Sun-ripened August
Dearest friends of Peace,
When I was asked recently how my summer is going, I replied: Living, breathing, feeling, exploring, creating, loving, being; repeat.
What a glorious summer it’s been! I absolutely love this time of the year. I guess I must be genetically designed to be thermal-, solar- and love-powered, for it makes me feel SO alive to feel the sun toasting on my skin and watching it gradually take on the color of the earth. I love the salt of the sweat and the feeling of the life force gushing through my veins, oozing out of every pore in my body, like a pregnant river overflowing its banks. This is the same life force that inspires all the flowers to bloom, the cherry trees to bear fruits, and all creatures to mate. Summer is the outward manifestation and expression of LOVE.
One of the highlights for me was attending the Balkan Music Camp up in Mendocino, CA at the beautiful Woodlands Campground. For an entire week, 250 of us bathed in the exotic sounds and the hypnotic rhythms of Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and Turkey watched over by the gentle ancient giants of the redwood forest. It felt a lot like the utopic global village that I envision in the tune “Rondo For The Merriment Of Mankind” where all the folks would come from different backgrounds but through mutual love and respect are able to completely get along. I would go as far as saying that this camp was a perfect model of how human beings can live peacefully with each other while coexisting in harmony with Mother Nature.
After bidding my friends farewell on the last day of camp, I made a beeline to the ocean; heart full, soul full, eager to see my old pal again, eager to tell her all my adventures since I last saw her in December, eager to show her that I am back on my feet again,
I drove south on Highway 1 for as long as I could, stopping frequently to soak in the breathtaking views of the Northern California coastline, and to watch the waves give themselves up completely to the majestic rocks and cliffs over and over again. I stood on the edge of a cliff in Sonoma country overlooking the eternal vastness of the Pacific Ocean, its blue water rife with life and mystery and I was suddenly struck by the notion that I am now positioned at a giant crossroads, This is the first time in my life that I feel like I could really go anywhere, do anything-a liberating yet daunting notion. As I stood there in this vortex of infinite possibilities, partially paralyzed by awe, overwhelmed by emotions, I realized that I needed a bird’s-eye view to understand where I am going next. I watched as my soul took off and climbed and soared to the heights of the highest clouds, where it cried from above, “I love you, I love you” over and over again.
Back in Boulder, I am currently typing this letter at the Trident Café on the last day of July. My being is buzzing from remembering my experience from a month earlier, my soul yearning again to be by the ocean. I Skyped with my little sister, Ruiling couple of days ago and made plan to return to Singapore for her wedding and for an extended visit in December. But I have a hunch that I would probably be back in the embrace of the ocean before then. In the meantime, I am back in full swing with my life here in Colorado, playing music with my wonderful group of friends, spreading positive vibrations and taking long walks in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
My Boulder Library residency takes a hiatus in August, so I am taking this opportunity to get some writing done and put a couple of new ideas in action. One of my ideas is to start a Evening Music Meditation series in Boulder. We are going to do this on the back patio of the Trident Café for the months of August and September (see below for details). The second idea involves a Music For Peace flash mob action. More details on this later as we get organized.
I am signing off with an invitation for you to experience and enjoy with me the sun-ripened month of August. Open yourselves up to the full potentiality of its gifts, sink your teeth into its plump and succulent fruits and allow the juices to run freely down your chins. If there was a month to love recklessly, give and take (share) freely, sing and dance openly: August is the month.
Love you
Kailin
