While out in this beautiful desert in late fall, I hiked about a mile into one of the most magical canyons in Palm Springs. I played a piece which I called Desert Iris. It was right at sunset and the silence of the desert was setting in. The wind was gone and the air was crisp and had that smell of a mixture of sand and desert plants. The sky was still and colored with those purple hues right before it starts turning dark...the twilight of the day.
A close friend had asked a few weeks before what my favorite flower was. I picked the iris because of its mysterious nature. Years ago I read one of Herman Hesse's best short stories Iris from a collection of fables almost fairy tales called Strange News from Another Star. Since that time, the iris has been precious and sacred to me. My friend asked me if I was an iris would I open up and blossom if there was nobody around. I pondered the question and said probably no. Then she said why not go out into the desert and play and play on the viola just for me. Open up my iris and see what happens. Well, the possibility opened up on that day. The discovery of the music of my own iris showed up for me and was one of my best improvisations. I have so much gratitude my friend asked the original question. I showed up for my own joy. Now I have played around with Desert Iris on my computer and the first thing I want to do is share it. The generation of something for me has generated energy for others. It was so simple...had an ease, a joy and an exuberance I have ever experienced by myself. My experience and joy is almost always for others as in my Audio Integral Tai Chi classes or other kinds of performance. We all are flowers, beautiful expressions of the creation, of the universe. I know when we gift ourself with opening up, expressing and creating we naturally gift the universe and all of us who live in it. Anyway just a simple and joyous lesson I learned out in the desert!!!
