For many people around my age relationships and careers seem to be the majority of thoughts that pass through one's mind. (I found it interesting that when I visited two of my best South American friends in Argentina last summer they were experiencing the same specific struggles I had been facing relating to these two subjects.). I know it has been the case for myself and aided most to faith breaking at some moments and faith building in others. Through it all somehow a flicker of hope remained (even if it was quite weak) and I thank God so much for that. Although I know there are many struggles to go--even thinking about some of the things I have to accomplish tires me out--I finally have peace.
My wish to whomever reading this is that you hold on to hope no matter if you are trying to figure out the purpose of your life or are dealing with a relationship issue. Don't fall into indulgences that make you forget your problems for awhile. They can end up becoming vices that leave you more vacant then when you began (the book I'm currently reading expounds on this). We've all heard this before, but it's true. I've personally experienced it. Only when I started genuinely seeking God and trying to "suck the marrow out of life" again did my issues seem resolvable.
Geocaching
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family
Sisters (and the bro-in-law-to-be) are the best! It's only half way through the weekend but already with the family reunited it's been March Madness. Yesterday night was filled with dizzingly many stories in the hot tub and today was a frenzy of geocaching. It was our first time geocaching (except for me), so of course we had to fabulize it with a costume change for each cache (with pictures to come!). Besides taking delight in wearing boas, Masaai blankets, an old nurse's cap, etc., we made new friends and bounded around and shrieked in delight from our findings. I guess one would have to be there. After a delicious meal of pesto-sundried tomatoe-spinach calzones and other Italian food, we proceeded to purchase and then play Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit for four hours. Craziness.
I am so glad I have family that can make any activity ten times more fun then it probably should be (even if they don't stay away from forbidden areas...ahem!). Thanks gals (and my new gained...erm...sister?).
I am so glad I have family that can make any activity ten times more fun then it probably should be (even if they don't stay away from forbidden areas...ahem!). Thanks gals (and my new gained...erm...sister?).
Steinbeck Lovin' Gimp
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art
ver spring break, my naughty left side of my body decided to injure itself AGAIN, and now I'm officially a gimp.
Because I can't do the normal activities I enjoy, don't want to spend all my free time pondering the future, nor reading textbooks, I've delved into The Winter of My Discontent by John Steinbeck.
Steinbeck for some time been my favorite author. My strange affinity to the Depression era first led me to him, and his revelations on human life, behavior, relationships, and culture have kept me reading him. Every Steinbeck book I read makes me say to myself, "That is so true!"
Even though I think one really needs the context of a book to fully appreciate these following passages, I thought I'd share them anyways because I'm a nerd like that:
"Wee Willie gets lonesome and loves to talk, and then later he talks about what he talked about. Quite a few small but nasty scandals have grown out of Willie's loneliness." (p.38)
"..the Fouth of July and Labor Day are the biggest holidays. People go away even when they don't want to." (p.53)
"Money is a crass and ungracious subject only when you have it." (p.58)
"I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen. It's scary to think about. Point of reference again. When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you've got two new people Maybe that means--hell, it's complicated. I agreed with myself to think about such things at night when I couldn't sleep." (p.61)
"A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers." (p.70)
"So many old and lovely things are stored in the world's attic, because we don't want them around us and we don't dare throw them out." (p.71)
Because I can't do the normal activities I enjoy, don't want to spend all my free time pondering the future, nor reading textbooks, I've delved into The Winter of My Discontent by John Steinbeck.
Steinbeck for some time been my favorite author. My strange affinity to the Depression era first led me to him, and his revelations on human life, behavior, relationships, and culture have kept me reading him. Every Steinbeck book I read makes me say to myself, "That is so true!"
Even though I think one really needs the context of a book to fully appreciate these following passages, I thought I'd share them anyways because I'm a nerd like that:
"Wee Willie gets lonesome and loves to talk, and then later he talks about what he talked about. Quite a few small but nasty scandals have grown out of Willie's loneliness." (p.38)
"..the Fouth of July and Labor Day are the biggest holidays. People go away even when they don't want to." (p.53)
"Money is a crass and ungracious subject only when you have it." (p.58)
"I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen. It's scary to think about. Point of reference again. When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you've got two new people Maybe that means--hell, it's complicated. I agreed with myself to think about such things at night when I couldn't sleep." (p.61)
"A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers." (p.70)
"So many old and lovely things are stored in the world's attic, because we don't want them around us and we don't dare throw them out." (p.71)
Copper!
"I get by with a little help from my friends..."
It always sucks having to traverse great distances on a snowboard.
Well, since I've had the last bit of life to chill at home, it was nice to get out and go to the Colorado mountains with amigos. Unfortunately I injured my arm the last day trying to board down a steep mountain and follow about eight friends through some trees. Thankfully one of these friends was still with me when I wiped out, and thankfully he has WFR experience. He created a sling from his fleece and we were able to make travel down the mountain independently without use of a snowmobile.
Choosing
Here is a poem I recently found that I wrote during my year in Argentina:
you'd think it'd be cooked and
sent to the bakery already
but yet the chef doesn't
even know what ingredients
to use
so the butter melts
and the milk curdles but
he still hopes something can
be done not trusting in his
skills. He could do something easy
at least; like pop some marshmallows
and rice crispies in the microwave,
but even that is too scary
because what if even that
turns out wrong or
even worse he ends up
popping marshmallows and rice
crispies forever in that
cursed microwave
Other random items about choices:
the fig tree
I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story.
From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Ge, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out.
I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar p. 77
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make a mistake." Elbert Hubbert
"God has in His word opened before us the great events of the future--all that it is essential for us to know--and He has given us a safe guide for our feet amid all its perils; but it is Satan's purpose to destroy men's confidence in God, to make them dissatisfied with their condition in life, and to lead them to seek a knowledge of what God has wisely veiled from them, and to despise what He has revealed in His Holy Word."--Patriarchs and Prophets
p. 686-687
"Those who decide to do nothing in any line that will displease God, will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to pursue. And they will receive not only wisdom, but strength. Power for obedience, for service, will be imparted to them, as Christ has promised." --Desire of Ages p.668
you'd think it'd be cooked and
sent to the bakery already
but yet the chef doesn't
even know what ingredients
to use
so the butter melts
and the milk curdles but
he still hopes something can
be done not trusting in his
skills. He could do something easy
at least; like pop some marshmallows
and rice crispies in the microwave,
but even that is too scary
because what if even that
turns out wrong or
even worse he ends up
popping marshmallows and rice
crispies forever in that
cursed microwave
Other random items about choices:
the fig tree
I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story.
From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Ge, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out.
I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar p. 77
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make a mistake." Elbert Hubbert
"God has in His word opened before us the great events of the future--all that it is essential for us to know--and He has given us a safe guide for our feet amid all its perils; but it is Satan's purpose to destroy men's confidence in God, to make them dissatisfied with their condition in life, and to lead them to seek a knowledge of what God has wisely veiled from them, and to despise what He has revealed in His Holy Word."--Patriarchs and Prophets
p. 686-687
"Those who decide to do nothing in any line that will displease God, will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to pursue. And they will receive not only wisdom, but strength. Power for obedience, for service, will be imparted to them, as Christ has promised." --Desire of Ages p.668
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