You & I (Forever)

"Thy voice was a censer that scattered strange perfumes, and when I looked on thee I heard a strange music."
       ~Oscar Wilde, Salome

A beautiful voice, whether by speech or song, is full of flavor. It appears in the air like incense and carries an intimacy, we long to hear again and again. Rosy scents and spicy pumpkin scents are unforgettable in Autumn.

   Read the poem  "Like This" by Rumi. His words always have a deep fragrance.

"If anyone wants to know what “spirit” is,
or what “God’s fragrance” means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.

Like this."

                                Perfume inspired by Rumi  - "Like This" by Etat Libre d'Orange

Yes

Yes  
It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could you know. That's why we wake
and look out - no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.
                       ~William Stafford
         

     We are living in an age of constant Armageddon. There are daily threats to our health ( such as the Ebola virus), threats to our security, threats to our families, and threats in our schools.  How can we survive this seemingly endless attack to our well-being?
      By choosing someone with a strong heart, by listening for that loud heartbeat, perhaps we can look out on everyday for love and salvation. "Nobody knows how loud the heart gets."

 In the movie Avatar, one of the characters,  named Neytiri rescues Jake by saying: "You have a strong heart. No fear. "  That's what it takes today to survive. That's why Neytiri chooses to save Jake who is about to be devoured by a creature. We cannot be a society that lives in fear. We need more romances like Jake Sully and Neytiri.

    

The Invisible Pharmaceutical

     There is something healing about the beauty of music. It can change a tattered life, alleviate pain, and for a brief period,  provide a spiritual oasis to someone with mental illness. Listen to the story of Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez from 60 Minutes. Violinist Robert Gupta has called music "the invisible pharmaceutical".
     Music can transform you into a different person, even a more loving and kinder person.

                                                   The Soloist -  Trailer

The Art of Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHh5t52Z6J0

  After three marriages, a very successful recording career, and selling over 125 million record albums, Neil Diamond at age 73  is in love and shows no signs of slowing down. He just married his fourth wife and manager, Katie McNeil.
    Is he an expert in "The Art of Love"?

The Art of Love

The Art of Love ( song by Neil Diamond)

Erich Fromm says in his book The Art of Loving:

 "Love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love."

It is never too late to find the melody of love. Why is that?   

Perhaps it is as Joseph Addison (a 17th Century English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician) said:

 "Love is a second life; it grows into the soul, warms every vein, and beats in every pulse."

Maybe love keeps us young. 

Fragile Wind

                               Nitin Sawhney - Fragile Wind


     The wind inspires people in different ways. To some the wind carries a tune of love to our ears. For others the wind causes things to rise like airplanes or  Chinese lanterns. When these lanterns are lit for the memory of those we love, a fragile wind lifts our thoughts heavenward.  In the movie
The Wind Rises, the wind can be a love story "between two people and between a creator and his invention."  In this animated movie, the couple originally meet because the wind blows off the hat of the young boy and the girl catches it.  As adults, they meet again. This time the  wind blows off the hat that is being worn by the woman and the man catches it.

                                                                        The Wind Rises 

    The wind can caress us and touch us as gently as a kiss; it can play with our hair:

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair” 
― Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

Unlike a hurricane, a fragile wind is always welcome, in whatever delightful form it takes.

The Days Before Marriage

Blake Shelton - God Gave Me You (Official Video)

 In her book Idea to Invention, Patricia Nolan-Brown writes to "Trust Synchronicity".
    "Sometimes you have no idea why something suddenly appears on your radar screen, only to discover a few months later that it holds the key to a splendid new idea....The more you trust yourself and the things that just "accidentally" cross your path, the more wonderful synchronous stuff starts to happen: books fall open at just the right page, products practically leap off the shelves, a friend
"just happens" to mention something that solves a problem. Like magic."
   Love comes into our lives sometimes and can lead to some very happy "accidents"--Why did you meet that special person? What would have happened to your life if you took a different job offer or a different train to work. Stay open to the unexpected,  coincidental and serendipitous moments in life. Blake Shelton is giving us his answer.

    In 2011, country music singer Blake Shelton covered the song for his album Red River Blue. Shelton  said that the song  (written by Dave Barnes) inspired him to propose to then-girlfriend Miranda Lambert; the music video (see link above) included footage from Lambert the night before their wedding. It is like having Blake Shelton as his own Wedding Singer. It is a romantic song and singing it live  a few days before his wedding,  shows his state of mind and his prenuptial gratitude.

When Angels Speak

The angels are so enamored of the language that is spoken in heaven, that they will not distort their lips with the hissing and unmusical dialects of men, but speak their own, whether there be any who understand it or not.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON, "Intellect," Essays

It is comforting to know that there exists a language only spoken by angels.
But even if we could speak that language, The Holy Bible says:

1 Corinthians 13:1-13English Standard Version (ESV)

 "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."

So when you speak,  use  your voice for love.

in love by bell hooks

in love
there are no closed doors
each threshold
an invitation
to cross
take hold
take heart
and enter here
at this point
where truth
was once denied

What Light

Romeo and Juliet 2.2—The Balcony Scene
"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon..."

~ William Shakespeare


    When you see someone you love, it is  like a tremendous light in the darkness. Romeo describes that light in Juliet's face.  
      When  you see that light fall upon you, you feel joy. You hear music ( birds come further in the stanza) and the music is playing a beautiful melody.  This "fair sun" shines upon us and glows inside us. "Let your little light shine" sings Joni Mitchell, ever so softly.
      This balcony scene has been set to music by Nino Rota,  and  other composers, like Abel Korzeniowski and Hector Berlioz, have also created their unique beautiful compositions. Listen to the actors who played Romeo and Juliet tell their story.
  

Quest

                                    Quest by Ken Pedersen

“Everything you possess of skill, and wealth, and handicraft,
wasn't it first merely a thought and a quest?"  ~ Rumi

Our quest for love and kindness never ends.  Listen to Don Quixote's quest:

ALDONZA 
Why do you do these things? 

DON QUIXOTE 
What things? 

ALDONZA 
These ridiculous... the things you do! 

DON QUIXOTE 
I hope to add some measure of grace to the world. 

ALDONZA 
The world's a dung heap and we are maggots that crawl on it! 

DON QUIXOTE 
My Lady knows better in her heart. 

ALDONZA 
What's in my heart will get me halfway to hell. 
And you, Señor Don Quixote-you're going to take 
such a beating! 

DON QUIXOTE 
Whether I win or lose does not matter. 

ALDONZA 
What does? 

DON QUIXOTE 
Only that I follow the quest. 

ALDONZA 
(spits) 
That for your Quest! 
(turns, marches away; stops, turns bock 
and asks, awkwardly) 
What does that mean... quest? 

DON QUIXOTE 
It is the mission of each true knight... 
His duty... nay, his privilege! 
To dream the impossible dream, 
To fight the unbeatable foe, 
To bear with unbearable sorrow 
To run where the brave dare not go; 
To right the unrightable wrong. 

To love, pure and chaste, from afar, 
To try, when your arms are too weary, 
To reach the unreachable star! 

This is my Quest to follow that star, 
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far, 
To fight for the right 
Without question or pause, 
To be willing to march into hell 
For a heavenly cause! 

And I know, if I'll only be true 
To this glorious Quest, 
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm 
When I'm laid to my rest. 

And the world will be better for this, 
That one man, scorned and covered with scars, 
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, 
To reach the unreachable stars!