"Will you be alright?"
"Yes."
"Time."
"One never stops mourning."
"Of course you do."
"Then one has failed to learn the lesson."
Monday, May 28, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Gatherings
"The heart sees, the heart hears, the heart speaks,
the heart walks, the heart falls, the heart rejoices,
the heart cries out, the heart comforts, the heart suffers,
the heart surrenders, the heart errs, the heart trembles,
the heart awakens..."
--The Midrash
Never underestimate the influence of an authentic soul.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A week later
"We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves and others."
Sunday, May 13, 2007
...wondrous and absurd...
"There is something both wondrous and absurd about exalted religious edifices that commemorate humble, profound insights: vast cathedrals to remind us the kingdom of heaven is within us; soaring monuments to the truth that's right under our noses; ornate memorials to those who reminded us the present alone is life transforming."
Friday, May 11, 2007
Birthdays
A birthday a year later. A birthday not to be experienced...alone. A birthday that was never wanted. A birthday which passes silently.
From memory...from reading:
"...I don't want to be 40..."
"...I don't want to be 50..."
And then on the verge of 59,
"...will you come to NY..."
And my turning to you after that last phone call, "This is it."
And it was.
From memory...from reading:
"...I don't want to be 40..."
"...I don't want to be 50..."
And then on the verge of 59,
"...will you come to NY..."
And my turning to you after that last phone call, "This is it."
And it was.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
A world like Tiffany's
"My life is drawing to a close. Why do I say this? I say this because it means that I ponder matters in the light of death in a way that most of you do not. And I feel like a traveler descended from Mars, astounded by what I see.
We hate one another. We are the victims of irrational fear. You might think that this is a small trial in a small place. Well, it isn't. Every once in a while, somewhere in the world, humanity goes on trial."
"It takes a rare thing, a turning point, to free oneself from any obsession. Be it prejudice or hate, or, even love."
"For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess I'm suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving... maybe I'm going home. "
"I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free. "
"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice."
"...the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name! "
We hate one another. We are the victims of irrational fear. You might think that this is a small trial in a small place. Well, it isn't. Every once in a while, somewhere in the world, humanity goes on trial."
"It takes a rare thing, a turning point, to free oneself from any obsession. Be it prejudice or hate, or, even love."
"For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess I'm suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving... maybe I'm going home. "
"I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free. "
"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice."
"...the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name! "