Headache notwithstanding...

Today I will attempt to write my way through my headache. I have a shocker, killer, zinger of a headache and I have donefor the past six hours. Drugs don't help so I'm sure it's a sleep it off headache.  My blog entry today will be short and sweet.

Spent a beautiful afternoon in the country at a friends' son's 21st birthday celebration.  The parents of this well-brought up delightful young man are two of our closest friends and have been so for many years.  It's always good to see them and always easy and relaxed.  Today the guests were godparents and friends of the birthday boy.

I started to talk about having been out yesterday and Friday chanting at kirtan.  I explained a little of this and then found myself in discussion with a woman who is a Buddhist and practices Zazen meditation.  She has often visited Tibet and was most interested in the chanting I spoke about.  Another one of the women sings in a choir and has invited me to join them.  I find it increasingly common an occurrence that when I open up and talk about my interests in meditation and chanting, others suddenly reveal their interest as well.  It's as if we're all a bit in the closet and waiting for the first person to come out.

Ralph went to the barber yesterday and mentioned having been to a Krishna Das evening and the barber started talking about meditation and Sai Baba.  Now there was a surprise.
Do we all go through our lives assuming that everyone who looks straight-laced and conventional is actually that way?  It was easier in the 1960's when you knew who the good guys were.  They all had long hair, bell bottom trousers and wore flowers in their hair.  Now, anyone could be a kindred spirit and often is.

Driving back from the countryside today I started to think about the few people at the party today who were still smoking cigarettes and thought that they must be crazy.  I was a very heavy smoker at one point, actually many points, in my life, but gave it up about five years ago.  I thought about how if I was still smoking I would be risking my life in a way that I now feel is unacceptable.  What if I only had a few years left, I thought? What is still undone? I'm now over 60 and I guess that what I really still need to do is build in a regular singing practice in my life.  A Bhakti/kirtan practice and also singing just for the sheer wonder of raising my voice and making a melodious sound.  Can I sing?  I don't really know.  Am I an alto/soprano?  Who cares.  It makes not the smallest amount of difference to me.  It is my unfinished symphony and I intend to finish it.

And now to put my head to bed....