Rebirth

So much has happened since I last wrote (all good! all good!) that I feel my last entry was, at the very least, several weeks ago.

- My mom, who hadn’t been feeling well, is back. I hear it in her voice, I see it in her emails, but most notably I feel a dark cloud has been lifted off me. Welcome back, mom.

- I attended a three day seminar and learned so much I can’t even put it into words yet. I’m still taking it in. And thinking. And thinking. Applying what I learned makes me feel like I flipped a switch on the world.

- Luca has a new blog. It’s about global warming. Well, it’s about you, and what you can do about global warming. The last time he had a blog it was about the World Cup, and he stopped writing when Italy won (what more was there to say after that?) So I’m hopeful about the impact his second blog will have. Today, a soccer championship. Tomorrow, the world.

- My father too has re-ignited his blog. It’s about (what else?) politics.

Curiously, in the midst of all this, I fell in love with the Phoenix – the bird that rises from the ashes and is a symbol of rebirth. It’s everywhere: In Egyptian folklore (its tears heal all wounds), In Christian art; a Phoenix is the chariot for Hindu God Vishnu. It exists in Greek and Roman mythology as well as in Russian Folklore (Zhar-Ptitsa – right, Arseny?).

In the Old Testament, the Phoenix is the only animal that doesn’t join Adam when he’s expelled from Paradise.

Shakespeare mentions the Phoenix in The Tempest – and most recently, the Phoenix is found in Harry Potter books, as Dumbledore’s pet.

There is a Chinese Phoenix called FengHuang, that attacks snakes with its talons and wings spread (much like the symbol on the Mexican flag.) FengHuang is the power sent from heaven to the Empress. In a house, it symbolizes loyalty and honesty, high virtue and grace. It's the union of ying and yang. In most Chinese representations, FengHuang are found with dragons. Together, they symbolize blissful relations between husband and wife.

Life is so delicious. Just when you think you’re a skeptic, along comes a FengHuang.