Happiness Bank

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'

'That doesnʼt' t have anything to do with it,' he replied.

Happiness is something y ou decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.

'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Why dogs don't have to live so long

A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old).
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Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker.

The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for amiracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.' Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!
Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it andwalk away.

Organ

Choir Loft/ Organ @ Mission Santa Barbara


Choir Loft/ Organ @ Mission San Luis Obispo

Fill in the Blank...

Last week (is it ONLY last week?!) I attended the Winter Chant Intensive Workshop organized by Musica Sacra, Church Music Association of America. It's right here in San Diego, so don't really have excuse NOT to attend. :)


When they say intense, they meant it! The time is long (Monday afternoon to Friday afternoon), basically 9am in the morning, to 6pm; with Wednesday & Thursday evening until 8:30pm. Both evenings were for chironomy (conducting) of Chant.

The Workshop used the Solesmes Method, focused on the singing, technicalities, in creating Schola in parishes. We went through the basic -
= Names for the neumes ~ hopefully those names are going to stick around in my head finally!! I never could remembered them when I learnt that as undergrad/ grad/ from voice lessons/ Medieval Workshops...

= Modes ~ I must admit this part was boring... I kept hoping the instructor would talk about the characteristic of the different modes. But he only went through the ranges, finals, dominants.

I think the part I learnt the most, was first, Chironomy, the Conducting of Chant. It's quite interesting. The technique, the movements of the hands imitate those of the sea, like the waves.

THe other thing I learnt most, is HOW to communicate with others, so to 'teach' them how to sing Chant, in a systematic way. For those of you Berkeleyans, who had sung under Prof Kuzma's direction, the systematic Solesmes Method is quite the departure from the "Thomas Binkley" Methold. :D

Maybe I should say that the Binkley way of singing, is more performance oriented. A dramatized way of singing Chant. Like Sequentia vs the Nuns from Einbingen Benedictine Abbey. After the Workshop, I looked through the Chants I sung along with the Dufay Missa. And was amazed. At that time, I think we learnt by oral tradition, it worked on for that level of singing, for that type of ensemble. And working with singers in a parish, or amateur community groups, Solesmes Method would work better, I think.

So I guess that's why I feel that, although I have learnt lots of new things in the Workshop; it was also a big Ah-Ha! moment. Kind of like "Fill-in-the-black/ That's why we sang it like that!"

There were actually two other people from our church attending the Workshop. One of them is the music coordinator. & We are starting a little group to sing the Proper Communion Chant during the 9am Mass. I actually have been doing that for the Chinese Mass (because people have to go to Communion, & I don't need to); but just some common hymns like Adoro Te Devote, Pagne Lingua, Ubi Caritas, Salve Regina, etc.

The week ended with a beautiful, tradition Latin Mass! We sang all the Ordinary & Proper in Latin (The readings were recited in English though). Now I am just wondering... did we record the readings, the Alleluia, the Pater Nostram for the Dufay? None of those made it in the CD...