EAGER TO SHOW

          I walk into the gallery at SAY Sí the way I often do on Sunday mornings, carrying an armload full of equipment while going through an extensive mental checklist of things that need to get done before our 10:00am sound check. Half a dozen folks are already hard at work, setting up the sound system, making coffee and putting out chairs as I check in with our technical director, Eddie Wise, who's explaining the intricacies of a new technique for running the mixing console. I'm happy to be here, but I'm a little tired and my mind is going at least a hundred miles per hour while I bounce from one task to the next.

 

READY TO SHOW

            All of a sudden, five year-old Anjéa enters the room with her father, smiling even more radiantly than usual, eager to show off the gap where a tooth is missing from her lower jaw. "I lost my tooth!" she said, as excitedly as a grownup might have exclaimed, "I just won the $1,000,000 lottery!" This isn't exactly a surprise, because Anjéa has made a point of demonstrating how wiggly her tooth was getting over the past several weeks of Sunday Circles. Still, she is so fully alive and joyful in this moment that I can feel my mood shift instantly in response to her dazzling smile because her joy is definitely contagious!

            What's so striking is that she isn't just happy because the adults are paying extra attention to her, or because the Tooth Fairy left two dollars under her pillow, but because she can see where her new front tooth is beginning to appear, barely showing above the gum line. More than anything, she's simply exulting in this physical proof of her own growth, in the visible march of loss and gain moving through her body.

 

SHARING THE FLOW
            What she's really saying is, "Look - I'm growing! Isn't that exciting?" Of course, it is wonderful to witness, and I'm happy for her happiness, but for a few moments, I'm also feeling a little jealous, too... How long has it been since I've felt THAT much joy in the awareness of my own body, much less celebrated the losses in my life with the absolute certainty in the goodness of growth that she's demonstrating?  

            But then, a few seconds later, a new thought occurs, as if it's been injected directly into my brain stem by the gleam in her eyes, demanding to know: "Why not celebrate your losses as well as your gains? Why not feel that much joy and enthusiasm right now? Since the word "enthusiasm" comes from the Greek word enthous, meaning "possessed by a god" (theos), why not come back to the awareness of the ever-renewing, free flow of Spirit moving through you and all creation, right now?"

            Why not, indeed?

 

With gratitude and enthusiasm,

             Rudi

          PS: Speaking of radiant energy, last Sunday's Circle was truly blessed by Josh Glenn performing his latest, multi-layered, symphonic compositions. He's shared his music with us on a number of occasions over the past five years, and has always been well received, but this time it was quite evident that his artistry and originality as a guitarist, vocalist and composer have taken a quantum-leap forward. He got a rousing standing ovation, and a wonderful reception when he announced that he's begun production on his first solo CD project, for which he's seeking pre-sales support via GoFundMe.com. You can hear some his preliminary tracks and decide if you, too, would like to add your support by clicking here

.  Personally, I can't wait to hear what the fully produced version of the Josh Glenn Experiment sounds like!