Meet Chris Webb. Recently Chris and Lee (Mrs. Chris) and their bikes found themselves in my vicinity. Thanks to social networking, we arranged to meet up at the coffee shop in Chestertown. Chris is a fellow musician, though we generally run in different circles. He also has a serious recording engineer bug, and worked together with me to produce my "He's Steppin' Out" CD - now 10(!) years ago. The fact that Chris and I are looking at our music through different lens is a double edged sword. Ultimately though, the collaboration of contrasting perspectives can be very beneficial, all the way around. It's good to stay in touch with people who crossed our paths and shared our experiences in the (ever unfolding) timeline. Reconnecting is an opportunity to again touch the moment, and elevate our view of the landscape. Good to see Chris and Lee again! 

Found my first piano book, with the back page certificate signed by my teacher, Mr. Alfred Schmidt. I believe that he was 78 years old when he first came to our house in his little red Mustang. In the (really) small world department, I recently met Dallas Smith, a bass player from Arlington, VA, and discovered that we grew up in (nearly) adjacent towns; he a few houses away from Mr. Schmidt, in Audubon  NJ. This gets me to thinking more broadly. When people come together in any sort of common bond or endeavor, it is (necessarily) the intersection of divergent paths. Commonality is then undergirded by diversity. Collaboration is a unique melding of perceptions and experiences. Whatever might be considered in common becomes a starting point of uniqueness in a particular relationship. Then a new (common) voice emerges. And the individual voices are further refined. Growth - starting with the Ada Ricther piano course, book 1. 

The Christmas season may be come to an end, but we don't let go of things so quickly in our little world. Carol has a hard rule concerning our Christmas tree; that it remain up through her birthday (later this month). Fine with me, as I'll often say: "The worst past about Christmas is that it ends".

As I watched the video above, I began typing:
"In creation, the glorious is revealed. In engagement, the beauty is uncovered. In interaction, a joy is accessible. In surrender, the human heart receives what it needs, in every endeavor."
As a practitioner of general revelation, this is my path. This path is recognized across spiritual traditions and perspectives. I come at in from my own (personal) vantage point. Am realizing, as I type this, that I am most willing to share my landscape view with others when it takes a more inclusive expression. It seems that I am long past my "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Pure in doctrine I belong, I am right and you are wrong." phase in my spiritual journey. If you've ever received an e-mail from me, you may recall a quote on the bottom of my signature (that has, on occasion, elicited a snarky comment):  "Concepts create idols. Only wonder understands" - Gregory of Nyssa. Can't think of anything more true than this.