Daily Celebrations

Trees Trees, proud  s t a n d i n g   p eo p l e stretching fingertips to the sky, reaching, praying glorious attention, breathing light. strength shelter timeless confidence bending and firm comforting rooted chorus line dancing with the moon, the wind, the clouds framing  bursts  of stars tender rugged  celebration absorbing and releasing life each  holy  branch holding the  power  of the Universe. There.

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." ~ Albert Einstein Born on this day in Ulm, Germany, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) understood what counted and was the embodiment of genius.  "The important thing," he said, "is to not stop questioning." As a child, he loved numbers, but had trouble memorizing facts. He struggled and was expelled from school, but always was passionately curious. Upon college graduation, the man who revolutionized modern thinking was unable to get an academic position and worked as a patent office clerk. On his daily walks to and from work, he thought about physics, exploring the connection between light, space, and time. In 1905, annus mirabilis, the miracle year, Einstein, 26, finished his paper, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies. He applied his Special Relativity to objects moving at constant speeds with the famous equation: E=mc². Einstein proved that energy (E) a...

"When we do what we love, again and again, our life comes to hold the fragrance of that thing." ~ Wayne Muller We all need our routines to motivate and keep us going: the same cup for our morning coffee, the comfortable shortcut to get to work on time, that newspaper first thing on Sunday morning. About the importance of routines, American theologian Tyron Edwards said, "Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; action form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny." For 80 years, cellist Pablo Casals would start each day by playing on the piano two preludes and fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach. He called it "a sort of benediction on the house...a rediscovery of the world in which I have the joy of being a part of." There IS meaning in everything we do. Routines help us to focus, organize, and get things done.  Writer Joan Didion developed a multicolored routine for her writing.  She used yellow paper for n...

"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." ~ T.S. Eliot I love coffee. The taste, the smell, the experience of drinking that robust brew.  For years, since cramming for finals at the University of Hawaii, coffee has been my favorite, guilty indulgence. So it is with great pleasure that I hear that according to a March 2004 study involving more than 14,000 people in Finland, cups of coffee can ward off the risk of developing adult-onset diabetes... "If you want to improve your understanding," said English essayist Sydney Smith, "drink coffee." The Finns are the world's heaviest coffee drinkers. Here's what their study found: People who drank three to four cups of coffee daily lowered their risk of developing diabetes by 29% for women and 27% for men.  Ten or more cups a day reduced the risk by 79% for women and 55% for men. In January 2004, Harvard researchers studied 125,000 people and found men who drank six cups a day cut thei...

"Music is such a beautiful innocent thing for me, a magic thing." ~ Paul McCartney Born in Liverpool, England, James Paul McCartney (1942-) was formally knighted Sir Paul by Queen Elizabeth II on this day in 1997 for his "cultural contributions and service to music." He dedicated his knighthood to fellow ex-Beatles, Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison and John Lennon. McCartney wrote his first song in 1956 and was just 15 years old when he joined Lennon's band, The Quarrymen. Within three years, The Quarrymen transformed into The Beatles.  Along with Lennon, McCartney wrote unforgettable Beatles music of great passion and poignancy. The story goes that Sir Paul woke up in Paris one morning in May 1965 with a beautiful melody in his head "in all the glory and the freshness of a dream," he explained. The musician got out of bed, stepped over to the piano, and wrote the music for  Yesterday , the most covered song of all time.  In 2016,...

"Learn about pines from the pine, and about bamboo from the bamboo." ~ Matsuo Basho Poet Matsuo Basho, ("banana plant", 1644-1694), the son of a low-ranking samurai, created the modern haiku form and is considered to be one of Japan's greatest literary figures. "Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sought," he once said. An adherent follower of Zen Buddhism, Basho's book of his travels The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1689), captured prose and haiku.  "Long conversations beside blooming irises/joys of life on the road," he wrote. The haiku poet or "haijin" described nature and life simply, with lightness, to create profound expressive poetic form. Basho's poetry brought spirituality and richness to haiku unheard of before his time. According to Japanese critic and scholar Makoto Ueda, "ideas on verse writing Basho insisted upon" were sabi (loneliness), shiori ...

"I don't believe in psychology. I believe in good moves." ~ Bobby Fischer Eccentric, but definitely someone with good moves, American chess master Robert James Fischer (1943-2008) was born on this day in Chicago, Illinois. Raised in Brooklyn, he learned chess at six, then became the youngest ranking grand master at the mere age of 15, the youngest to achieve that title. "Chess was my obsession," he said. In 1972, Fischer was the first American to win the World Chess Championship, beating the then-Soviet Union champion, Boris Spassky.  In a historic event that lasted two months, Fischer lost the first game, protested the presence of television cameras, and forfeited the second game. In the next four games, with confidence, astonishing moves, aggressive tactics, and brilliant combinations, he beat Spassky. At one point, Soviet security dismantled Fischer's chair to look for information-feeding electronic devices. Fischer's victory, a celeb...

"The special genius of women I believe to be electrical in movement, intuitive in function, spiritual in tendency." ~ Margaret Fuller Today is International Women's Day, a time to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women throughout the world... Inspired by an 1857 demonstration in New York City by women textile workers, German socialist Klara Zetkin organized International Women's Day in 1911.  The United Nations formally adopted the celebration in 1976. On this day in 1917, Russian women workers sparked the Bolshevik Revolution with their powerful "bread and peace" protest against the living conditions of Czar Nicholas II. He abdicated. "Women have been on the front lines in the battle for human rights and individual dignity for a very long time," celebrated Hillary Clinton. International Women's Day is a celebration of courage and progress with a hopeful look to the future.  As activist Dorothy Day on...

"The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel." ~ Piet Mondrian Some years ago, I had the good fortune of seeing an exhibition of Piet Mondrian's oil on canvas at Atlanta's High Museum. His creative truth was extraordinary. The Dutch painter was born Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (1872-1944) on this day at Amersfoort in central Netherlands. At first a talented landscape artist, Mondrian moved to Paris in 1912. Finding Picasso's cubism fascinating, Mondrian further pursued the secrets found in geometric shapes and representational art. He once said, "Intellect confuses intuition." Inspired by Bart van der Leck's use of primary colors, in 1919 Mondrian created his renowned Neoplastic style--the remarkable grid-based paintings.  With purity and passion he sought "to express general beauty with the utmost awareness." "The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore the obj...

"I am still learning." ~ Michelangelo Born on this day in Florence, Italy, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was one of the greatest artists that ever lived.  His art mirrored his belief that the beauty of the human body was a symbol of divinity. "Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish," he said. A genius in painting, sculpture, and architecture, his magnificent fresco on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel is the pinnacle achievement.  To depict the Biblical scenes with over 3,000 figures, for four years the artist painted lying on his back, just a few inches from the ceiling, without ever seeing the effect of his work. "I have finished the chapel I have been painting," Michelangelo wrote his father in 1512. "The Pope is very well satisfied." Michelangelo's sculpted Pieta of the Madonna and Jesus (1498-1499) and the gigantic nude statue of David (1501-1504). Both are perfection in marble. ...

"That woman speaks eight languages and can't say no in any of them." ~ Dorothy Parker Okay. For many (including yours truly), saying "no" is tough. You feel guilty, you feel selfish because someone has asked for something and you just can't let them down. Get a grip. "Your value as a human being does not depend on the things you do for others," advised clinical psychologist Harriet B. Braiker in her great book, The Disease to Please (2001).  "Saying 'no' some of the time to some of the people will in no way diminish your value or worth in their eyes. It probably will enhance it." Saying no establishes boundaries and keeps you from doing stuff you really don't want to do. Resist the pressure to say yes.  "Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin," advised Baptist minister Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Make it a win-win situation by sandwiching a refusal between two positi...

"I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do for any fellow being, let me do it now... as I shall not pass this way again." ~ William Penn British religious leader William Penn (1644-1718) was a champion for peace, love, and liberty.  Born in London, he was the wealthy son of naval hero Admiral Sir William Penn. Young William studied at Oxford, became an advocate for Quaker practices, and was imprisoned for his "radical" writings. "No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown,"  he once proclaimed. On this day in 1681, to satisfy a debt, King Charles II of England granted Penn the deed and governorship of Philadelphia.  Penn established "The City of Brotherly Love" as a haven for Quakers, a "holy experiment to serve as the seed for the future nation." To prove his commitment to brotherhood and because he respected their ...

"My intention always has been to arrive at human contact without enforcing authority. A musician, after all, is not a military officer. What matters most is human contact. The great mystery of music-making requires real friendship among those who work together. Every member of the orchestra knows I am with him or her in my heart." ~ Carlo Maria Giulini A man who made music by following his heart, Carlo Maria Giulini (1914-2005), was born in Barletta, Italy. As the former conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1978-1984), the maestro understood the importance of human contact, friendship, and working with love. Once you realized that music was more than just technique and getting things "right," Giulini said, "comes this mysterious thing that is the life of the music." The power of synergism, working together with others, releases magic. Power flows from sharing thoughts and learning from each other, taking an idea and building and gr...

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope. Which is what I do. And that enables you to laugh at life's realities." ~ Dr. Seuss Theodore Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), beloved children writer and illustrator Dr. Seuss, was born on this day in Springfield, Massachusetts.  A brilliant artist with an outlandish sense of humor, his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was rejected by over 40 publishers. "A person's a person, no matter how small," he wrote. The Cat in the Hat (1957) was written from a basic 225 word list. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957) gave us a morality tale with a character whose heart "was two sizes too small." "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose."  ~ Oh, the Places You'll Go! His 46 book...

"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." ~ Helen Keller Is the glass half-empty or half-full? How you think is how you will feel. How you look at life is how life will be. Pessimists are outright unhappy folks. "Don't ever become a pessimist," urged writer Robert Heinlein. "A pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun and neither can stop the march of events." Optimists make the best of any situation. They keep the spin positive. They look for the silver lining. With optimism, you can see the bigger picture better. There are no negatives to weigh you down. "A better world shall emerge based on faith and understanding," said five-star General Douglas MacArthur. Optimists are passionate and inspire passion in others. Optimists know they have to power to produce positive change! As the very wise Benjamin Fr...