Silent night

Its very quiet in the middle of the night.Only the sound of gushing water from the fish tank and the cat purring outside the sliding door begging to come in.Its in this moments when people are not stirring that i can immerse myself in a book.im rereading Pico Iyers The Lady and the Monk which i bought without reading the blurb.The Lady i thought referred to Aung San Su Kyi and the monk was her spiritual mentor.But what i got was the exploration into the ancient world of Japanese culture and his relationship with Sachiko.Very different narrative but was intrigued by the authors inner journey of discovery.I read in the papers today of Pico Iyers interview on his latest book Aflame lessons to learn from silence.The wildfire in California might have devastated his family home and he escaped with only the clothes on his back and the aging family cat,but from the ashes there arose a phoenix,an appreciation of what really matters in life.He escaped with the manuscript of this novel The Lady and the monk. the words of Thoreau at the prelude shines a light into Iyers new found wisdom emerging from loss of home,belongings and childhood memories . "All that a man has to say or do that can possibly concern mankind is in some shape or other is to tell the story of his love-and to sing and if he is fortunate and keeps alive,he will be forever in love. Thoreau Thoreaus Walden is a tribute to the resilience of the spirit and the healing powers of solitude and nature and simplicity. So im not surprised the Iyer got a wake up call after sleep walking through life chasing dreams and adventures.Its not surprising too when he quotes a zen monk who says when the house gets burnt down,thats when you can see the night sky filled with stars. reminds me of leonard Cohens song Anthem "There is a crack,a crack in everything Thats how the light gets in."