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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Jeweled_Griffon's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
8:56 pm
A Rare Update
One of those once every couple of years Adi decides to post . . . I'm even thinking of checking Livejournal more often.  Maybe.

I wrote an email update and realized that I could check livejournal and use this as a post, so:

A Random Day in the Life of Adi:

1) Went to a talk this morning by two senior fellows at my workplace, the United States Institute of Peace (Yes, we have an Institute of Peace. Yes, our budget is a rounding error on the budget of the Department of Defense!) -- the talk was on negotiating with non-state rebel groups. (One fellow was in the parliament in Uganda and started the peace process with a rebel group there, the other ran dialogue groups as part of the peace process in Guatemala and Colombia.)

2) Next spoke one on one to get advice from another senior fellow, a woman who did an anthropology phd at Yale and now studies culture in the military. I'm going to Yale for a political science phD next year.

3) Went to the Egyptian consulate on International Court to get a visa for my jaunt to Cairo coming up later this month. Hilarious and wierd place. There's a circle of embassies, basically consisting of all of the Organization for Islamic States right next to each other. The United Arab Emirates' domed, tiled, crenellated and excessively embellished embassy outshines all the others. There are police everywhere, people in native outfits, and just. . .people watching you. I went to the wrong entrance at first, and some guy idling behind me in a car with dark sunglasses told me where to go. Some other delivery guy passed by and yelled "where's the Israeli embassy?" I was standing next to the Pakistan embassy, Egypt, OAU -- I told him I really doubted the Israeli embassy was in the area. But I googled it later - it's actually very nearby! Along with Slovakia and Austria. Really strange.

4) On the way back from the Egyptian consulate I saw a big ad in the metro to End the Occupation in Israel, along with a counter-ad about terrorism. Some people saw me looking at the ads and asked for my opinion. Since this kind of vitriolic back-and-forth media also occurred on Stanford campus while I was running a dialogue group there between Muslims and Jews, I had a lot to say. Turns out they were journalists from the Associated Press and I'll probably be quoted in an article in the next couple of days.

5) Went back to The United States Institute of Peace and summarized articles on conflict prevention and when international efforts to prevent intra state despite since the Cold War have succeeded or failed.

Miss all you guys in the Bay Area, even if I only catch a glimpse of your lives through very, very occasional LiveJournal catch-up reading sessions!
Monday, March 27th, 2006
1:42 pm
An Actual Update from me!
I have recently been guilt-tripped by a certain Whitman-attending, Livejournal-using, honors thesis-writing friend of mine into keeping up with my friend's lives on livejournal. Now, I still subscribe to the theory that since I'm the center of the universe all of my friends should of course routinely call me to update me about their lives, but for those of you delinquents who refuse to do so, I just maybe might start checking livejournal more. Maybe. Depends on how often I get guilt-tripped!

Oh, and I don't actually think I'm the center of the universe :) I just would rather talk in person but just get busy and forgot to call others as often as I should, so am always glad when they call me.

In any case, I thought I would update people! This is going to be long since it's been a ridiculously long time since I've done so. (This is another reason I don't use Livejournal. . .I'd type too much and hurt my hands!) I have one quarter left to go at Stanford and then I'm done!!! I'm really going to miss it - the access we have to just about anything interesting is ridiculous. I go to talks by really knowledgeable people who are at the top of their profession all the time. Normally attendance at those talks would cost maybe $100 each. Whenever I get interested in a topic, I can email a professor who is the world expert about the subject and he will email me back, or I can find funding to explore the topic on my own. Most of all I love the people at Stanford. . . everybody is just amazing! They like having long pointless discussions over interesting topics. And I love being able to send an email to my dorm with any sort of random request (hey, can anyone teach me how to play the Irish whistle? What the fuck is wrong with my computer?) and someone can help. Just the other day, somebody in my dorm decided to make ice-cream using leftover liquid nitrogen from his physics lab. He got whipped cream, sugar and eggs, mixed them, then poured liquid nitrogen on top and presto - icecream. That incident really typifies Stanford to me -- really ingenious people doing fun things in ways that involve more money than necessary to do the task!

On the other hand, Stanford is always go-go-go. You feel guilty for even thinking of picking up a book because there are so many amazing opportunities for ways to spend one's time. Well, ok, and I have this problem where I'm interested in many things so do a lot, but none necessarily as well as should be done. I think it also has to do with me being a political science major -- I feel more pressured to spend time on extracurriculars that give me job skills since I'm not learning that many in my major. This last year has been my busiest yet -- I'm trying to finish my major (I just finished my math minor! Yes! No more math! ::happy dance::) and write an honors thesis. I was also spending lots of time job searching. I'm also the fundraiser for a Stanford student run camp called Camp Kesem. It's free for any kid in the Bay Area whose parents have cancer. So writing the grants takes a lot of time. I was running a Jewish-Muslim dialogue group but gave that up due to lack of time.

For those I really haven't talked to in a long while - I had an amazing summer internship in New York with the American Jewish Committee (AJC). I researched African-American and Jewish relations to see how organizations could work better in the future. (They already work together a lot because the AJC is about fighting anti-Semitism and in order to do so they promote a lot of civil rights legislation and such that the NAACP etc is also working on). I got to meet the Mufti of Ukraine, some high level German military men, and others passing through the AJC to say hello. Then for two weeks before the school year started I helped teach a course on science fiction novels with a Religious Studies professor. That was fun too!

This winter break I went to Europe with my boyfriend Michael. We had a blast -- we went to Northern Ireland so I could interview people for my honors thesis, then for fun we went to Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Florence and Rome. It's funny - for two nice Jewish kids, we acted like very good Catholics. We were in Notre Dame for a Christmas mass and were blessed by the Pope (amongst a crowd) in Vatican City. So Michael and I have now passed the "can travel together" couples test :) We've been constantly growing closer and more in love, which brings me to. . .

The Future.

I was lucky enough to receive a fellowship recently that funds me to work at a foundation (that gives grants, like the National Science Foundation). So now I have to spend the next few months calling places and telling them I'm already funded, would they like me around to work on a project with them. It's a great opportunity for someone interested in non-profit work. It also gives me geographic flexibility. Michael is probably going to graduate school at MIT next year, so I will probably look for a foundation in Boston. So if you're going to come to Boston next year, email me!

I'm still debating job options for the future. I'm not that interested in law school (the default for political science students). Yet many people who do things I'm interested in (like mediation, arbitration, conflict resolution) come from law backgrounds. I could be a professor, but would rather be a bit more activist oriented. I could work at non-profits. . . all of my work has been in Jewish nonprofits so far. There's a lot I like about Jewish non-profits -- people are smart, there are diverse opinions, people are fairly open-minded, engaged in trying to change the world according to liberal values, keep up with politics, etc. On the other hand, it isn't diverse in terms of race and is somewhat more closed-minded on very particular issues. We'll see. . .

I'm hopefullygoing to spend the summer relaxing before going to Boston. I'd really like a break, to earn some money, and time to take care of myself. (My hands are doing ok -- I'm lucky in that if I don't use them, they stop hurting. But there are still many potential remedies that I haven't tried and would like to). So I hope to see many of you this summer! If you hear of part-time job opportunities around Stanford, let me know :)
Tuesday, May 11th, 2004
10:18 pm
An Update from Me? Yes!
Hello! I could say that I an updating as a way to procrastinate when I really don't have time to do so,but actually, I realized that I miss people! Michael (Chu) I miss you! Albert, ah, who misses you ;) I mean, I would never write a long email and accidentally send it 'reply all' to a list of people, would I? Aleatha, Eric, and all of you who have been welcoming. . . I'd like to see you all again before Albert gets back! It's 3 weeks till summer for me. . . maybe we can plan something for then? Your entries, which I skim infrequently, are always colorful stories for me. . . by which I don't mesn full of drama, but rather that they create colors in my head :)

Kaidevis and others have written entries which make me realize how private of a person I am, despite being outgoing and talkative. He wrote an entry saying he felt trapped because he didn't want to offend others by being honest on lj when writing his thoughts. Everyone who commented said he shouldn't feel that way. But my first reaction was "why not write in a diary then?" What do you gain from sharing to an anonymous outer world? I guess possible good feedback? Just knowing others have heard you? How about a friend of mine, who wrote on lj how much she cared for her boyfriend, and how scared she was it wouldn't work? He wrote back saying "I love you" for the first time. why over lj and not in person? (btway albert what are maria and aaron's lj's?) . Maybe one day I will lesrn to be open on lj.

me update! Hands still hurt. Am taking hebrew, jews in the modern world, social psych, a math seminar on knots. doing decently well, yay! Possible in'l relations major. Done organizing Jewish stuff (except the middle east dialogue group, israeli folk dancing, and teaching sunday school). Next year will live in a two-room double (yay! private space!) with a roommate I like so happiness! Summer I will work with a poli sci prof on GATT/WTO stuff mostly here, some in Geneva. Then I'm going to China with an asian studies prof ::much excitement::

I love my friends. I am so lucky and remember it every day. Ask me about Naomi and toothbrushing :)

I quite suddenly fell into a relationship with another sophomore named Michael. Like my roommate he is in an a capella group whose spring show is this weekend so . . . well, I was going to say so i have more free time but that's not so. They are in the best groups - one africa themed, one humor, not the standard. Both are strong candidates for director next year.

We are happily growing closer and it is sooo wonderful. He is unbelievably sweet and considerate. Let me say that again. He is unbelievably sweet and considerate. He is also creative, willing to explore in many ways, studious, and Jewish, all of which matter to me. I am ridiculously happy. I have never been in such a smooth serious relationship and I like it a lot.

Good luck to all in your endeavours!
Friday, January 30th, 2004
11:58 am
Comedians at the CoHo (Coffee House)
It's done. 4 weeks of stress I didn't know was there is slowly draining out of me. OOooh, am I relaxed and happy. Working with Ali Hassan and Jon Elkin, I brought a Palestinian-American and Jewish-American comedian duo to the CoHo. It was amazing. It's not often you have a dream of something you want to get done - and it happens. The CoHo was packed. You could not move, people were sitting on the floor and standing in the back. 2 or 300 people. I introduced them on the mic (which my roommate helped me get), there was an article in the daily about it. . . it was wonderful. After the show a girl named Mabrooka along with us three organizers stayed and talked with the comedians. This was probably the most important part of the event, because she's extremely involved in MSAN (Muslim Student something Network), and they refused to sponsor us, even though OASIS (Org. for Arab-Americans in Stanford) did. She skipped the event, but Ali called and told her she super-missed out and better come over. Hopefully, they'll be a bit more open to working with Hillel in the future. It's interesting, it doesn't bother me that the Stanford-Israel Alliance didn't sponsor it, because it's for different reasons, and they were all there and excited about the event.

Anyway. I worked so hard, and I'm proud. !!!!

Thanks to all of you who made it over.
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2003
12:32 am
Standard Diary entry esque post
Israeli Terrorists:Brother & I went to Irgun museum in the morning. About an Israeli terrorist organization that fought for independence under the British. Did a lot of stuff like break into a British airbase and blow up all the planes, steal money from a British railroad car, etc. After Israel won it's independence the gov went on a huge campaign to convince people to turn in the terrorists, which meant turning in family members.

Shopping! Yesterday ate lunch with a bunch of cousins and walked the open air markets on Allenby & Shook haCarmel.
12:26 am
Long Distance Relationships & a comment for Aaron
Long Distance Relationships: in the cafe a couple nights ago Jasmine, my cousin Naama's friend, was really upset because her boyfriend never gets to see her, he's missed her last two birthday's, etc. . . he's a "warrior" in the army, which means his phone-call time is extremely limited (3 min often) and he comes home 1 or 2 weekends a month. Before he comes home he must stay up all night so that when he returns all he wants to do is sleep. Can you imagine? This means for 3 years, you get to see your boyfriend around 1 or 2 months a year. At least for us college kids we often get 3,4 month summer vacation, plus a couple weeks winter break. . .

Aaron: Do you know what I brought to Israel? The beautiful journal you bound for me last year. I brought it as a diary. Am I using it? NO! Am I using livejournal instead? YES! IT"S ALL YOUR FAULT! This is my first trip since 7th grade I haven't written a diary for!
12:07 am
Post working: ironic situations & Aboriginal thought
Can one have irony without coincidence?

I'm sitting in a car, which is squeezed in between other cars by putting one side up onto the sidewalk. People in the car are talking when suddenly we notice that another car is parking on our sidewalk side. Imagine looking out the window onto the sidewalk and seeing a car parked there! Then, on our left, this truck which has been up at the stoplight ahead of us for ages decides to back up. . . the entire length of the street, on our left. It continues backwards around the corner and disappears! Then, in front of us a red light starts dancing up and down a tree (lazerpoint?) this cat runs up and down the tree chasing it!

Yeah, I was bored in the car. I was on my way back from visiting my dad's high school friend Orna, so he and Orna were talking and I was sitting. She lives 1/2 hr away from Tel Aviv in the widthwise direction, aka 5 miles from the West Bank (Israel is TINY). She talked about this book on Aborigines she read. The tribe's decided not to procreate, they want to eliminate themselves. Meanwhile they're passing on their philosophy to some white woman living among them (I wish I was her). Orna said they don't have competative (sp?) games, how they view food as a gift from Nature (they wander around and look! a beast! a fruit!) and they don't understand our obsession with sauce (why is the cover what makes something look nice, instead of the object itself?). Though these observations about their life are interesting, I feel really ambivalent about books like the one Orna read. On one hand, I agree that people should be able to learn about other philosophies and take what helps them develop spiritually/mentally. And it helps to know that their are systems of thought different from ours. However, it frustrates me when people only see the good in another syste, especially whatever addresses their own problems. Ex: I feel my life's too competitive, hey, let's become Buddhist because they Buddhists are loving (another thing Orna said). It's not my place to say what's right for another person to do in terms of studying philosophies. If what Orna does works for Orna, I'm happy for her. But I guess for me, I would reply to her by saying, "so this Aborigine group wasn't competitive. How will that help you?" and also "which do you prefer? Competitiveness and the chance for individualism, or the kind of society with such an immense pressure toward uniformity that they can decide as a group to become celibate and for their young children to become celibate and not one will default from their decision?" As for her comment on Buddhism: maybe Mahayana Buddhism fits that, but what about other groups of Buddhists? If we're talking about compassion, be careful what is meant by compassion! Buddha left his wife and son in the palace when he went out to explore the world. . . .
12:06 am
will this post work?
my last post was ruined by strange differences in lj not liking the Israeli time on my computer. It said I wasn't allowed to post before my previous post unless I turn on 'backlog' which I don't know how to do.
Monday, December 22nd, 2003
12:43 pm
Various Topics
How do I link my entry?

End of Break in Israel: went dancing in Israel, experiences in the Muslim and Christian quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem. If interesting, please ask! Oh, I miss yummy European/Middle-Eastern food. . . .

End of Break Here: I was sure I'd finally seen all the nifty hidden objects around Stanford, but No! When I went Walking with Albert and some people he showed me the Stone River by the Cantor Arts Center. The world's full of surprising treasures right around well-known corners. . . literally. I enjoyed seeing high school friends, although it's too bad that I had enough time to finish catching up but not enough to get to the state of friendship where you can just hang and not talk about anything at all. Or at least, not enough of it :)

Autumn's Party: I'd of course heard of Autumn's gift for making new and interesting connections - wow is it the truth! I was so surprised to see Neil walking down the hall! I got to know him because I had a long talk with him after he and my best friend broke up, so it was good to see how he's been doing since then. Also met many people who are friends with a good friend of mine! There were too many interesting people I didn't get a chance to talk to however; I didn't realize how much I gravitate to people my age. . . I think that's not always the norm, it takes a certain environment. Also, when I meet so many people worth getting to know, I want to take them aside and really get to know them, as opposed to fun intelligent conversations. An issue with parties in general I suppose.

Responses to last sentences? How do you deal with that?

New Quarter at School: I'll write more when more is finalized. I'm at the moment antsy because I learned that I got into a really cool sounding seminar on justice, conflict and dispute resolution (psychology). The prof just met with Arafat.
Sunday, December 21st, 2003
3:01 pm
Quick Update on Actions
2 days ago: stayed up all night due to jet league. Slept from 9AM-4PM. Went to an uncle's house and ate yummy food.
Yesterday: Slept from 1AM to 4AM. Early morning walked with my brother to the house of David Ben-Gurion, first prime minister of Israel. Very humble house, but every wall upstairs is covered in bookshelves. Nice. Cool letters on the wall from various U.S. presidents, and others (Winston CHurchill, King of Burma, Nigeria. . .) oh, and one making Ben-Gurion honorary admiral of the Georgia Navy, signed by the Georgian governor. . . Jimmy Carter!?? Went to Dizengoff St, which is a pretty famous downtown area. Ate with Naama and her friends in a cafe: standard Israeli breakfast of cucumbers/tomatoes with eggs and cheese. Off to my aunt's house for the first night of Channuka, hung out with cousins. At night Naama and friends went to a fashion show. Scary place, very um. . . well, chains and such. And overly expensive. Had tea and hookah in a cafe in Yafo (Jaffa), the old city. Really neat architecture. The cafe was styled like caves within caves, so cozy round rooms with cushions. Yafo is composed of ancient white stone.
Stuff to do today cancelled due to my mother and sister having fevers. I miss everyone! I'm having fun and so glad that Naama is willing to rearrange her schedule for me!
Thursday, December 18th, 2003
9:01 pm
Cousins Con
Father's brother: Chermon. He's hilarious. Business man, very sarcastic, keen, arrogant in a good way. He's simply always right, you see? :) Having an argument with this side of the family is always a blast: opinionated people with a sharp sense of irony who talk loudly. Married to Hagar. She's tall and slender and passed on her good looks to her kids. A biologist, I think. Similar in self confidence and humor to Chermon. Oldest daughter: Inbal. Always super busy, with a boyfriend, and older than us, so we see her less. She's in a design school at the moment, infusing metal into clothing. Unique decorator, you should see her room. Her brother, a bit older than me, is Itai. Finished his army service. Did the work/travel world with friends thing and is now starting university. Philosophy/cognitive science double major. His goal is to be an Oxford philosophy professor. In high school he "triple majored" (different system) in physics, chemistry, and CS. I used to hang out with him a lot when here because of his taste for fantasy books and roleplaying. I think he has his first girlfriend at the moment. Next, his younger sister (my brother's age): Noam. Tomboy. Loves Dawson's creek. Same wicked sense of humor as the rest of the family. Haven't talked to her much yet. Has grown into a beauty.
Assorted "second cousins" include a photographer of Israel married to a woman who writes blurbs for his photos which they then turn into touristy books, and their children. . .
Yes. Awesome people. Tomorrow my brother and I will probably go museum hopping.
8:56 pm
Cousin Rundown Con
Father's side (first cousins):
His sister, Ditza, is an enthusiastic, happy person. Psychologist. Private. In Israel private practitioners make a lot more than those payed by the state, but it's hard to build up a private client base. Her husband Neecim, is a surgeon who works under the gov. Cooks good lasagna, yum. Naama I have already spoken of. She is an extraordinarily excellent painter, very creative. Drove me bonkers when I was little because I liked everything done in the lines in the correct colors. She's thinking of going to university and becoming a psychologist. Her brother Uri (9th grade) shocked me. . he's taller than me now! And his voice changed! Hair straight and dirty blonde; he used to be the one bright blond, curly haird child in our family. My sister has the curls anyway. He's never liked school, but does well anyway. Plays a lot of computer games. Has more free time than other cousins to talk to us! Aaron, I got the Neverhood from him. To all: play this game if you can! You start out not knowing who you are and wander around a world solving puzzles. Cute claymation. Biblical overtones.
8:50 pm
Cousin Rundown
In case you're interested or in need of distraction:
We're staying at my grandmother's house. She was a nurse under the British mandate up until her recent retirement. Since then she's written a novel and become a certified photographer. Really talented. And all with a normal, manual camera! At age 80+ she recently decided to go from no computer to learning photoshop.
My mother's side in Israel (first cousins): her brother Shalom (wouldn't you love to be named "peace"?) picked us up from the airport and my mom cried a bit. I've never seen her cry in happiness before. He's a warm kind man. We went to his karate class. He's so proud of his karate! And good, too. He is married to Make, and has two sons, Uval (4th grade) and Oded (9th). Uval is hyperactive, smart, hangs out with friends, and good at basketball. Oded is sweet, calmer, top grades, likes physics. They live near my other grandmother. She has a beautiful fruit garden.
8:42 pm
Cafe Friends: Politics and Dating
One of her friends whom I met at the cafe was an Arabic girl named Jun. She asked my cousin Naama to arrange a date for her by asking Naama's boyfriend Roy to find an available friend. (she could then go on a double date with Naama). In Tel Aviv these things are so casual! Naama takes out her cell phone (everyone in Europe/Israel has one) and calls her friend Yossi, who she thinks will be appropriate. He doesn't answer, so she calls her boyfriend. Problem: he and his friends were in a division of the army which dealt directly with the West Bank. Naama and Jun had a small tif about army service. Jun thinks people should refuse service. Naama says if people (like the Arabs) aren't required to do service, fine. But if they're citizens and are required, then it's not fair for some to not fulfill their obligations while others do. In a democracy, minority opinions sometimes have to go along with the majority, and if they want change it should be through the democratic process.
8:38 pm
More Cousin in Cafe
So after the army nobody is taxed on their work. They work for a year to raise travelling money. Fun times. Israel's a small country, so your friends are always nearby. In the army, you spend time with army friends during the week, and then on weekends go home to your high school friends. Now Naama works a shift, then hangs in cafes with her boyfriend/high school friends. Over the weekend she parties/dances by the beach with her army friends. After she raises enough money she'll spend a year travelling around either the Far East or Latin America, a very normal Israeli path. My cousin's thinking Far East.
8:31 pm
Israel!
Imagine. . . a land of people my height! Bwahhahahha!

I love Tel Aviv! My cousins are awesome people, and the city has such a life to it! Yesterday I hung out with Naama, a cousin my age. She just graduated from the army and is now working as a waitress. I sat with her and her friends in a cafe and learned about their lives: After the army, everyone wants "freedom" which in Israel, means "financial independence". Yet they all live at home through university. Yes, this means bringing boy/girlfriends home for the night is normal. Interesting, how in the U.S. "freedom" means "independent living situation" but not "financial independence", at least for many college students. Another caveat here is that if you get good grades the gov will pay for your schooling. So parents don't have to pay for college. Unless you're a bad student, in which case you go to a less good private school and pay for it. Israel isn't rich enough to finance a community college system like the U.S. gov does.
Monday, December 15th, 2003
9:55 am
Of to Israel
Good luck to various of you on finals, getting grades back, resume-writing. . .

Memorable Moments: Gorgeous hike with Albert and Daniel (a physics grad with an Aussie accent). At one point I was hyper and bouncy. . . and Daniel bounced with me! It is rare to find people willing to randomly bounce up and down with you, that and dance in public.

-At the Sunday School Hannuka party we were asked a question about preventing assimilation. My sister raised her hand and answered "that's easy: just keep on believing in your beliefs!"

-At same party, one of my students Katie went up to play viola, and when passing her sister whispered, "wish me luck!" Her little sister stared at her with huge, love-filled eyes and crossed fingers, repeating under her breath, "I wish you luck! I wish you luck!". So sweet.

-My little sister said something which made me SO happy! She said "I'm glad you're exactly the way you are, otherwise you wouldn't be my sister." I said, "what if I was a little different but still your sister?" She said "then you wouldn't be the best sister in the world!". (She's 9).
Wednesday, December 10th, 2003
11:56 am
Last Procrastination: Fackenheim
"The writer Elie Wiesel tells the story of a small group of Jews who were gathered to pray in a little synagogue in Nazi-occupied Europe. As the service went on, suddenly a pious Jew who was slightly mad - for all pious Jews were by then slightly mad- burst in through the door. Silently he listened for a moment as the prayers ascended. Slowly he said: "Shh, Jews! Do not pray so loud! God will hear you. Then He will know that there are still some Jews left alive in Europe.
This Tale calls to mind another tale referred to earlier in this discourse. Friedrich Nietzshe, too, tells a story of a madman bursting in on a gorup of men, uttering dreadful words about God. There, however, all similarity ends. For in the one tale there is horror because God is dead; in the other, because He is alive."
11:49 am
Heschel is a prophet. . .
"The awareness of the ineffable is that with which our search must begin. . . The search of reason ends at the shore of the known; on the immense expanse beyond it only the sense of the ineffable can glide. It alone knows the route to that which is remote from experience and understanding. Neither of them is amphibious; reason cannot go beyond the shore, and the sense of the ineffable is out of place where we measure, where we weigh. We do not leave the shore of the known in search of advenure or supsense or because of the failure of reason to answer our questions. We sail because our mind is like a fantastic sea shell, and when applying our ear to its lips we hear a perpetual murmer from the waves beyond the shore. . . .
To be overtaken with awe of God is not to entertain a feeling but to share in a spirit that permeates all beings. . . As an act of personal recognition our praise would be fatuous, it is only meaningful as an act of joining in the endless song. We praise with the pebbles on the road which are like petrified amazement, with all the flowers and trees which look as if hypnotized in silent devotion. . . .
This is the meaning of existence: To reconcile liberty with service, the passing with the lasting, to weave the threads of temporality into the fabric of eternity.
11:07 am
music epiphany
Aaron's been giving me Evanescence music to listen to. Boy was I surprised when the stereotypic Israeli "hava nagila" song started playing. . . interspersed with Tibetan chants. Wow.
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