Hallelujah

ahh, happiest of fag ends of the year to all!

although i sometimes wonder what we celebrate on these final wintry december days?

being done w/ the tarnished emotions and experiences of the past year or thankful for the eternal hopes for next year.

with war and death in gaza, afghanistan, sudan, and the (occasionally) democratic republic of congo, it seems a sorry end to 2008, alas.

not to mention kathmandu's recent 14 hours of load-shedding (meaning no electricity) as a xmas gift from the politicians to the enduring people of nepal.

but, enough of that! why quibble with the realities of the world when there is so much beauty below & between. the sun shines on those we love and the stars sparkle at night, right immanuel?

actually, we are blessed (baruch barack) with our boyz here at home with us for these holidays. as we bump into their large bodies and larger souls, shaku and i are amazed at our own creations and gifts. they stroll these rooms and incline on the couches with an ease and comfort that can only make these longing parents proud.

this morning josh & i worked on his college applications. through his brief essays i find new aspects of my oldest son, his joys and his ambitions. i enjoy editing these brief glimpses into his world, thoughts and aspirations. he's become a fine writer and i can see how he stretches himself to find a way to be of service to this struggling world.

now, this afternoon,i just came in from working in the garden for a few hours, cutting down a deceased peach tree (om mani padma hung!), watering the citrus trees and admiring our handiwork of the past four years in our half-acre of orchard over on the western side of our compound (we go through a gate to get there...).

ms. leah, the dogs, gumbi, lapsi and pancakes acorn chasey, and i were out there w/ tek-dai, our man friday, who was burning new green compost and digging up old compost.

it's been a cool, cloudy day as i trundled around in my ersatz bangkok crocs, my toucan gap boxers and a warm fleece jacket scott bought in phnom penh and brought here on the millennium new year when he came with the whole family long before we moved up on our hillside.

such is my casual home attire for the wintry afternoons in kathmandu. a bit of a sartorial mish-mash that keeps me warm while enjoying the weak sunlight that still shimmers over the himalaya even in the depth of 'winter'.

as i listen to jeff buckley sing 'hallelujah' with the darkness settling in around us. the lights go off in 20 minutes for the next six hours. yet before they go off, it's such a joy to listen to the beauty of the human voice. this song 'hallelujah' happens to be on the english top xmas songs this year by two different artists.

if you find either the jeff buckley or leonard cohen (he wrote it) version, you'll find a sacred sound to carry us into the new year.

'maybe there's a god above but all i've learned from love is... a cold and broken hallelujah...'

sometimes, dear friends, that's enough.