Even war cannot take away their music

This documentary on the children of Uganda’s war zone is a testament to the human spirit, expressed in music and dance.  It is unbelievable what these children have gone through and yet are able to feel and express their inner joy and powerful emotions.  It’s  heartwarming, and inspiring . 

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org
http://www.facebook.com/gail.brokaw

What a wonderful life!

Coy Watson, Jr died at the ripe old age of 96. I have such fond memories of him.   He had such a love of life, that he made everyone around him happy.  He was a caring, spiritual, fun loving,  joker who brought some very fun conversations to my family.  He moved from Los Angeles to Elk Grove, CA  in search of a quieter slower life but I think it was just too slow for Coy.  He needed energy around him and though he enjoyed our then peaceful fields and small town, he just had to get back down south to the big city.  When I think of Coy and Willie, his wife, I think of lots of laughter and story after interesting story of his life in Southern California, in silent movies and as a camera man. 

When my daughter, Julia Francis, was a little girl, our two families drove up to the foothills for a day-long picnic.  On the drive home, I remember Julia and Coy trading songs and stories all the way home.  They were both hams, through and through and had such a fun time entertaining us all.  He said at that time that he knew she’d be an entertainer, and he was right.

Coy, you will be missed.  You left many people with wonderful memories.  Thank you for making this world a better place and thank you for all your contibutions to movies, the news and friendships.

This image provided by Pattie Watson Price shows Jackie Coogan, left, and Coy Watson Jr. in a 1927 production of "Buttons". Watson, the former "Keystone Kid" who appeared in dozens of Mack Sennett comedies and other silent films before abandoning acting for a long career as a newspaper and television news photographer, died Saturday, March 14, 2009, of complications of stomach cancer, according to his daughter Pattie Watson Price. He was 96.

http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/1402ap_obit_watson.html

The Cycle of Turning

Mid air sculpture by Andy Goldsworthy

As I watched the video, Rivers and Tides, about Andy Goldsworthy, an environmental artist, philosopher, and architect,  I felt calm and contemplative.  His work is meditative and gives me so much to think about.  The following link shows him completing one of his works on a beach and we watch the tide come in and gently lift the sculpture off the rocks and into the water.  The water gently pulls and pushes and slowly the sculpture begins to change and become something different.  It doesn’t fight against the change. (I need to remember that in my life.)  His artwork is as impermanent as life.  Andy calls it the “cycle of turning”.  Here is a excerpt of the video which I highly recommend if you are in the mood for something calming and thought provoking.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBcdL8uO71E

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossiblity.org  (join my monthly newsletter)

How to Cook Your Life

 

The video, How to Cook Your Life is comtemplative and inspirational. I find myself wanting to make bread now and to slow my thinking down and let things rise from my mind as the bread dough rises after being fed with all the ingredients it needs to nourish our bodies.
Zen priest and chef, Edward Brown talks about life through food preparation. As with everything we do, we can look at the way we prepare our food and eat our food and compare our actions in the kitchen with the actions we usually take in our lives. This documentary visits Tassajara Zen Center, Green Gulch Zen Center, and the San Francisco Zen Center as it instructs and inspires us to live our lives consciously and with purpose.
Edward Brown looks at the metal tea pots with dents and creases and likens them to our lives with wrinkles and troubles. They are what makes us who we are and we continue to be useful with any and all of our dings and dents. That’s a good, good thought to keep in mind as I age!  Sometimes I think I need to be that perfect shining tea pot that performs as if new all the time.  I have to remember patience and forgiveness, mindfulness and appreciation as I move through my days.  Oh yes, and don’t forget to breathe!

The Giant Buddhas

Bamiyan Buddha, Afghanistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just finished watching this wonderful documentary, The Giant Buddhas from Netflix on my computer. I highly recommend this program. 
The documentary mentioned that originally the Buddha had a wooden face covered in gold and jewels.  The face could be tilted so that the Buddhist monks could light candles behind the eyes.  I now have a mental picture of the Buddha at night with lights coming from behind giant ruby eyes, shining over the Bamiyan Valley. What a fantastic vision it must have been. Makes me wonder though what is happening in that region of the Silk Road now and how sad it is to have lost these world treasures to the Taliban’s twisted perspective.

I am  so appreciative for the life I lead as I watch how difficult it has been and continues to be for generations in that area.  Those families that had lived in the cliff dwellings for generations have now been “relocated” by the government to a seemingly undesirable and inhospitable  location, farther from water and in an extremely cold and windy area.  It made me think of  how the US “relocated” the  American Indians to the Reservations.  It looks like a life of  survival, not really living or being able to appreciate.  I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to live in that region.  This helps me to remember that I have nothing to complain about. 

The Giant Buddhas
(2005) NR
Christian Frei’s documentary traces the tragic tale of the giant Buddhas of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley, which stood as monumental landmarks for 1,500 years until 2001, when the Taliban declared that all non-Islamic statues in the country be destroyed. Despite international protest, the statues were blown up. Through interwoven narratives from past and present, Frei’s film sheds light on the disturbing consequences of religious fanaticism.

Here are some links with more information about the Buddhas.

http://buddhistlinks.org/BuddhasBamiyan.htm

Here is something about the uncovered third and reclining buddha.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMwnIv89hH3Q7rvdzmDQH9zCL6KA

And here is a video discussing the possible rebuilding of the Buddhas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Cu5iOjHQo

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org

French Crepes and artwork in San Francisco

My daughter and I found, completely by accident, this most wonderful crepe restaurant in San Francisco.  The restaurant is called Ti Couz.  The crepes are the best I have ever tasted!  They will spoil you to any other crepe.  (hint:  There is butter involved.)  While there I bought a t-shirt with a wonderful piece of artwork on it by French artist Armelle Gourvennec.  Turn on your speaker for the music and Click on the colored drawings of her website to view wonderful imaginative paintings like this.

Three Women by Armelle Gourvennec

About the restaurant. . .

“This Mission staple has three whitewashed, stucco-and-wood dining rooms decorated with photos from old Brittany. There’s seating at serpentine counters, as well as tables. French expatriate and owner Sylvie Lemer bases her menu on classic Breton recipes. Thin buckwheat crepes are folded in big flat squares around dozens of fillings, from a simple butter and cheese to ham and Gruyere. Sweet crepes include fruit, sauce and ice cream combinations.”  –CitySearch staff   
I suggest that two people order one savory and one dessert crepe to share, as they are filling.  Have fun! 

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org

Sacred Sunday at Mill Valley

The Mill Valley Arts Festival is one of my favorite things to do each year.  I went there yesterday to stroll among the talented artists and the gorgeous redwood trees.  The festival is held in the Old Mill Park at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais in the middle of a grove of beautiful redwood trees.  The smell of the trees and the feel of the thick carpet of leaves and bark is soothing and relaxing.  There is even a stream flowing through the end of the park which makes it even more appealing to me.  It’s the perfect setting.  The sound in the park is muffled by the trees and the heavy carpeting of fallen leaves, but during the day there is usually live music played at one end of the park.  The groups they select blend well with the feel of the park; mellow and uplifting. 

2008 Festival Poster

One year we saw Huey Lewis at the festival partaking of festival food with his family.  We were reminiscing about it yesterday when we looked up and there was Albert Brooks sitting with friends and visiting.  It’s such a relaxing place, even actors and musicians can come and relax among the big trees and feel sure they won’t be bothered by cameras and publicity.  How nice is that?! 

Two-time Emmy Award winner Rita Abrams and her Strawberry Point School kids captured hearts and airwaves worldwide with their chartbuster hit song, “Mill Valley.”  For a blast from the past check out this video.  You will have to scroll down on the linked page and look for the video as it is not on YouTube directly anymore.  http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=mill+valley+art+festival&fr=yfp-t-501-s&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

 Here is a guide to the great outdoors in Marin County.  Enjoy!  http://www.marintrails.com/

Enjoy a walk in nature in the next few weeks and embrace Fall and the transition from one season to another.

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org

The Times They Are a Changing

The old message The Times They Are a Changing rings so true today.  Democrats and Republicans, Obama and McCain, Biden and Palin are all talking a good talk about making changes.  And lord knows we certainly need to make changes in this society whether it is in our politics, our global environment, our education system, our healthcare system or individual rights.  This song sung by Peter, Paul and Mary from the past is as relevant as it was when it was first produced and gives me goose bumps just listening to the strength and passion in their voices.  This is one way that they try to inspire others to make positive changes in our world.  It reminds me that I need to continue in my own way to make changes as an individual to make my little corner of the world a better place.  It’s not always an easy task, but it’s something I’m committed to.  We can hope that our political leaders will make good choices that will affect appropriate change, but it’s really up to each one of us to make some change, in whatever way we can, at the individual level to make our world a better place. 

Simple everyday ways to make change are there at your fingertips. 

Support a friend or coworker that needs encouragement.
Make your employer aware of areas that need improvement and do what you can to bring about that needed change.
Do what you can to make your home more environmentally friendly.
Get involved in local politics.
Help build or improve community resources.
Create artwork or music to open people’s minds and start a new thought process.
Educate your children to think creatively to solve problems rather than just wait for adults to give them the answers.

What else can you think of that might inspire the rest of us to take action to create positive change in our lives and in our community?

http://www.wecansolveit.org/    We Can Solve the Environmental Problems

http://www.usaweekend.com/diffday/index.html   October 25 is Make a Difference Day

http://www.voa.org/   Volunteers of America

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org
You CAN make the change you want in your life!

Celtic Cross and Life Balance- Sacred Life Sunday

Island of Iona, Scotland

 

Iona is a beautiful, small speck of an Island off the western coast of Scotland 3 miles long and 1 mile wide with 2000 acres in total area. http://www.isle-of-iona.com/  This is where Joan Anderson traveled to connect with the spirit and her heritage.  While there, she visits an artist in his studio.  He is hand carving Celtic Crosses.  She asks him about the significance of the circle in the center of all the Celtic Crosses.  He responds that the circle is where all opposites come together.  It is a stabilizing element for the cross.  He further explains that another thought some have is that the circle “represents mother – the woman – who holds it all together.”  I, like Joan, am interested in crosses, not for their religious significance but for the beauty of the art that can be a representation of crossroads.  Haven’t we all been at a crossroad at least a few times in our lives?  We have had times to make choices, set a new direction or take advantage of a new opportunity.  I see the circle in the cross as a representation of something that holds our life together as we take different directions and new paths.  The circle not only holds together, but brings together different elements in our life.  It’s a powerful symbol.

For me, the four main directions that need connecting and balancing are relationships (family and friends), work, spirit and creativity.  I need to remain aware of each point in my cross (life) and find time to connect each to the other and continue to maintain the balance that feels good to me. 

What is the crossroad you are facing right now?  What helps you hold the major points of your life together? 

Gail Brokaw, MA, CC
http://www.embracethepossibility.org
lifecoach@embracethepossibility.org
You CAN make the change you want in your life!

 

Oh Happy Day!

How can you not feel good when you listen to this group sing?  Enjoy a happy day of your own!

 Gail
http://www.embracethepossibility.org