A couple of weeks ago, I went off to a lunch sponsored by one of our oldest cultural organizations. As part of the event, several performers from an organization I had only heard of, sang a few holiday selections from a cultural tradition I knew nothing about. (When it comes to music, I don’t know very much at all to begin with, and I seem happiest when I’m wandering through English choral music, Mozart, Broadway, and contemporry Celtic music – pretty ordinary stuff, I suppose, by today’s global standards.

This group was so intriguing, I made certain to attend one of their holiday concerts – it was beyond enjoyable – it was terrific. A dozen young singers singing a program of Czech and Polish Christmas music from centuries ago, and the scholarship which undergirded the evening’s presentations was, in a hyphenated word, first-rate.

Why am I rambling on like this? For two reasons. The first is that there is beauty everywhere waiting to reveal itself if only you can get out of your own encrusted habits and to be open to it, but you knew that, didn’t you?

These days, we’re reading about charitable organizations which are having a hard time finding support after the autumn horrors in our country, and that’s probably especially true for the arts.

So here’s the second reason: Go out and explore, find a young arts organization with excellent leadership and lots of possibilities, and “adopt” it: Attend events, write a check or two of support, enjoy the beauty of what they present, take and talk to friends, advertise in their program or newsletter.

In my case, it’s a group called The Rose Ensemble in Saint Paul, MN. You can visit their website by clicking here. There will be something worthy like it in your neck of the woods, so in 2002, resolve to find that organization and give it a hand.

There is something exhilarating about the shock of the new, and it’s a great stimulus for the heart and mind. Oh, go ahead!