Funnier: Coming ’round….
Writings: A reminder: We just put it all together….
One of my favourite people in the world is Elliot Pemberton, who grew up in Friday Harbor, Washington in the USA, where I used to watch him play football & as we put out the school newspaper together. I’ve always thought St. Peter must have been like Elliot – whenever he speaks, people want to listen, which makes him a natural leader.
He’s living in Austin these days, and he tells this little story as he made breakfast for Kari & the kids:
This morning I proudly woke up and made Siri some French toast with homemade cinnamon bread (Kari made the bread earlier), fresh eggs from our backyard chickens and topped the french toast with local honey instead of syrup.
Siri loved it and I told her I was so glad she liked the French toast that I made. She then gave an all-knowing exasperated smile while shaking her head, put up her hands, took a deep breath and said, “Dad, you didn’t make it. Mom made the bread, our chickens made the eggs and bees made the honey… you just put it together.”
Elliot posted this, a little later on Facebook:
Whales: A friend, close at hand
Music: The story behind “The End of the Road (Mabel’s Song)”
When I first heard Joe Bongiorno‘s new release, The Flight of a Dream earlier this month, I knew that he had a winner on his hands. I’ve listened to it now maybe six million times…but that’s been a couple of weeks, so I had time. It’s great! (Click here to hear samples – you’ll get it!)
I discovered that he had put a song called The End of the Road (Mabel’s Song) on the album, and although I know Joe well, I didn’t know of anyone named Mabel in his life. His response touched me deeply:
Been asked ALOT about the story behind this song from the new album…. You might remember a post of mine about 9 months back.
This song was inspired by that experience. Here it is from Feb 3rd of this year:
The doorbell rang this morning. A sweet elderly lady standing there with a worried look. I greeted her and she asked for Mabel. Mabel was the lady who lived in our house previously (we had just moved in four months before), and I knew she had she had passed away.
I really didn’t want to bear this news to the kind lady. She then told me that she had driven two days from Texas to come to the house to see her. She had written Mabel a letter and it had been returned to sender.
I remember this letter coming before the holidays. She had no other way to attempt contact than to come in person. With a frog in my throat, I let her know that Mabel had passed away. She sighed, as if almost with relief that what she feared was true, and then her eyes welled up sadly.
She looked to her husband still sitting in the car and shook her head sadly. He understood the look & turned away as if to hide his emotion. I invited her in for a little visit but she said sweetly, “It’s time to go home”.
Perhaps this is a reminder to me to reach out more often to friends and family. It’s a reminder, too, that life can change at any moment, for any of us… for someone my age, I have lost very few people who were dear to me.
I am quite sure that I’ll get my fair dose of this in the days to come….
Here’s the song (click here to listen).
Thoughts: Stay in touch….
When was the last time you actually touched the person to whom you said, “Hey, stay in touch!”
I think it was Bob Hope who said, “People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy.”
Here’s a little two minute essay, telling the story:
Thoughts: The science of happiness, supported by an experiment in gratitude…
I love how Julian at the end says it’s all true because a guy in a lab coat told you so.
And I love how the people in the experiment say, “They MADE me do it!”
This video picked up 300K views, just since I first saw it yesterday. When you watch it, you’ll get an idea why.
And…thank you for being there, my friend.
Choose one….
For some reason, I remember Wayne Gretzky saying, “You miss one hundred precent of the shots you never take.”
Don’t get caught up in the choices. It’s what you do, not what you choose, that matters.
Whales: Photobomb by a dolphin, sharing the wave
A photographer was trying to line up this picture of a surfer, but a dolphin came by.
Result: Awesome photo.
Here’s the story in the Daily Mail.
Whales: Twenty years after “Free Willy,” what have we learned, and what have we missed…
Do you remember where you were, the first time you saw Free Willy? For me, it was in a movie theatre in Eugene, OR, USA, with a packed house that screamed & cheered & clapped when Willy gets away at the end (see the poster at right, for spoiler). It was a football game where the home team won, a fairy tale that wasn’t Grimm, it was a tale of justice, unpeeled. It was awesome.
One of the byproduct events of the movie was the eventual real-life release of the whale who played Willy, a captive killer whale named Keiko. Was this a good idea? DId it work out? Did humans learn anything from the experience about orcas, or about themselves?
I got to shake David Kirby’s hand last summer when he was passing through Friday Harbor (WA) on a promotional tour for his new book, Death at SeaWorld. I found him thoughtful, articulate, and an impassioned warrior against marine mammal captivity. Reading Death at SeaWorld made want to read the article linked below.
He shares his take on what we could have learned, what we missed, and perhaps what lies ahead in this penetrating essay. Let me know what you think.
Here’s the link to David Kirby’s remarks about Keiko on the 20th anniversary of Free Willy.
And…. here’s the trailer for the movie, back then.
Poetry: Far better things…..
Part of the path to purification is walking (or running, if you’re fast that way!) through the fires that burn away the stuff…that keeps us from pure love. The fires are tough, usually painful, sometimes unbearably so – but there’s always another day. There’s always another sunrise. There’s always later…which is a great place to look back from.
Here’s one of my favourite expressions of this, from Rumi:
Sorrow prepares you for joy.
It violently sweeps everything out of your house,
so that new joy can find space to enter.
It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart,
so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place.
It pulls up the rotten roots,
so that new roots hidden beneath
have room to grow.
Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart,
far better things will take their place…
~~Rumi
Wordplay: The cycle, for writers
Trap….watch out.
Music: A song for your morning, with Miten & Deva Premal – “Soul in Wonder”
It’s always good to have a tune to wake up to, first thing in the morning, and I’d say “Lokah Shamasta” with Miten & Deva Premal is a good one to start the day.
Look ahead….
There are a number of uplifting & inspiring people on the Internet, and one of them is Gigi Young.
Check out her YouTube essays & website, and you’ll get the idea.
She posted this about a week ago, and it’s been echoing in my head ever since….I kept catching myself wanting to understand the past before I felt I could move ahead with the task at hand.
This kind of thing helps.
How to treat ETs, from the Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama spoke at the University of Portland earlier this year, and as part of his visit, shared his thoughts about what he hopes is the way we humans would greet extraterrestrial visitors.
You can see the whole presentation (it’s about an hour & a half) here if you’d like.
As the harvest moon rises….
Beautiful moon tonight, hey?
Here’s a song to go with it: Play here! (It’s me singing “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” for you….)
Happy Harvest Moon to you!
About Brother Ian
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.
In the spirit of noting that organized crime, organized baseball, organized labour, and organized religion tend to engender controversy & occasional discord, I promise to be neither organized or critical of those who are.