Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Guilford College, a Quaker based liberal arts college in Greensboro, is hosting its 18th annual Religious Emphasis Week. Last night, my neighbor and I attended a free lecture on The Heart & Soul of Islam, presented by Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the world's foremost authorities on Islam and Islamic science and spirituality. For the record, he also most likely knows more about Christianity than most Christian scholars.

The talk was fascinating. I can't begin to explain the level of intelligence that oozes from this man. You can't let your mind wander for a moment while he's speaking or you'll be lost. He jumped from poetry to history to theory to present-day political agendas in the blink of an eye to make a single point. He's educated at MIT and Harvard, has written 50 (Think about that...50!) books and is a professor at George Washington University. We spoke to a professor who had lunch with Dr. Nasr and he told us Nasr must have a photographic memory. Dr. Nasr recommended a 1967 text to this man and told him in what journal he'd find it, who it was edited by, and gave him the page number.

The talk was kind of an Islam 101. I, for example, had no idea of the importance of Jesus in Islamic traditions. It was a lot to take in and my head felt like it was spinning by the time the lecture was over.

But we weren't done. Looking at our programs, my neighbor and I noted that a Buddhist meditation was taking place across campus at 9. "Why not?" we said, and drove there. Our timing was perfect and we got there about 5 minutes before the meditation started. It was led by the religion professor at Guilford, a delightful man named Eric, and attended by us and about 9 very young and fresh-faced college kids.

I've always associated Buddhist meditation with chanting, but that's not what this was. We all sat in a circle on pillows and with eyes open, focused on a point on the floor about 5 feet in front of us. Legs crossed, hands on knees. Even through your eyes on focused on a point, that's not where your FOCUS should be. Instead, you concentrate on the area right below your nose where your breath is coming in and out. The idea is to be mindless... to hold no thought... to follow no thought. Just be.

Eric rang a bell to clear the air and then we sat for 20-25 minutes in silence in the dimly lit room. I loved it. I used to meditate with a group years ago and I find it so much easier than meditating alone. I've never done an eyes open meditation though. That took some getting used to but there were very brief patches (lasting about 4 seconds) where I felt like I was "there."

We didn't get home until close to 11. I had been rather so-so on going to either event. I get into my "It's so far away and it's just easier to stay home" mood. But I'm so glad I went.  Intellectually stimulated and spiritually open is not bad for a Thursday night.

Dress Up Day

I am wearing pantyhose today.  Please hold your applause.

I can't remember the last time I wore a pair of pantyhose. It's been years. I haven't worked in an office environment that's required them for the last seven years. Plus, women just don't wear them as much nowadays. When I first started working, hose were a must, even on the hottest dog days of summer. (And let me just share that you really haven't worked up a sweat until you've worked up a sweat in a pair of stockings. Are you with me on this, ladies?) So, no hose.

Until today. For no reason, I felt like getting dressed up today. I've got two meetings in Greensboro but nothing that I couldn't wear jeans and a sweatshirt to.  But I decided I must wear a skirt, sweater, and my big indulgence for the year, a kick-ass pair of boots I way overpaid for.  And since it's chilly, I thought, why do bare legs? Why not some sheer hose?

Here's an insight: wearing pantyhose is not like riding a bike. There is an art to putting them on correctly. This may not mean much to you men, but I guarantee every female reading this will nod in sympathy and understanding when I say the phrase, "twisted crotch."

But I managed to yank them on and am now avoiding the cats who--sensing something new about me--have been sharpening their nails on their scratching post all morning.

Ten dollars says I don't make it through the day without a run. Takers?

Volunteering At A Local Animal Shelter

Laying printed out on the corner of my desk is a flyer for volunteers needed for the Rockingham County Animal Shelter. They need people to clean cages, feed and water animals, take pictures of the animals, escort animals to vet hospital if needed, and help answer the phone and assist the public when they come in. There is a disclaimer on the site, "Can be heartbreaking and tough to deal with so must have a strong heart and the will to help. It is also rewarding to help get animals adopted and into loving homes."

I desperately want to help but I'm so afraid. Our shelter is... struggling. Most animals are held only 24 hours before being put down simply because there isn't the staff to care for them or the room to house them or the money to feed/care for them. I just don't know how I'd do going in and being surrounded by animals that I know are scheduled to die in the next 12 hours. It makes me practically throw up just thinking about it.

But then I get angry at myself. So it's hard. What a pitiful excuse. Isn't it better that these animals receive love and attention--no matter how brief--before they die? Wouldn't knowing they at least had someone be kind to them for a short respite be better than nothing at all?

Then I think of having to stand and walk away at the end of the day from wagging tails and sad eyes and maybe little puppies or cats that are so eager to give their love to someone and who would make ideal pets if only there were time, if only someone would give them the chance and... I don't know. It scares me. Really scares me, having to do that.

But maybe... with time... it becomes a little easier. Never easy. I keep thinking, I need to let someone else do this. Someone with a better suited temperament who won't burst into tears before they're even in the door. But what if there is no one? What if everyone is waiting for someone else to pick up the slack? It's the animals who suffer.

So I think I'm going to do it. Make the call. I can't guarantee I'll last. I'll try. I will. And maybe it won't be as awful as I'm dreading.

Smart Writers & World Events

My writer friend Edmund and I had a conversation last month about writers and how the best writers are very, very smart. When you read interviews with them it says things like, "Mr. Smith reads five newspapers a day, including French and Italian papers which he has delivered daily." Or their bio will begin, "After completing a PhD in biophysics at MIT, Ms. Johnson decided to try her hand at novel writing..."

Make me puke.

I barely keep up with the news. I'll catch 10 minutes of the Today show every now and again, skim the Sunday paper, and maybe log onto MSNBC. I'm not proud to admit it, but there you have it. Which is why one of my semi-goals for the new year is to read a daily paper. I'm still debating whether I want the local paper, USA Today, or maybe even The Wall Street Journal (I enjoy the writing there).

I say semi-goal because I'm not convinced I'll keep up with it. Reading a paper takes time. That's over an hour each day that will disappear from an already busy schedule. BUT, a firm goal of the New Year is to drastically cut back on TV time.  For January, I'm allotting an hour a day during the week, and 2 hours/day on weekends, in case I want to watch a DVD.  The point being though, I should be able to switch an hour of wasted TV viewing over to keeping up with world events. Not a bad tradeoff.

Will it make me smarter? Probably not. But I'll take "better informed" and "able to participate in conversations with some degree of intelligence," as goals worthy of striving for.

I think I'll start with the local paper and if that goes well, move up the chain. Who knows? This time next year I may have French newspaper delivered to my door. Stay tuned...