With Love From...

I seem to be having a love affair with music lately. ...well, that's not entirely true. I feel like I've always had a passion for music - it's just been bleeding out of my consciousness lately. This weekend I had the most the opportunity to attend an in-home orchestra performance! It was amazing! 30 people, 5-6 violins, a few people rotating through on piano, a flutist, 3 cello players, maybe some violas (I'll get the deets and some photos up soon).

In the meantime, Beirut.

On Worth...

Image courtesy ...etc

I Would Like to Thank...

I remember watching award shows when I was a little girl - the Emmys and Grammys. And then MTV put one together, but that was cool because there was finally one targeted at my age group - and the nominees didn't (at least in the beginning) have to take themselves so seriously and it was fun and etc.

Now I think that there's an award show for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

And it's boring. Generally. Particularly when the awards seem to no longer be celebrating good creative thought. To clarify: I realize that these shows recognize and showcase the talent of a myriad professionals - it's just that only the tabloid darlings make it to the primetime broadcast.....

Like even the red carpet just isn't exciting or special or glamorous when everyone and their mom seems to have one.... But I digress.

An award show that praises and celebrates innovation of all kinds - with a special prize for PEACE work? That my president, Mr. Barack Obama, just won for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples"? Hecks yes.

Naturally it's a classy affair - no paparazzi and the typical accoutrements associated therewith - but I sure would have liked to see that!

I am positive that to even be nominated and considered for such a presitigious award as the Nobel Peace Prize is an honor to be cherished for a lifetime. And I don't mean to make this into a blog of one-upmanship - but friends, I tell you truly, I am so happy and proud right now.
Addendum: NYT Editorial. Pretty much sums things up.

More From My Talented Friends....

New album: Spirit of Life
Available on iTunes and Amazon.
Check it out.

...In No Particular Order

I just ate the perfect banana... probably because it's 8:30 and I'm still in the office and was hungry - but I always forget how well I like them.
Persimmons are back! Breakfast, snack (elevenses, anyone?), quinoa salad - everything's looking brighter, kids!
Dear FB... what the deuce is up with 5 bajillion applications. I don't check it so often (sorry to all of the far-flung friends who rely on it for updates and the like) and am pretty 'meh' about it - but I feel like everytime I peep it I've got to clean house. No, gracias.
Dear Apple... my ipod is down to about 3 hours of reliable battery life - and the computer with my iTunes stored on it? Kaput. Solutions?
hmmmm. Sounds like it's time for another banana!

Crisis and Victory...

"Marek Edelman, [...] the last surviving commander of the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising against the Germans, died Friday in Warsaw. He was 90." I saw this article today in the New York Times and was almost moved to tears by the story of this man's life. The choices he had to make, the way that he never abandoned his people, the life long persecution he endured... truly inspirational.

Two weeks ago I met a Holocaust survivor on the bus, here in Haifa. I had to work really hard to remember to keep my mouth shut and not stare – but I was in complete awe.

Actually, I totally stared. He was talking to me. I’m pretty sure that I also said “wow” (hopefully) really softly – the way that it tends to escape your lips as part of a sigh.
Universal House of Justice member Mr. Dunbar says that it used to be pretty common to see survivors around town or even working behind a counter somewhere – but now they’re so rare, it's as though they’ve taken on legendary proportions.

I took this picture of the Prison Cell of Bahá’u’lláh - founder of the Bahá’í Faith - earlier this year in 'Akka. Bahá’u’lláh endured a lifetime of persecution and torture, living the life of a myriad martyrs, never abandoning His people, connecting the world of being to the Word of God....

So much pain seems to hinge on one tiny pocket of earth, on one simple seeming concept: that we exist to know and love God... and yet, from another vantage, so much hope rides on the same patch of earth - on the same knowledge and love for God.

"O SON OF BEING!

Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get though from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favour upon thee."

From The Hidden Words, Bahá’u’lláh

An Ode to My Favorite Month...

Images courtesy {This Is Glamorous}

I love fall (or autumn) - but I love October the best. Such beautiful color everywhere you look, crispy weather but not too cold... There's a softness and a grace present in this month that I think everyone should tap in to.

And with that, dear friends, I bid you happy weekend!