Sunday Evening:
We decided on a simple day, a trip to the
We loved “The Pride of
On the ferry ride over, I was thinking about “enough” and how it is important to live without judging and dividing my life into “good,” “bad,” and “should.” I thought I might have taken a step on the “Is that so?” path, and was feeling a little smug, and then, I saw these wonderful scrolls and felt myself fill with desire to own one for myself, so I could sit, peruse and transport whenever I might want. I was consumed with desire.
And now I am “home” and the desire is gone. And even before that, I knew I didn’t need to own a scroll. My memory’s etch is strong, and the transport into dimensioned tranquility is forever there. Stories opened before my eyes. In one beautifully drawn branch, I saw dragons and, in another the feathers of peacocks. There were flowers so exquisitely drawn, I reached in with my nose to smell. There were lines that were delicate and lines that were bold. I felt hammered and expanded, spread and formed.
We also greatly enjoyed the “Gems of Chinese Ceramics from the
This museum has a wonderful collection of antiquities and we were entranced and impressed. We were too tired for the contemporary art, so a return is definitely necessary.
We paused to eat and look at the museum shop and other shops, but nothing enticed. Once one has seen masterpieces, it is hard to settle for something less. In celebration of a tenth anniversary, we were each given a lovely scroll, and as part of the British Museum exhibit, we were each given a large magnet of a 2nd century Roman version of a 3rd century BC Greek original, from the Temple of Dionysos, in Cyrene Libya.
While I was enjoying this multitude of art from all over the world and seeing how earlier periods inspired the later ones, I wondered how we could possibly have wars. It makes no sense.
Perhaps my favorite observation of “art” was the children playing outside among the sculptures. How can we kill? I do not understand. This is such a wonderful mix of people here, all out enjoying their Sunday. It seems peace is the only way.
And yet the Sunday magazine talks about how the increase of wealth in
We were lucky enough to get rained on, and to take the ferry back in the rain. There were waves, and I was still rocking long after we got to shore. We found another book store so I am ready to delve into a new book called Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Our stomachs are full, and we are again sweetly tucked for the night. The lights look a little brighter since the rain, and I again await the evening light show.
I consider mainland