Thursday, April 2, 2009

Ancient Gifts

(Painting of Hafiz by Mahmud Farshchian)

I first learned about the poetry of Hafiz two years ago, and have been entranced by his mystical, magical way of relating to the universe ever since. For those who don't know about this bad boy of mystical poetry (as my dear friend Asha affectionately refers to him), he lived in Shiraz in the 1300s, and is one of the most celebrated Persian poets of all time. On less than prime days it has become a frequent practice of mine to simply pick up his book of poems, choose a random page number in my mind, and turn to discover what message is waiting for me. Below you will find one of my recent favorites. More to come soon ;-)


Your Mother and My Mother

Fear is the cheapest room in the house.
I would like to see you living
In better conditions,

For your mother and my mother
Were friends.

I know the Innkeeper
In this part of the universe.
Get some rest tonight,
Come to my verse again tomorrow.
We'll go speak to the Friend together.

I should not make any promises right now,
But I know if you
Pray
Somewhere in this world ~
Something good will happen.

God wants to see
More love and playfulness in your eyes
For that is your greatest witness to Him.

Your soul and my soul
Once sat together in the Beloved's womb
Playing footsie.

Your heart and my heart
Are very, very old
Friends.



Sunday, February 15, 2009

Saltwater Shots and Plastic Blue Teapots


As I rested my cheek on the side of the sink basin, bringing myself to eye level with the faucet, I had one of those “Yes, I am actually sitting here at 1:23 in the morning on Valentine’s Day (or morning after as it was) with the business end of a plastic blue teapot stuck up my nose” moments. Another “moment” was soon had when in an attempt to proceed with recommended sinus irrigation, I accidentally rerouted some of the lovely neti pot saltwater mixture down the back of my throat. Mmmm, tasty. All of a sudden I flashed back to the yearly treks my mother, sister and I would take to Houston to see Gigi, my maternal grandmother. Part of our yearly romps down south included a day or two playing on the beach in Galveston. The sad fate of an exuberant yet clumsy child like me on these beach adventures was that I frequently experienced a little more wave than ever initially intended. Being the eternal optimist that I was, I would see a wave approaching and grossly overestimate my ability to surf, swim through, or simply stand up against said wave. Before I knew it…WHOOOSH…I had a mouthful of saltwater. It stung for a moment, and most definitely loosened up my sinuses. But did it ever stop me? No! I kept right on truckin’. I suppose it wasn’t necessarily an accident, this neti pot sinus irrigation turned full-on saltwater shot that I had today. Feeling like I had developed a little too much closeness with the "bottom of the bucket" as I clumsily maneuvered the plastic blue teapot into my right nostril, the memory of my tenacity on our beach vacations reminded me that sometimes we have situations, days, people, months, or even years that get us down. But the most important thing is that no matter how big the wave that knocks us off center, we always get back up again....or, try the other nostril.

P.S. If you ever find yourself dateless, and standing in the Wal-Mart pharmacy contemplating saltwater sinus irrigation in the middle of the night on Valentine's....take a quick trip over to the seasonal section after stocking your allergy artillery, for they start selling their mounds of red cellophane-wrapped goodies at half price when the clock strikes midnight. You'll appreciate having a little treat after enduring your saltwater teapot adventure.


Me, Galveston Beach...circa 1980-something ;-)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Tupperware....

Tupperware ~ it pretty much *rocks*....

Yes, I'm a nerd. I admit it, and that's the first step.