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Still time to attend this joyous performance…click image for tickets

On Being: Ross Gay, On the Insistence of Joy

When I am in search of wisdom, Krista Tippett, creator of the podcast On Being is someone I often turn to. She introduces me to many interesting people, and through the interviews she conducts, I walk away a little wiser.

In this week's episode, she poses the question: How can we possibly be joyful at a time like this? If you seek the answer to this question like me, you might want to listen to this interview with Ross Gay, poet, essayist, gardener, professor, and ex-college football player Ross Gay.

ODE TO SLEEPING IN MY CLOTHES
by Ross Gay

And though I don’t mention it
to my mother
or the doctors
with their white coats
it is, in fact,
a great source of happiness,
for me, as I don’t
even remove my socks,
and will sometimes
even pull up my hood
and slide my hands deep
in my pockets
and probably moreso
than usual look as if something
bad has happened
my heart blasting a last somersault
or some artery parting
like curtains in a theatre
while the cavalry of blood
comes charging through
except unlike
so many of the dead
I must be smiling
there in my denim
and cotton sarcophagus
slightly rank from the day
it is said that Shostakovich slept
with a packed suitcase beneath
his bed and it is said
that black people were snatched
from dark streets and made experiments
of and you and I
both have family whose life
savings are tucked 12 feet beneath
the Norway maple whose roots
splay like the bones
in the foot of man
who was walked to Youngstown, Ohio
from Mississippi without sleeping
or keeping his name
and it’s a miracle
maybe I almost never think of
to rise like this
and simply by sliding my feet into my boots
while the water for coffee
gathers its song
be in the garden
or on the stoop
running, almost,
from nothing.

An Interesting Reincarnation Story to Consider

I found this story on Facebook in a group called Signs of Reincarnation: Experiences and Research that I joined a while ago. It is hosted by a man named Jim Matlock, someone like me fascinated with this subject and unlike me, has become a real expert in the field. This particular anecdote was written in by a woman named Anne Ward and it struck me as particularly compelling. Judge for yourself:

"My adult son brought a young lady he was seeing over to my house one evening. We were talking about various subjects when out of the blue she said, "I have something to ask you. I understand you have abilities and I need help with something that has been bothering me for years. " She went on to say that she knew she had lived in the south in a previous life and she felt she had lived during the 1960s because she recalled watching tv shows that were only in the 60s and she remembered many other things about her childhood. She felt that she had lived in either Alabama or Georgia. She had never been to either state and was born in Arizona. She said she remembered having long red hair because she drowned in a swimming hole and she could see her hair flowing in the water as she was drowning. She also recalled that she was a young teenager when it occured."

At first I didn't know how to help her so I told her that I would mediate and see if anything came to me. Later, I did a meditation and requested help. Quite unexpectedly, a message came from the other side that her name was Joy Morgan (I'm not listing her real name) and that she died in 1978 in the state of Georgia. I was excited and immediately began my research the following day. It took some time but I found the grave in Georgia through a great website called Find a Grave The name and the age were spot on. I contacted the newpaper in Augusta GA and asked them for a copy of the obituary. Still, it didn't say how she died. I then contacted the name of the person who entered the memorial info on the cemetary site and she was very forthcoming with info. She said that Joy was her first cousin and that she was a zany kid with long red hair. The 14 year old had gone with a friend to a local swimming hole (common in the southern countryside). She wanted to get the attention of some boys there by pretending she was drowning and she actually couldn't swim well. She went under and didn't come up. The red hair was the clincher. I knew for sure that it had to be her. Another interesting tidbit....her initials then and her initials now are the same, except in different order. Her photo was on the site and there is a resemblance in the eyes. I continued and found her old residence and copied the photo. I showed it to her to see her response and her first reaction was, "that's the tree I used to play in." She was amazed and so relieved to know that her memories and feelings were now authenticated. I feel this is truly a verifiable case. I have others with family and pets but this one is unique

A Few of the Songs I am Listening to These Days

Theme Song from Big Little Lies

James Blunt & Iam Tongi, Monsters

Michael Kiwanuka Cold Little Heart

John Hiatt What Do We Do Now

Bruce Hornsby Big Swing Face (the whole album)

Shakira, Hips Don't Lie

Leonard Cohen sung by Jennifer Warnes, First We Take Manhattan

George Harrison, sung by Astrid Samuelsen, Beware of Darkness

Los Lobos, Kiko and the Lavender Moon

Uniontown (whole album)

Tracy Chapman, All That You Have is Your Soul

Sergio Mendes, Mas Que Nada

Painting of the Week

Charity of the Week:

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.