Meditative Thoughts

I can feel myself getting worked up into a frenzy, with the chaos at work, the stress of family drama for the holidays, the kitchen debacle, and general seasonal malaise all converging into a swirling vortex of frustration. So today I am listening to Gregorian Chants by some Benedictine monks to try and rachet down the stress levels. Combine with reading Siddhartha, I'm hoping it's enough to do the trick.

Listening to the chanting, it reminds me of visiting San Miniato al Monte in Florence, where in the late afternoon on certain days you could go into the church, down on the lower levels, and listen to chants by the monks there. It was nice and cool, the architecture and art are awe inspiring, and the musicality of the chants was so beautiful and relaxing. I am not a religious person by any measure, much less in the Roman Catholic tradition. And I know that in theory, the art and decor of the Catholic churches - at least as perceived by the Protestant strains of Christianity - is tantamount to idolatry and false worship. But there is something to be said for the peace and spirituality that being in such beautiful places inspires. It's actually one of the things I miss most about being in Florence; simply by walking into a church one was easily transformed from rolled-up stressball to person at peace. I think it would be interesting to do an experiment where one tested people's blood pressure before they walked into one of those churches and then right before they exited. I guarentee it would eliminate the need for blood pressure medication!

Unless they climbed to the cupola atop the Duomo, in which case it wouldn't really count.