Chateau Montelena, Feng Shui and Me

I often find a spiritual component to music... and art... and the landscapes of life.  Yesterday, my girlfriend and I took an excursion to Chateau Montelena.  Chateau Montelena is a Napa Valley winery that produced a wine that won a 1976 wine tasting competition that was held in France.  It was the winning of this competition that elevated the status of California wines.  The owner of the Chateau, Jim Barrett, died last month from as his son put it "a life well lived."  We went there not so much for the wine but to learn more about the man and to enjoy the scenery around the Chateau.  I knew that Jim Barrett had been a successful corporate lawyer before purchasing the Chateau and I knew that the Chateau had a marvelous Chinese theme serenity garden and lake, so I wanted to find out if there was a connection between this man who died of a "life well lived" and the feng shui of his award winning winery.

What I found is that a 'life well lived" involved pursuing one's passion.  For Jim Barrett, making wine became a passion in his life and when that passion was infused into the wine, it became a masterpiece.  As for the Jade Lake, I learned today that the owners of the Chateau before Jim Barrett was a Chinese couple who somehow managed to parlay their radio repair business into enough money to purchase the Chateau.  Both stories are amazing.

As for our discussion, well, this is one of my 1000 Saturdays and at least on this day, I think I lived it well.

Our true home is in the present moment.

To live in the present moment is a miracle.

The miracle is not to walk on water.

The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment,

to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.

Peace is all around us --

in the world and in nature --

and within us --

in our bodies and our spirits.

Once we learn to touch this peace, 

we will be healed and transformed.

It is not a matter of faith.

It is a matter of practice.

                             Thich Nhat Hanh

Will write more tomorrow.  Have a great Saturday evening.