Years ago I dated a guy who was a track coach for a high school in the Bronx. As part of their training, he arranged a trip to take some of the kids hiking in the Adirondack mountains. One of the boys, Jose', had never been out of the city, and as we crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge and got a glimpse of the Palisades, he asked if those were the mountains we were going to climb. "Not even close" was my boyfriend's response, as we continued to drive. Over and over again, Jose' asked the same question- past the Hudson Highlands, the Shawangunks, the Catskills, and finally the glorious high peaks of the Adirondacks. With each successive range, the mountains grew taller and taller-- and his eyes wider and wider. By the time he had climbed to the top of the mountain, looking out over the amazing vista, he let out a howl at the top of his lungs-- "Holy Shit! It's Fuckin Beautiful!"
Jose's expression of wonder and unabashed exclamation of expletives may have captured the feeling perfectly. I think my own heart leaps up, like Wordswoth, when I behold this much beauty. There is still a gasp of awe in me, for instance, when I turn off 87 and start driving toward Lake George. Then the mountain rising over the lake, in the dimming light of day is certainly * beautiful.
Maybe we all feel this the first time we see or experience something new, but how often do we become disenchanted with life? How often does life strike us simply as ordinary and dull? How often does it seem that we are boxed in by buildings that block out the sun, and leave us no place for our spirits to run free?
At this time of year, the holiday blahs strike many of us-- and the commercial holidays (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, even Giving Tuesday) do nothing to inspire. What we need in this time is not advertisements telling us where to spend our money, but magical and mysterious beauty to awaken the wonder within. We need to become enchanted, to open our hearts to the spirit of Christmas.
As I drove up to Silver Bay in the Adirondacks today, I listened to choirs of angelic voices singing Christmas hymns. The human voices on this cd are the only instrument; the sound is simple and empty- and amazingly beautiful.
We stand now in the darkening of days....we need the songs of angels to awaken in us a deeper hope.
And sometimes we need to step out of the every day into a world beyond to hear them, and to become enchanted by life yet again.
Jose's expression of wonder and unabashed exclamation of expletives may have captured the feeling perfectly. I think my own heart leaps up, like Wordswoth, when I behold this much beauty. There is still a gasp of awe in me, for instance, when I turn off 87 and start driving toward Lake George. Then the mountain rising over the lake, in the dimming light of day is certainly * beautiful.
Maybe we all feel this the first time we see or experience something new, but how often do we become disenchanted with life? How often does life strike us simply as ordinary and dull? How often does it seem that we are boxed in by buildings that block out the sun, and leave us no place for our spirits to run free?
At this time of year, the holiday blahs strike many of us-- and the commercial holidays (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, even Giving Tuesday) do nothing to inspire. What we need in this time is not advertisements telling us where to spend our money, but magical and mysterious beauty to awaken the wonder within. We need to become enchanted, to open our hearts to the spirit of Christmas.
As I drove up to Silver Bay in the Adirondacks today, I listened to choirs of angelic voices singing Christmas hymns. The human voices on this cd are the only instrument; the sound is simple and empty- and amazingly beautiful.
We stand now in the darkening of days....we need the songs of angels to awaken in us a deeper hope.
And sometimes we need to step out of the every day into a world beyond to hear them, and to become enchanted by life yet again.
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