Well said, I think. Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are in the world. 😉
The Shaker dance song Simple Gifts (Joseph Brackett, 1848) is the ultimate Thanksgiving song. It is also the ultimate American song, provided we recognize that in America, the most religious and richest nation on earth, simplicity and humility are ideals worth aspiring to and striving for.
Ken Burns writes this about his documentary The Shakers:
They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Though they were celibate, they are the most enduring religious experiment in American history. They believed in pacifism, natural health and hygiene, and for more than 200 years insisted that their followers should strive for simplicity and perfection in everything they did.
Shaker design, including furniture and baskets, may be familiar to you. So may the melody of Simple Gifts. It is frequently used in pop culture, and is most famous…
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thank God for you Cynthia, beautifully done. Loved the story. CW
The blog of Bob Schwartz is one I have enjoyed for years. Glad I could share his latest post. Take care! 😉
Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 17:57:32 +0000 To: cynthiastaples@hotmail.com
Held by that song from the first time, and every time. Been catching up on your posts, so will comment here that I love all the glass and the personality in every potato. Have you ever been to the Harvard B School chapel. In the middle of privilege and luxury, and attached to a tropical garden in a glass pyramid, the actual chapel is Shaker in feeling. Its Shaker expression of stained glass is to put prisms in the skylights that throw blocks of color on the empty concrete walls. It’s not simplicity, but it creates it, somehow.