Sunday, December 13, 2009
OUr Jewel Tree , Winter 2009
Well.a violent wind storm blew down 30 foot lines in our back garden last Wednesday, taking all power lines with them, so for 3 extremely cold days, we had no lights, no heat, no phones, no computers, and it got to be pretty annoying, but then, Friday night late, (I swear after my 25th phone call to Appalachian Electric Power Company, we happened to see three huge yellow tree crew trucks and electrics guys working on our lace, and- bang! In the wink of one wire connection, our house was lighted up like nothing had ever happened! What a relief, as we were just about to move into the Barter Inn for a night of warmth and hot water and restful sleep!
During that 3-day period - when anything resembling a normal day-to-day life was beyond my control, my equanimity held strong for pretty much all of it, and with every phone call I made to inquire about the crews' progress toward (okay, I'll go there) enlightenment, i was cordial, not ever mean or nasty to anyone, understanding of their dilemma, and really pretty reasonable, even though my equanimity did begin to get a little threadbare toward the late afternoon on Friday....but being relatively calm like that through out this ordeal (keeping in mind that hundreds and hundreds of other people had it far worse than we did and they have it far worse every day of their lives, not just when power lines go donw)...keeping all that in mind and staying calm, I was able to isolate and observe yet again the same feelings of powerlessness ( no pun intended here) that I feel when I am on an airplane: another situation in which I could do nothing but cry and moan and complain, getting comfort from others, but having no genuine power with which to affect any real change.....and i realized again how uncomfortable and angry, and sad i get when I realize that we are all really -finally - powerless in the face of Fate, and other forces far larger than we are. This is the first basic tenet of Buddhism: we all die....we all suffer...and that...well...that is THAT!
So, keeping that in mind, my few days since electric power was magically restored to us have been warm and fun ones but they are also filled with thought and contemplation on my new insight: I am powerless, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it....small moments of meditation and thinking about this have provided a backdrop against which to more deeply appreciate the good things in my life, like the fine husband I have, the kind and generous friends we have here in Abingdon, the warmth of a good house, and bounty of so much we possess and can do with our lives.
Yes, it does deepen my appreciation, but it is not the panacea for the despair that comes right along with everything in every moment as well. I am experiencing a happy sadness, or , if you will, a sad happiness, at realizing how dim the future shines....how we must generate our own light, or there will be none....how we must take charge and illuminate existence, or we will dwell in the dark forest forever and ever.
So, our 2nd attempt at a Jewel Tree of Tibet , at this Christmas time of 2009: we worked on it yesterday (after an abortive attempt last weekend...we had not yet been through the rigorous and cold blackout days...somehow I think that prepared us to build the Jewel Tree we really wanted, and so we have it now!)
THe gorgeous Qu'an Yin that Peter gave me for Christmas years ago sits at the central base of the Jewel Tree, with a small live fir tree plant behind her draped in lights, and she sits serenely on a platform draped in purple and gold cloth.. She is also draped in shining colored lights, and garlands of paper prayer flags, and at her posed feet sit many candles we will light through out the Season, as we meditate in her presence. Her shawl of colored lights add a rich glow to her already serene presence.
On either side of her are lush deep red poinsettias, and at the base of her platform are bowls filled with sparkling white lights, giving an appearance of a lively fire at her feet...the glass bowls shine prettily as the lights flash within them.
Then, rising up into a cone shaped height from either side of the goddess, are strings of colored lights, shaping into a tree-like crown above her head all the way to the ceiling, and on these strands of lights we have begun to hang bejeweled photos of family members, friends, revered teachers, famous writers we admire, philosophers, masters of various fields we honor, and others we wish to honor as well. So far, on our Jewel Tree, with the BUddha sitting at the top, a Green Tara sitting below him and the Dalai Lama below her, are Peter and me, Paul and Stephen, Pat and Charles Yonka, my Momma and Daddy, Maria Montessori, Peter's grandmother and father, William Shakespeare, ANton Chekov, two of Peter's favorite teachers from high school and college, my dear Kathryn Connell from North Fulton High, and so far that is all we have hung there, but there will be more. We made those little icons when we last had a Jewel Tree back in NYC several years ago, and i worked with pleasure to decorate them with little glass and plastic jewels,etc. I want to do more as well, and will look for photos of other people we wish to honor, and I will bejewel them as well.
It's a cozy, very pretty and quite unique Holiday idea, and I am glad that Peter did not want to cut down alive tree this year, and instead asked that we do a Jewel Tree. We will also put out books from our Buddhist library about the Jewel Tree Meditation, and honor life and the world by studying that as well over this gracious time.
Rainy and cold day today, and we have this Sunday to stay indoors , honor our home, relax together with our dear dogs (they go on the tree too in the form of cunning little ornaments Peter bought for me) and i will make another pot of soup for later....i seem to be on a home-made soup kick.
But for now: I will sit and look and see and contemplate what the Jewel tree has to show me.
Happy day all.
During that 3-day period - when anything resembling a normal day-to-day life was beyond my control, my equanimity held strong for pretty much all of it, and with every phone call I made to inquire about the crews' progress toward (okay, I'll go there) enlightenment, i was cordial, not ever mean or nasty to anyone, understanding of their dilemma, and really pretty reasonable, even though my equanimity did begin to get a little threadbare toward the late afternoon on Friday....but being relatively calm like that through out this ordeal (keeping in mind that hundreds and hundreds of other people had it far worse than we did and they have it far worse every day of their lives, not just when power lines go donw)...keeping all that in mind and staying calm, I was able to isolate and observe yet again the same feelings of powerlessness ( no pun intended here) that I feel when I am on an airplane: another situation in which I could do nothing but cry and moan and complain, getting comfort from others, but having no genuine power with which to affect any real change.....and i realized again how uncomfortable and angry, and sad i get when I realize that we are all really -finally - powerless in the face of Fate, and other forces far larger than we are. This is the first basic tenet of Buddhism: we all die....we all suffer...and that...well...that is THAT!
So, keeping that in mind, my few days since electric power was magically restored to us have been warm and fun ones but they are also filled with thought and contemplation on my new insight: I am powerless, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it....small moments of meditation and thinking about this have provided a backdrop against which to more deeply appreciate the good things in my life, like the fine husband I have, the kind and generous friends we have here in Abingdon, the warmth of a good house, and bounty of so much we possess and can do with our lives.
Yes, it does deepen my appreciation, but it is not the panacea for the despair that comes right along with everything in every moment as well. I am experiencing a happy sadness, or , if you will, a sad happiness, at realizing how dim the future shines....how we must generate our own light, or there will be none....how we must take charge and illuminate existence, or we will dwell in the dark forest forever and ever.
So, our 2nd attempt at a Jewel Tree of Tibet , at this Christmas time of 2009: we worked on it yesterday (after an abortive attempt last weekend...we had not yet been through the rigorous and cold blackout days...somehow I think that prepared us to build the Jewel Tree we really wanted, and so we have it now!)
THe gorgeous Qu'an Yin that Peter gave me for Christmas years ago sits at the central base of the Jewel Tree, with a small live fir tree plant behind her draped in lights, and she sits serenely on a platform draped in purple and gold cloth.. She is also draped in shining colored lights, and garlands of paper prayer flags, and at her posed feet sit many candles we will light through out the Season, as we meditate in her presence. Her shawl of colored lights add a rich glow to her already serene presence.
On either side of her are lush deep red poinsettias, and at the base of her platform are bowls filled with sparkling white lights, giving an appearance of a lively fire at her feet...the glass bowls shine prettily as the lights flash within them.
Then, rising up into a cone shaped height from either side of the goddess, are strings of colored lights, shaping into a tree-like crown above her head all the way to the ceiling, and on these strands of lights we have begun to hang bejeweled photos of family members, friends, revered teachers, famous writers we admire, philosophers, masters of various fields we honor, and others we wish to honor as well. So far, on our Jewel Tree, with the BUddha sitting at the top, a Green Tara sitting below him and the Dalai Lama below her, are Peter and me, Paul and Stephen, Pat and Charles Yonka, my Momma and Daddy, Maria Montessori, Peter's grandmother and father, William Shakespeare, ANton Chekov, two of Peter's favorite teachers from high school and college, my dear Kathryn Connell from North Fulton High, and so far that is all we have hung there, but there will be more. We made those little icons when we last had a Jewel Tree back in NYC several years ago, and i worked with pleasure to decorate them with little glass and plastic jewels,etc. I want to do more as well, and will look for photos of other people we wish to honor, and I will bejewel them as well.
It's a cozy, very pretty and quite unique Holiday idea, and I am glad that Peter did not want to cut down alive tree this year, and instead asked that we do a Jewel Tree. We will also put out books from our Buddhist library about the Jewel Tree Meditation, and honor life and the world by studying that as well over this gracious time.
Rainy and cold day today, and we have this Sunday to stay indoors , honor our home, relax together with our dear dogs (they go on the tree too in the form of cunning little ornaments Peter bought for me) and i will make another pot of soup for later....i seem to be on a home-made soup kick.
But for now: I will sit and look and see and contemplate what the Jewel tree has to show me.
Happy day all.
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I had Kathryn Connell for junior year English at North Fulton High in ATL, and during that term she became ill - she stayed out the rest of the semester, and did not return the following school year (1964-65). We worked on the staff of the school newpaper, The Scribbler. She sometimes spoke of her dear friend, Peggy Marsh (yes, the GWTW author Margaret Mitchell), recalling the times they worked together for the Atlanta Constitution or Journal - I cannot remember which. Have you any idea what became of Kathryn Connell? Thanks for any information you can pass along. Michael Montgomery, working and living in Heidelberg, Germany. Posted 1 May 2012.
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