post-ecstatic-chant gratitude

so tired. so grateful, buzzy. i am grateful for:

1) a weekend of chanting, chanting, chanting at omega with all those unbelievably talented musicians–manose, daniel paul, mark gorman, etc. etc. in addition to the “big” names. so much fun.

2) j., for sharing all the fun with me, saving seats, eating meals, and processing the swirl.

3) toni bergins, the journey-dancing queen. so so grateful to get a chance to dance with her. and if you ever get a chance, she is simply the awesomest guide to letting your body and the music take you to a rich, deep, light, real place.

4) pink sequins

5) interviewing a really cool photographer tonight (alum of beloit) and getting to wade into his world and images. it reminds me of what i love about journalism–getting to catch a glimpse of other worlds, through other people’s eyes, for just a brief sec. oh and getting to see awesome apartments.

6) anandra

7) the notion of recovering from like-me, like-me-itis

8) kirku

9) having such a rich, fun summer of yantras and mantras

10) getting my milkshake fix with frozen bananas, trader joe’s chocolate syrup, and a splash of soymilk in a blender

11) being a slight kirtan groupie

12) my sweet tent

13) that moon. holy shit. did you see the moon?

14) that my bag currently has two books in it: rilke’s book of hours and twilight by stephanie meyers

15) walking into starbucks today while the toots & the maytals version of “take me home, coutry roads” was playing–at the exact part where the chorus goes: “hare krishna, dalai lama….”

16) omega–hammock, lake, fresh food, groundhogs, rabbits, the yoga studio with cork walls and bamboo floors, trees

17) jai uttal’s spontaneous lunchtime porch jam (video here)

18) getting to see the battle of the kirtan walla egos–who knew chanting hare rama could surface so much competitive testosterone? it was instructive though. these guys are so very human, relatable, and battling demons, etc.

19) rilke, rilke, rilke