Sunny Sunday in November

Quote for today:

When I let go of who I am
I become who I might be
Lao Tzu

On Thursday evening, I went to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Dress Rehearsal for Love Stories at McCaw Hall. I had never been to a dress rehearsal for ballet before. What I found most interesting was watching the dancers doing their magic on stage, seemingly growing wings, spinning and leaping, taking flight, and expressing the mercurial moods of love and a variety of complex emotions through their fluid bodies. Then when a certain dance was over, the artistic director and choreographers came on stage giving advice and feedback. Suddenly, the dancers who just moments before had been, to my eyes, fairies, lovers, and extraordinary ethereal beings, light footed and gracefully long-limbed,  had now become striving artists, dancers breathing heavily with hands on hips, listening intently to the advice and suggestions being given.  I was stunned as I watched the dancers standing, taking on stage lessons, with seemingly awkwardly large turned-out feet. I felt I was privy to something I should not be privy too.  However,  soon after this new aspect of the dancers was revealed,  they resumed their dancing and once again transformed themselves into beautiful ballet dancers winning the hearts of the audience!

I equally loved watching the dancers and listening to the music. Love Stories is a series of dances (I thought of them as vignettes) from various segments of famous ballets featuring love scenes. The following are the ballets that were featured:

Stravinsky’s Divertimento from “Le Baiser de la Fee”
Debussy’s “Afternoon of a Faun”
Prokofiev’s Balcony Pas de Deux from Romeo and Juliette
Tchaikovsky’s Black Swan Pas de Deux from Swan Lake
Tchaikovsky’s Aurora’s Wedding from The Sleeping Beauty

Today was an incredibly mild sunny day.  This month has been so mild, with its fair share of sunny days!  Very unusual for this month of November, my birthday month!  Usually I find myself wondering why I was born in November, the coldest, dreariest month, when I LOVE sunshine and warmth.  How many of my birthdays have been cold and wet or snowy?  But this month has been a treat so far.  What a wonderful birthday gift nature has been giving me.

I worked in the garden a little.  I never have enough time to devote to the garden.  This is the time of year for dead-heading my perennials, raking leaves, and mulching.  Here are a few photos from today’s gardening at the coast:

Can you spot the three deer?

I made a noise so they would look up at me!

Maple Tree: one of Autumn's delights!

The Sun Bench still capturing November light.

Poem for today by David Whyte:

Enough.  These few words are enough.
If not these words, this breath.
If not this breath, this sitting here.
This opening to life
we have refused
again and again
until now.

Until now.