Tuesday, December 27, 2011 Lethbridge

5:00 am

The temperature is +3° C, with a high predicted of +4° C. From the Environment Canada website: Today Mainly cloudy. Wind west 50 km/h gusting to 80 diminishing to 30 gusting to 50 this afternoon. High plus 4. Tonight Mainly cloudy. Wind west 30 km/h gusting to 50 becoming south 20 late this evening then southwest 40 gusting to 60 before morning. Low zero with temperature rising to 8 by morning. Normals Max: -1°C Min: -13°

5:20 PM Literature

I have picked 3 books to read, more or less at the same time. Two of these books are by the Sufi mystic/poet, Rumi. One is called "The Big Red Book" and is a modern translation by the American Coleman Barks. He is credited with bringing Rumi's poetry to the English reader of the present era. The second is by Jawid Mojaddedi and will provide me with a different style of translation. Translations are considered to be very tricky as they often utilize subtle nuances of language to make their point. Having two different approaches should enrichen the experience. The intent is to read very slowly and savor the work. I did this once before when I read one of Coleman Barks' books that provided a short poem for each day of the year. It was a refreshing, and calming, way to begin the day. This time I will alternate between the books but will try to sample a few pages from each during the day.

 

 

In addition to these two books, I want to have a novel on the go. I have selected Michael Ondaatje's latest book, "The Cat's Table".

 

The wind is howling outside this morning. A good time to sit by the fireplace and try a little Ruminations.

 

The following is a new feature that I am testing.