I felt bad today for missing the last upasika class; but some friends of ours got Annie and I tickets to Carmina Burana and I didn't want to miss it. I'd mentioned a while back that I'd never seen an opera or symphony and that one of my resolutions this year was to see one. They asked if I was interested in seeing Carmina Burana, and after reading a bit about it and watching a video of "O Fortuna" — with its bawdy lyrics, beautiful compositions, and huge ensemble — I was sold.
The day was cold, wet, and windy, but none of that could dampen my spirits. It was truly an incredible experience, and it reminded me of something Fr. Michael said once about how music is just a bunch of sound waves, yet it can touch our hearts and move us to tears. What is it inside of us that can be so moved by beauty? It's kind of amazing when you think about the way sound waves can reach inside of you, moving you and creating waves of emotions that, at least for a short time, wash over the whole of your entire being.
In a way, it's kind of like a religious experience, I suppose, where something invades your mind and body and completely consumes you, not unlike the feelings of rapture and pleasure one can feel in deep meditation or the ecstasy felt by some in prayer.
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