"The conclusion is always the same, love is the most important and still the most unknown energy of the world." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
That's the quote on the Toubab Krewe CD surrounded by images of the band members with local musicians and children in West Africa. I had the pleasure of seeing this Asheville band's labour of love at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans a week ago Sunday.
Pure devotional music. Not everyone would describe Toubab Krewe's music as thus, yet I do.
The intensity of love and light was beating loud. So easy to close your eyes and sway to the rhythm. Best meditation I'd had in months: I know that when the diamond tingles in my head in that sweet giddy way. They were enchanted too.
"Human beings, vegetables, or comic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player." - Albert Einstein
I'm shifting focus slightly as I promised to the active side of inspiration for remainer of the series.
Active? (Uh, does that sounds like drudgery?) Don't get me wrong, if it smacks of work even a tad, it's not inspired. It's closer to rejoicing - being propelled by joy. It's closer to dancing. What makes your heart dance?
If you can't whistle and sing and tap dance while you work, start resurrecting a few of the practices that do make you dance - baking homemade sourdough bread from stratch and maybe your own yeast from the ether, listening to the morning dove's coo coo coo, throwing stick for your dog into the gurgling creek while you two hike, planting sunflowers, basil and eggplants into the earth, writing love letters and leaving them in a library book for someone else, lingering over a cafe au lait and almond croissant in the courtyard at Rue Pagan as sparrows congregrate, or literally dancing, or whatever, oh, you know what wiggles your bones into dance.
"There was a star danced, and under that was I born." - William Shakespeare
p.s. It's the spring equinox tomorrow. I may not write as I'll be gutting a house in the Lower Ninth Ward, assuming I can get to the ACORN building by 7:30 a.m. that is. Try: Bask as much in the sunlight as you can. Walk more outside instead of driving. Hold meetings at outdoor cafe (weather permitting) instead of the conference room. Open up the windows.
Bonus: Am I advocating irresponsibility - if it feels like work - do not do it? Hmmm, quite probable, yes. But, then again, I don't exactly see the virtue of puritan work ethic like everyone else. I believe a labor of love isn't labor. It's that power of love that works miracles all of its own.
For instance, here's a comment I wrote a while back in response to Tara Hunt's post, What Boutique is: Part I:
"Sometimes I also call boutique artisanal, or right now as I’m back from Sundance Film Fest, indie spirit. (Indie: independence alone does not guarantee a ’boutique’. I noted that Krups sponsored the New Frontiers on Main cafe with local Salt Lake Roasting Company’s coffee. The owner is devoted to scouring the globe for the best coffee in the world for over 40 years, and the Krups marketing guy said that’s why they chose them as a co-sponsor. Nope, not every independent coffeehouse is boutique.) [BTW, I used to live in SLC and can testify to Salt Lake Roasting Company's devotion.]
Some luxury stuff is boutique, and vice versa. For instance, in Saratoga, CA I adore the jewelers Deja & Co. Astronomically pricey, yet I feel a boutique vibe there whenever I go in. Deja herself is charming and warm and the space is warm and inviting rather than pretentious and ‘exclusive’. Who else has baby blue walls, fresh flowers and an adorable chandelier — and that’s just the bathroom?
This level of devotion, not just attention, to detail stratifies the boutique from the mere luxury. A boutique is typically a labor of love for the owners. And I find it’s the owners that I also fall in love with at boutiques. Luxury alone all too often is a sterile, cold beauty rather than the effusive, gracious beauty of boutique.
The small production runs I find are typically because of this devotion to detail - for instance, the butter for the chocolate might simply taste better hand-churned, and thus it results in small batches. Small production is the result, but not the objective necessarily."
Bonus Deux: Toubab Krewe live on YouTube (ah, still have to be there to truly feel the presence)...
images New Orleans artist James Michalopoulos' oil paintings "Marigny Dreams" (24 X 36) and "Bearing Crosses" (20 X 40). His gallery is in the Quarter, on Bienville between Royal and Chartres Streets. At the Louisiana In Words book signing yesterday, I heard that Michalopoulos is also involved with the boutique Old New Orleans Rum, "batch produced", distilled and bottled on Frenchmen Street, which was a sponsor for yesterday afternoon's literary & social event.
What gifts could i possibly add to this table.
None ,tho~maybe a compliment is in need.
Thats the short of my comment today.
An eliquently written, or even a real comprehensive material i may never achieve .
Another day has past and another entry to these days of inspiration as began to make a draft to comment here.
Now that it has my points of interest may have changed a little from reading todays post; whether to post it now i contimplate as i go..; if so , for todays I will add the rest below.
i guess that defines my impulse then anyway.
Okay, then uncut, the whole draft , and then I must take a back seat, avoiding comments to resist; or just let this day's go...
yesterdays comment i drafted -i show:
Interesting to Note and Comment: Of the p.s."
"p.s. To date, we've focused on the receptive, contemplative side of inspiration. On the equinox, I'll be shifting to the active side of Her.""
Just to(and now thru) the halfway point of the 40 days of inspiration.
My comment not to critique, but to add in the mysterious draw that others may have felt to surf back to this blog for their own reasons; the irony i note of is of my own; that is to note that my connections thru the weekend of thoughts that i could relate to , are just that(my own) , but that others may have had many , just not the time to share, or haven't seen this to compare.
For me , to note of my thoughts on the monarch butterfly as they migrate, and a quick and short thought on the mothman that film and legends have related.
From Leonardo,(Catching a Theme relates to this link, but I will link it to my own typekeypad favorites)" in the "Best Of" ninja turtles series on Sat/or\Sunday cartoons , where the episode this weekend also shared a journey to "seek the ancient one"... well, it was the ancient one that led him to the temple where he must fight his greatest opponent, which of course turns out to be himself(Leonardo)(anyones own self) upon which Leonardo overcomes and realizes the ancient one. The Ancient One, now asks to tell of, his own journey; that is, it was a journey "to the crossroads"
... LASTLEY ,Not to forget about a somewhat abstract New Orleans; to read of your journey online,
My thoughts in comparison to a journey may lead upstream, and could be hundreds or thousands of miles, if you haven't already had the experience.
Those big ships keep on rolling, thats for sure.
A tourguide on a an old sternwheel can provide a history and story of the old rivers that many never knew.
Your work here flows many directions.
If its immiterial it may wash downstream, or to a useful place it may find a shore; and from what comes from the stream above, it could find its way under our feet.
a pleasent part of journey this has been for me here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~so that was yesterdays~~~~~
For today, I did wonder...
...of the ancient one , of cartoon , and real ancient days of past...
...I have thought of this before, but since it has re~occured~ maybe again I should resist the thought, or bridle my commenting...
anyway,
If to say before the days of Moses that there may have been laws and physics of the earth; yet, once in stone it was in writing and the same laws could have aplied to the past... And on to many stories and religions told of "a thousand years of peace", in that before it arives that the same choices in living could be made throughout the day...even today...
just a thought
maybe just crumms to this table.
Maybe something I read on an earlier day in this 40 , would have been the same in comprehending, that is for myself,,, i remember it was 1 about New Orleans, or before Katrina...
...another note : will not be forgotten.
A plate on my own table, to set aside is a thought , ; this has been entertaining.
Just, Thanks alot
I add this to my favorites at once as this trackback to me, is new.
Posted by: halide | Mar 20, 2007 at 12:22 AM
Really enjoyed the video, Evelyn. Listening to them play right now. Thanks!
Posted by: kamal | Mar 20, 2007 at 07:39 AM
Only liquid sunshine to be basked in this Equinoctal pm in south sf bay, but an abundance thereof. Equinox @ 7:07 (19:07) NOLA time... will be holding the space for you then.
Dozing off to tales of RMBS (Residential Mortgage Backed Security) based derivatives, in fantasy of understanding the financial precipice we r balanced on at this fulcrum b'tween winter of r dis satisfaction and summershine.
The old world disolves into our emerging shadow material as we rise, waking to the harmonizing light. Time to own up.
It's a hard labor of love gonna spring.
Posted by: Bruce | Mar 20, 2007 at 04:27 PM