If you clicked on the link and read any of it, you’ll understand why I need a memory tool. I guess there are different ways to approch it. I’ve read many translations, listened to it chanted (to the point where I started to recognize certain words in Sanskrit), read different explanations, tried internalizing it and I suppose this is my attempt to externalize it.

The word birds put it into a language that I could readily understand on a personal level. Each bird has only a fragment of the sutra, which is all I’m able to remember anyway (I’ve yet to memorize it). And they remind me that the “word” is not the thing it describes, merely a shadow of it.

Ultimately Buddhism, as with any faith, is not about understanding, but about practice. So I will practice my art and make more word birds and see where they lead me.

…stay tuned.

prayer flags wave above a bench outside the bookstore

Today the path to peace lead to lunch at Pendell Hill, a Quaker retreat and learning center right down the road. The dining room is open to all who stay there for whatever reason (courses, sabbaticals, staff, family, sojourners) and anyone else who calls ahead and wants to enjoy a welcoming Community. The moment of silence after the chimes are rung and before the guests enter the dining hall was no ordinary silence. It was a full minute of silence and even the children were silent.  There was humus and fresh baked bread, tuna salad; two soups, zucchini and peanut; fresh organic spring mix and sprouts; a special treat for a student’s birthday, Korean pancakes and noodles, and for dessert (normally there is no dessert) chocolate brownies and organic ice cream. The Registrar was kind enough to sit with us and also a woman from Washington state, here with her husband for a three month course. So we didn’t feel left out. After lunch we visited the bookstore (I bought a book on Quaker history, so I might be better informed on my next visit). And we walked the 1 mile path, past the gardens and greenhouse; past a 300 year old Beech, and a stand of bamboo.

a sign by a mossy rock leads the way to the wood chip path

columns of trees line the path

the main building and greenhouse; the garden provides much of the food served

a massive 300 year old American Beech, only a young tree at the time of William Penn

Landreth’s  is one of the oldest companies in the US and they are trying to stay in business by selling one million catalogs by the end of October. For $5.00 you get an amazing, what is sure to be collectable, informative compendium! Which, may I add, is printed right here in the good old US of A!!

After years of reading about artist trading cards I’ve finally started making some of my own.

I cannibalized an old deck of cards. Covered them with soap wrapers, and layered them with random text and bird shapes.

                                                      Find out more here:   http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/index.html

Here we are some 20 odd years ago, already well into our relationship. Today is our 19th anniversary but we were living in sin for 11 years before that. Having done the math, that is 30 together! Through all the changes; jobs, houses, hair styles, births, deaths, all the stray animals and the stay animals, all the art and music, all the dreams deferred and the dreams realized, we have been the constants in each others lives.

For all you lovers out there, relationships are never easy. Like gardens they need some tending, and yes your hands will get dirty. Our garden hasn’t always been a paradise, even now it is still a work in progress. But we have weeded out our own insecurities and planted trust. We’ve pruned the branches of the “me” tree, and learned to spend more time under the “you” tree. We learned to accept what would flourish and to enjoy the fruits of our labor of love. So Happy Anniversary my love! And here’s to 30 more years of digging in the dirt!