Alas, tea time is unavailable, though you can visit it in your imagination and still enjoy a quiet respite from the noisy traffic of bordering streets.  Water features, a gazebo, benches, and abundant blossom beauty make this a must-be spot.  And even lovelier—the entire garden is a pesticide-free zone.

Don’t wait!  The blooming season of these marvelous roses is short.  Be sure to sojourn here soon.

It’s a place of long-standing competition and unfaithfulness, but also full of loyalty and affection.  And above all, music.

Lack of financing could close the home, threatening the welfare and close companionship of its residents.  Will rivalries be put to good use to save Beecham House?  Will the personal fears of individuals be set aside so a greater benefit can be gained?  And, there is the matter of an old betrayal.  Will past grievances be forgiven so that a long-ago lost love regains its rightful place?

For a charming movie that confirms humor, grace, and second chances can exist later in life, watch Quartet.

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Rough and smooth textures, globs and thin varnishes of paint, as well as individual brush strokes are clearly visible. 

The painting is no longer a scene of wholeness—you see it in fragments.  You move back and forth between close up viewing and standing farther away.  Each position is important in understanding what it took to create the art and take in the art.

And so it is with the documentary, Waste Land.  Internationally renowned artist, Vik Muniz travels from his home base in Brooklyn, NY to his native Brazil and to the world’s largest garbage dump—Jardim Gramacho.

His mission is to make art from the garbage and somehow use this same art to help the catadores—the people that people turn away from in disgust and ignorance.  These are the people who are the self-designated pickers of recyclable materials.  To earn a living and support their families, they scale the smelly mountains of tons of refuse dumped from trucks each day.    

Vik looks at the entire dump site from aerial photos and then he moves in closer by walking throughout the dump and talking with the catadores.  Out of the many, he ends up working with seven of them in a collaboration of art-making.  He decides to create photographic portraits of the catadores in positions reflecting iconic images of art. 

These images become the basis of huge renditions of the photographs through creating them with the recyclables gathered and placed by the catadores.  And then he photographs these renditions and blows them up into huge photographs that are then sold at an auction house in London.  Each of the participating catadores receives some of the proceeds and some of it goes to fund the programs the catadores' union is working to develop.

Vik works in layers and layers of art-making process just as the garbage dump contains layers and layers of human refuse and history.

The documentary is fascinating and heart-filling.  It sweeps away ignorance, prejudice, and generalizations.  You see the struggle, the bad luck, and the achievements that can be wrested from poverty.  You'll cry, cheer, and be inspired by the power of the human spirit to transcend insurmountable challenges.  You'll be amazed at the power of art to transform how people see themselves and then their lives. You’ll want others to watch this film.

Don’t wait.  Click on the DVD cover and learn more.  (Affiliate link)

One of these practices is Lectio divina which “is Latin for ‘divine reading.’ It’s a structured way of combining prayer and scriptural reading that deepens our communion with God and gives us spiritual insight.” (p. 79) 

You may be familiar with one or more of the four steps he outlines in his book.

(1) Lectio: Reading a scriptural passage slowly so that you fully take in what is being presented.

(2) Meditato: Reflecting on the words and getting in touch with what you think and feel about the passage.

(3) Oratio: Praying and speaking with God about the passage and how you relate to it.

(4) Contemplatio: Being open to God and following God’s direction.

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There is a quiet beauty to this film as you watch the two main characters grow beyond their self-imposed limits.

Jamie (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) grows out of his superficiality, his womanizing, and his need to win the approval of others through his charm.

Maggie (played by Anne Hathaway) grows out of her clever retorts and heart armor of easy sex to deny and drown out her anger and sadness with her early onset Parkinson's disease.

Set against the backdrop of the extremely powerful, ultra-competitive world of pharmaceutical companies and their global sales representatives, each of these characters acts as a catalyst to the other to open to love.

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