The Journal of his Delights

Of Wolves and Men

The truth about wolves is the truth inside their teeth,
the language of bone and smile inseparable,
the pull of gravity upon an over-ripened pear
to split upon the earth, its sweetness devoured.

Theirs is an intangible, awkward grace,
full of bounding gaits
and determined dashes through the leafy darkness–
an inescapable, pointed attention
for things great and small, swift and slow,
both a quiet, terrible presence
and a plaintive song thrown to the sky
resonant with longing and belonging.

Such familiar animals,
the truth about wolves is that we know them
like the hart knows its hunter.

From the Dalai Lama:

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Like the Zoe Keating post, here’s another artist that loops herself in order to make music. This time it’s Theresa Andersson.

Yes, that’s her playing all those instruments, and doesn’t she look like she’s just having an amazing time? It’s worth watching the whole thing through — for each song she does something a little different.

The “Books I Dig” meme continues. This time, though, I move away from the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres, and talk about books that have had an impact on my spirit.

If you’re looking for the two previous entries, they can be found here and here. Now on to the new books:

The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
This is my favorite book of poetry of all time. Rumi (through Barks) leads the reader on a merry, mad romp that encompasses the soul’s deepest longings and wildest gyrations — a journey to the very edge of spirit, where words cease to be functional and you have to step onto the path yourself in order to follow along.

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English
If The Essential Rumi is my favorite book of poetry of all time, then the Tao Te Ching is the book I’ve read the most often. It’s not a long — just 81 extremely short chapters — but the depth of its wisdom is profound. And this translation is so unadorned, it might seem plain — at least until you realize that the words don’t need any special flourishes. Rather, like good bread, it is simple but nourishing fare.

A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield
My yoga teacher in Los Angeles, Leslie Porter, turned me onto this book, and it’s been a fantastic resource. Kornfield is a former Buddhist monk, psychologist, and one of the stalwarts of American Buddhism. And he does just what he claims in the title — he lays out the “perils and promises” attendant with walking a spiritual path. More importantly, he does it in a way that’s clear, accessible, warm, and thought-provoking. He’s lived and breathed this stuff, collected the stories of others who’ve done the same, and put it all together in the service sharing this accummulated wisdom. There have been many books that have changed my life, and this is certainly one of the most important of them.

Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh
Many people don’t realize that Siddhartha Gautama (otherwise known as the Buddha) lived to be 80. That’s a long life to chronicle, but Thich Nhat Hanh does a good job of it. While the later chapters bog down a little with the need to cover the origins of important sutras, the early chapters are a special treat in that they read almost like a novel. All-in-all, the book makes real a very human Buddha, a man who reached enlightenment and stuck around to help show others the possibility of living lives free from suffering.

Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein
This is an excellent introduction and guide to Vipassana, i.e. insight meditation, also called mindfulness. The writing is clear and the “lessons” follow a sensible progression. This is the book that first introduced me to meditation focusing on the body and emotions. As a bonus, the package includes a couple of audio CDs to guide the practitioner. If you’re curious about meditation, this book is a great way to get started.

As I mentioned in Tag — I’m It, I’ve taken to arranging lunch outings for my co-workers, so that we’re not always eating at our desks. I use it as an opportunity to try out restaurants in the area, and today it was Pilita Grill, a Turkish/Mediterranean place in San Carlos, CA. It’s located on Laurel Street, which is clearly turning out to be the city’s restaurant row.

We started out with their Mezze Plater (a misspelling perhaps?), which was the highlight of the meal. The Plater comes with seven of items, one of which is chef’s choice. The humus was a little bland, but everything else was flavorful. I especially liked the Kisir, a Turkish version of tabouli heavy on the cous cous, and the Mucver, shredded zucchini fritters. Our chef’s choice was Yarma, a strained yogurt with wheat berries added. Quite nice.

The entrees came quickly enough. One of the day’s special’s was Lamb Moussaka, ground lamb layered with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and chopped parsley. The parsley made it taste a bit like Kefta, since that’s a common ingredient in that kabob. I liked the plate, although I felt like it was missing something.

My co-workers ordered wraps: one Fish Wrap (tilapia) and three Falafel Wraps. The wraps came with a choice of salad or fries. The fries were big, thick, cross-cut style, and were much approved of. The salads were tasty, although over-dressed. If you don’t like your salad drenched, you might ask them to go easy. The Wraps themselves were good, although not amazing. My co-workers felt they were also missing something. Salt was added to the tilapia, and one person mentioned that she thought the falafel at Mediterranean Delite was better.

Overall, it was a thumbs-up experience. Nothing extraordinary, but definitely a place to add to one’s repertoire. If you do go, be sure to try the Mezze.

A soft and almost intoxicating voice — please enjoy Emiliana Torrini’s Birds:

This find was courtesy of Emily.

From Plato:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a difficult battle.

This past weekend, a small group of us wandered the area around the Ferry Building looking for photographs. Nothing sang to me, but I did find some interesting textures. And the light was so pretty in places.

It has been such a long time since I was out with my camera, just looking for interesting images. So long time in fact that neither of my film cameras is working. Hopefully, it’s just a matter of dead batteries, but I recall the Nikon F3 was having shutter problems before I went off to London.

Now I wonder if I shouldn’t go properly digital. My point-and-shoot did all right when I was traveling, but I felt constricted on the outing. Decisions, decisions. In the meantime, here’s a sample from the weekend:

If you’d like to see the rest of the images, you can find them at Flickr.

From Andrea Fella, one of the teachers at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City:

Compassion is the response to suffering by an open heart. Pity is the near enemy of compassion. For with pity, you separate yourself those suffering. You make them an “other.”

Grace

I feel it brush my heart,
rousing wisdom from its deep slumber.
Floating in from higher ground,
it lifts me from death’s black grasp.
Even though I fail myself,
Grace finds me,
and clarifies my soul.