New Books

I've added a couple of books to the list in my sidebar in the last few days.

Both of them were memoirs. "The Year I Got Everything I Wanted" by Cameron Conant, whose blog I also link to, and "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I liked both.

I particularly liked the following short passage from Gilbert's book. I liked the word she describes, because I understand, just a little, that idea of "living at the border". She writes:

I was reading through an old text about Yoga, when I found a description of ancient spiritual seekers. A Sanskrit word appeared in the paragraph: ANTEVASIN. It means "one who lives at the border." In ancient times this was a literal description. It indicated a person who had left the bustling center of worldly life to go live at the edge of the forest where the spiritual masters dwelled. The antevasin was not one of the villagers anymore - not a householder with a conventional life. But neither was he yet a transcendent - not one of those sages who live deep in the unexplored woods, fully realized. The antevasin was an in-betweener. He was a border-dweller. He lived in sight of both worlds, but he looked toward the unknown. And he was a scholar.

Christmas Church

Mostly, if you know me, you know that I really don't get that into Christmas, or Christmas music. There are just other seasons and holidays I like better.

BUT

I love the last church service before Christmas. We always have great music, and a good time with each other. Today my brother is directing a choir. I've heard his school choir sing the song they're performing, and I'm looking forward to hearing the church members do it. And a "cookie buffet" after the service - how cool is that? Everyone brings a plate of Christmas goodies to share.

So, that's where I'll be this morning. Getting into the Christmas spirit, and eating cookies.

Then I'm coming home to experiment with my roommate at making a traditional dessert that they have at Christmas in New Zealand.

See ya later!