 Dusty:Starlight:Culture
|
|
|
|
The Pilgrimage....
2003-09-21 7:04 p.m. ...has gained momentum. Great song, that "Pilgrimage", by REM. I was offered so-so tickets to see their show at the Garden on Oct. 4th, but considering there is so much going on that night, like my FLOOR SEATS for Sting at the HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM - can we tell that I'm still bursting at the seams over that? - and the 90's party, I had to turn it down. Sniff, little. Besides, what's an REM show with out my beloved Sandi, who has followed her rock star boyfriend to Brazil as he supports Nando Reis on tour? She was thinking of flying back for the show, but then...Brazil is Brazil. We understand. Mambo, girl, we'll be down sometime in January. Quite a pilgrimage ourselves, today, as we set out to see the Dalai Lama speak in Central Park. It was my brother who was the motivating factor this time, feeling the pull of The Art of Happiness, a book someone recommended to him which has changed his life dramatically. I liked what I saw in him, so I picked it up too. Thus, we all went to Central Park and had a hell of a time, making friends with the 200,000 people waiting on the 2.5 mile line (ok, maybe not all of them), dodging the Jews For Jesus people and the Krishna kids who were trying to get us to "buy their literature", signing Free Tibet petitions, and text messaging lady-brett about all the llamas in Central Park (har har har). Guess we should have gone home like a good little married couple and waxed the kitchen floor or something after that, but instead we met the goddess of insertion herself with her new man, ron, as well as gentle-soul for some Panini at Eros Cafe. I just can't resist the social side of my life. I used to think that was quite a flaw, until I became old enough to really understand some of what this Art of Happiness thing is all about. Somewhere, out there, there are people (like the Dalai Lama) who feel that compassion, interexchange, and communal expression, which we get from being social, are the most important values in life. They are what we thrive on, and what build positive inner-happiness, the kind which cannot be falsely produced with new clothes or a few pounds lost. I love my work and my solace, but I thrive on social experience. It's what fuels me as a writer, a teacher, a lover; social experience has created who I am now, and I love all of that, the good and the bad. I'm lucky to have married someone of the same mind, and to have created friendships which nurture that drive in me. I guess I don't feel so bad after all that when we should have come home to do - oh, I don't know, home things, we went out with our closest friends instead. That said, I am a bit tired today, as I wasn't expecting the 5+ mile walk. Considering I swam 1 mile of laps and did 2+ miles of cross country skiing yesterday(alas, at the Y, on a jumble of plastic machinery, not somewhere in Switzerland), my body has taken a beating. Going out last night dancing didn't help, either, I suppose, but how often does one get to hang out with her maid of honor? (not often, if her maid of honor is working 56+ hours/wk and prepping to be a NY Transit Cop). The Loop was a blast; saw more than a few people I was sad to have lost touch with. Now that touch has been regained, they have all been invited to the 90's party. We have created a monster. Hope it's a fun one. From today's presentation, and one of the best parts at that: "To think of others widens our minds - to understand basic human inner value apart from what we might make it ourselves." xoxox T |
||
