Sufi Wisdom and Funerary Art

Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl.

- Sufi poet Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi

While my knowledge of Sufism is roughly on the same level as my intimacy with quantum physics, I know enough of it to recognize some wisdom, especially in the quote above. Rumi correctly points out (in my view) that the body is simply a temporary vessel and the soul is the portion that is lasting and beyond value. It is an imperfect metaphor, of course; but it resounds true. This especially meshes with the contemplative mood I find myself in today.

A little while later…

The gallery next to where I work has a display, various forms of art, much of it lead crystal, but not all. I walked in for a closer look and saw that this art was funerary in nature, and each piece either contained the remains of a once-living person, or was “in waiting” (meaning comissioned by a living person but not yet complete, that is not yet imbued with or containing their remains). It is really quite an amazing experience to walk through and see the creations. Of course none of it is for sale, all of it being commissioned work; but the artist is still doing her work. Maybe someone will keep up with her art after she passes.

Work… And The Demon Murphy

Tomorrow morning, 9am sharp, I begin my new job. Living in Hollywood and commuting to Santa Monica is going to be a bit of a bear, probably, but its not significantly longer (time-wise) than my commute when I was living in Uptown (Minneapolis) and commuting to Bloomington. Granted, the concept of on-time public transit out here is somewhat questionable, but its still workable and I’m looking forward to the first day at the new job.

The job is as an administrative assistant for an educational services company. It should be busy and with plenty of opportunity for advancement, as the company seems to be growing at a fair rate. I’ll learn more about it tomorrow on my first day at work. The only downfall is that the office doesn’t seem to have very efficient A/C… I’m not too eager to find out what it’ll be like in the dead of summer, but perhaps I can convince them to let me telecommute on really hot days. Who knows? We’ll see. At any rate, any gainful employment is better than none, right?

…Okay, don’t answer that. Anyways, its my fervent hope that the Demon Murphy* does not rear his ugly head to interfere with my morning commute! Wish me luck, boys and girls!

*The Demon Murphy: a reference to Murphy’s Law, one formulation of which states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.” It can also be formulated as, “If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.” Follow this link for one possible account of the law’s origin

On The Ground

The flight to LA was pretty turbulent (I’ve had smoother rides in Abrams battle tanks, thank you very much) but upon arrival, my luggage actually even beat me to the carousel. Everything went smoothly, and a day later I was fully unpacked and could begin to call this place “home.”

There’s not too much else to write on today; my interview at the distance learning/tutoring company went alright, but I’m not sure that it went well enough for me to get the job. On the bright side, the executive director I interviewed with did tell me I’d know very soon. Today I have another interview pretty soon in West Hollywood. Not much else to share, so I’m off.