dailybell: Scratch Out the Sounds

dailybell

2008 was the inaugural year in an ongoing, aspirational project dedicated to the observation of the sun every time it crosses the horizon and to sharing the awareness of that moment with others while ringing bells. It is based on the conviction that something as inarguable as the movement of the earth can be used as a point of unity and awareness among large groups of people who might otherwise find it impossible to agree. Want to Participate? www.facebook.com/dailybell.sunwatch/

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Scratch Out the Sounds

Chinese New Year today. Happy Year of the Earth Rat!

I watched my friend struggle to hold onto a pen today. She was drawing a line across a piece of paper. The pen was shaking because her hands shake and she was holding on with all of her fingers. Keeping the pen in contact with the page. Very quietly. Very calmly.

As long as she was in contact with the paper, she could scratch out the sounds of bells. Backwards. Forwards. Many little bells. One big bell. She was playing the same bells I play everyday.