home and then back to the hall to get the Debbie's keys. I was concerned that the car would be gone when we got back since there were'nt that many Saab's in the neighborhood. Luckily there was nothing in the coat pockets to indicated where we lived. Also i was lucky that I hand taken my phone and my wallet out of it and had them on me. That would have been a real nightmare.

This morning Max goes in to get fixed. Hope all turns out well. He has a cribbed testicle so the surgery won't be just "snip, snip". I hope he's not a pain in the butt with his stiches.