(atwood)
Thursday, June 13, 2013
geez. inundated.
why travel?
“Ms. O’Brien describes her young self this way: “I was ravenous. For food. For life. For the stories that I would write, except that everything was effervescent and inchoate in my overexcitable brain.” She desired, she says, to be “drawn into the wild heart of things.”
— Edna O’Brien,Seeking the Ardent Life. O, joy! To the wild, wild heart of things!
And, from Pico Iyer:
“I travel because I feel that the world is much larger than my ideas of it. Every stereotype dissolves as soon as I set foot in Syria or Cuba or Vietnam (though not North Korea) and, sitting at home, I’m usually in a perfect state of ignorance and complacency. Living in rural Japan for more than a quarter of a century now has taught me that questions are much richer and deeper than most answers, and that the more I live with someone or something, the less I know of them. So maybe I travel and write to get past the dangerous illusion of knowingness. I’m ever more keen to acknowledge the mystery in everything, even my prosaic old self.”
“As Thoreau famously said, it doesn't matter where or how far you go - the farther commonly the worse - the important thing is how alive you are. Writing of every kind is a way to wake oneself up and keep as alive as when one has just fallen in love.”
“So it is that Lonely Places attract as many lonely people as they produce, and the loneliness we see in them is partly in ourselves.”
“Finding a sanctuary, a place apart from time, is not so different from finding a faith.”
“...home lies in the things you carry with you everywhere and not the ones that tie you down.”
why travel?
“Ms. O’Brien describes her young self this way: “I was ravenous. For food. For life. For the stories that I would write, except that everything was effervescent and inchoate in my overexcitable brain.” She desired, she says, to be “drawn into the wild heart of things.”
— Edna O’Brien,Seeking the Ardent Life. O, joy! To the wild, wild heart of things!
And, from Pico Iyer:
“I travel because I feel that the world is much larger than my ideas of it. Every stereotype dissolves as soon as I set foot in Syria or Cuba or Vietnam (though not North Korea) and, sitting at home, I’m usually in a perfect state of ignorance and complacency. Living in rural Japan for more than a quarter of a century now has taught me that questions are much richer and deeper than most answers, and that the more I live with someone or something, the less I know of them. So maybe I travel and write to get past the dangerous illusion of knowingness. I’m ever more keen to acknowledge the mystery in everything, even my prosaic old self.”
“As Thoreau famously said, it doesn't matter where or how far you go - the farther commonly the worse - the important thing is how alive you are. Writing of every kind is a way to wake oneself up and keep as alive as when one has just fallen in love.”
“So it is that Lonely Places attract as many lonely people as they produce, and the loneliness we see in them is partly in ourselves.”
“Finding a sanctuary, a place apart from time, is not so different from finding a faith.”
“...home lies in the things you carry with you everywhere and not the ones that tie you down.”
I sign up for a lot of stupid shit on the internet, just to try it out.
Today, I found the answers to this Quora question so enticing that I (albeit reluctantly) used my Google account to sign up.
I think so far, it's been worth it. I haven't gotten through it all, but here are bits and pieces from different lists. I don't necessarily agree 100% with what was written but I find them fascinating to think about.
"What are the top 10 things that we should be informed about in life?"
4. Be aware of your actions, and form good habits. It becomes very easy to delude yourself into thinking that you're doing the right thing, or that you actually have good habits etc. Most people will not realize how their habits are very self destructive, as Warren Buffet said "The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they're too heavy to be broken".
8. If you cannot picture your life partner making you laugh 50 years from now, bail out. Humor rekindles love and warmth. Humor brings you back to earth and humbles you. Humor depends on insights and timing, something hugely important in truly intimate relationships. Not just wit, but humor that depends on understanding you, your tastes, your psyche. Life can become very tough and your body will surely degenerate. Humor looks past all of that and heals with resilience.
(rose interjecting here- as a side note about the power of humor, this article talks about how Turks have been using humor in the face of government repression)
5. In order to see yourself, do different things often and do many things differently. Sports, music, ballet, kung fu, MMA, dance, coding, drawing, massage, poetry, reading, listening, crying, movies. Do them with passion and discipline in addition to whatever your day job is. Live in the physical world, the creative world, the gastronomical world, the logical world. The more worlds you can traverse, the clearer your vision of self becomes. Spend a day in a classroom of preschoolers or juvenile delinquents, and listen. Volunteer in a retired group home and help residents work their smartphones. Many of my innovations arise from these experiences.
This is from Sri Madbhagvatam, written almost 5000 years back. I am surprised as how true these words are even in this age:
Whatever happened, happened for good.
Whatever is happening, is happening for good.
Whatever will happen, that will be for good as well.
What have you lost? why are you crying?
What did you bring with you, which you have lost?
What did you produce, which was destroyed?
Whatever was received, was received from here.
Whatever was given, was given here
You brought nothing when you were born
You are taking nothing with you when you die
Whatever is yours today was somebody else’s yesterday and will be somebody else’s tomorrow.
Change is the law of the universe.
Stop worrying.
7) There are few ways of communicating better than holding hands. You can learn everything you need to know about what someone is thinking simply by holding their hand. If you want to know if your relationship is in good shape or trouble, just hold hands with your partner for 5 minutes. You will know beyond a doubt.
9) Few things are as liberating or as powerful as forgiveness. There are lots of expressions about this, such as forgiveness is great revenge -- forget them. When you forgive someone, you are forgiving yourself. You will not believe how forgiving someone will make you feel like a huge weight is lifted off you. It doesn't matter what they did, or how guilty they are. I didn't say it was easy either. But holding a grudge, feeling resentment, hating someone is worse then letting them live rent free in your head, it actually holds you back and hold you down. When you are wrong, admit it and ask for forgiveness, If you don't get it from others, forgive yourself and focus on improving next time.
10) There are no poetic justices, happy endings or absolute love. The bad guys win at least as often as the good guys, possibly more often. It's easy to crush goodness. Goodness is weak and depends on mutual weakness to thrive. Badness only requires that one person be capable of taking advantage. Trust everyone -- but always cut the cards. If you want a happy ending, remember that is just the beginning of the next chapter and that we all die someday. You may love someone today, they may be the ONE for you -- but they are not the only one. And if they die or leave or anything else, it's possible (but not certain or even probable) that you will find love again.
9. Don’t spend your life working. Enjoy this beautiful gift that is life. Spend time with your family and loved ones. Don’t let your life and your legacy be about work. I understand everyone has to ‘work to live’ but don’t ‘live to work’. Don't let a 9 to 5 work week turn into a 9 to 9, six or seven day work week. Always make sure your keep a positive work/life balance. “Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” - Dolly Parton
“The trouble is, you think you have time.” – Buddha
9. Wonder & Awe will keep you young. I annoy people with this, but everything is fascinating to me. It goes back to #7. If you develop a sense of awe and wonder in this experience of life, you will never have time for sadness or negativiy. Everything is part of greater process, many of which are highly interrelated. Inquire, ponder, look at things from different angles - if the complexity doesn't amaze, the brilliance of random chance should mystify you. There's enough wonder and awe in this universe to negate the need in fanciful jest or bizarre belief systems. Real systems demonstrate magic all around us, and you are missing out on the adventure of living if you don't mine these profound realizations. Have fun learning. Everything is interesting. As simple as this, a viral quote I saw the other day: "The only cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity".
Today, I found the answers to this Quora question so enticing that I (albeit reluctantly) used my Google account to sign up.
I think so far, it's been worth it. I haven't gotten through it all, but here are bits and pieces from different lists. I don't necessarily agree 100% with what was written but I find them fascinating to think about.
"What are the top 10 things that we should be informed about in life?"
4. Be aware of your actions, and form good habits. It becomes very easy to delude yourself into thinking that you're doing the right thing, or that you actually have good habits etc. Most people will not realize how their habits are very self destructive, as Warren Buffet said "The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they're too heavy to be broken".
8. If you cannot picture your life partner making you laugh 50 years from now, bail out. Humor rekindles love and warmth. Humor brings you back to earth and humbles you. Humor depends on insights and timing, something hugely important in truly intimate relationships. Not just wit, but humor that depends on understanding you, your tastes, your psyche. Life can become very tough and your body will surely degenerate. Humor looks past all of that and heals with resilience.
(rose interjecting here- as a side note about the power of humor, this article talks about how Turks have been using humor in the face of government repression)
5. In order to see yourself, do different things often and do many things differently. Sports, music, ballet, kung fu, MMA, dance, coding, drawing, massage, poetry, reading, listening, crying, movies. Do them with passion and discipline in addition to whatever your day job is. Live in the physical world, the creative world, the gastronomical world, the logical world. The more worlds you can traverse, the clearer your vision of self becomes. Spend a day in a classroom of preschoolers or juvenile delinquents, and listen. Volunteer in a retired group home and help residents work their smartphones. Many of my innovations arise from these experiences.
This is from Sri Madbhagvatam, written almost 5000 years back. I am surprised as how true these words are even in this age:
Whatever happened, happened for good.
Whatever is happening, is happening for good.
Whatever will happen, that will be for good as well.
What have you lost? why are you crying?
What did you bring with you, which you have lost?
What did you produce, which was destroyed?
Whatever was received, was received from here.
Whatever was given, was given here
You brought nothing when you were born
You are taking nothing with you when you die
Whatever is yours today was somebody else’s yesterday and will be somebody else’s tomorrow.
Change is the law of the universe.
Stop worrying.
7) There are few ways of communicating better than holding hands. You can learn everything you need to know about what someone is thinking simply by holding their hand. If you want to know if your relationship is in good shape or trouble, just hold hands with your partner for 5 minutes. You will know beyond a doubt.
9) Few things are as liberating or as powerful as forgiveness. There are lots of expressions about this, such as forgiveness is great revenge -- forget them. When you forgive someone, you are forgiving yourself. You will not believe how forgiving someone will make you feel like a huge weight is lifted off you. It doesn't matter what they did, or how guilty they are. I didn't say it was easy either. But holding a grudge, feeling resentment, hating someone is worse then letting them live rent free in your head, it actually holds you back and hold you down. When you are wrong, admit it and ask for forgiveness, If you don't get it from others, forgive yourself and focus on improving next time.
10) There are no poetic justices, happy endings or absolute love. The bad guys win at least as often as the good guys, possibly more often. It's easy to crush goodness. Goodness is weak and depends on mutual weakness to thrive. Badness only requires that one person be capable of taking advantage. Trust everyone -- but always cut the cards. If you want a happy ending, remember that is just the beginning of the next chapter and that we all die someday. You may love someone today, they may be the ONE for you -- but they are not the only one. And if they die or leave or anything else, it's possible (but not certain or even probable) that you will find love again.
9. Don’t spend your life working. Enjoy this beautiful gift that is life. Spend time with your family and loved ones. Don’t let your life and your legacy be about work. I understand everyone has to ‘work to live’ but don’t ‘live to work’. Don't let a 9 to 5 work week turn into a 9 to 9, six or seven day work week. Always make sure your keep a positive work/life balance. “Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” - Dolly Parton
“The trouble is, you think you have time.” – Buddha
9. Wonder & Awe will keep you young. I annoy people with this, but everything is fascinating to me. It goes back to #7. If you develop a sense of awe and wonder in this experience of life, you will never have time for sadness or negativiy. Everything is part of greater process, many of which are highly interrelated. Inquire, ponder, look at things from different angles - if the complexity doesn't amaze, the brilliance of random chance should mystify you. There's enough wonder and awe in this universe to negate the need in fanciful jest or bizarre belief systems. Real systems demonstrate magic all around us, and you are missing out on the adventure of living if you don't mine these profound realizations. Have fun learning. Everything is interesting. As simple as this, a viral quote I saw the other day: "The only cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity".
Imagine your leg falls asleep, and you never walk again to avoid that one moment of discomfort waking it. That’s most people psychologically.
- ronenv
- ronenv
“
- Ronen V
via Michael Galpert
When you’re tired, sleep, when you’re hungry, eat, when you’re depressed, work, when you’re horny, fuck, when you’re sad, cry, and when you’re happy, smile. When you’re bored, imagine, when you’re restless, exercise. When you’re afraid, breath, when you’re excited, jump, when you’re lost, explore, when you’re thinking, think, when you’re talking, listen, and when a pretty girl smiles at you, smile back.
When there’s music in your heart, dance to it.
”- Ronen V
via Michael Galpert
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
I loved this sentence:
"Linda told me that on their last long stretch of time in Greece, she had a house at the top of a hill and Jack’s was at the bottom, thus to set off the radiant value of time together and time apart."
"Linda told me that on their last long stretch of time in Greece, she had a house at the top of a hill and Jack’s was at the bottom, thus to set off the radiant value of time together and time apart."
in the midst of all these roaring movies of apocalypses, i feel compelled to think about how i would feel about falling in love. perhaps these days spend in the haze of anesthetized heartache would suddenly seem even more beautiful.
perhaps i would suddenly remember with more fondness than disdain the mornings when the sunlight is just turning from grey to amber and i feel all of myself ache for arms around me, when i can't hear anything but the fan turning, and the house sighing from the summer heat. perhaps i would think back with disbelief on these moments spent swearing to myself that love is an awful, monstrous thing, that i wish to never fall in love again.
perhaps silently i would plead, like jack gilbert's prayer, for another chance: "Let me fall / in love one last time, I beg them / Teach me mortality, frighten me / into the present. Help me to find / the heft of these days."
shh, quiet, there it is. i can hear it beginning again.
perhaps i would suddenly remember with more fondness than disdain the mornings when the sunlight is just turning from grey to amber and i feel all of myself ache for arms around me, when i can't hear anything but the fan turning, and the house sighing from the summer heat. perhaps i would think back with disbelief on these moments spent swearing to myself that love is an awful, monstrous thing, that i wish to never fall in love again.
perhaps silently i would plead, like jack gilbert's prayer, for another chance: "Let me fall / in love one last time, I beg them / Teach me mortality, frighten me / into the present. Help me to find / the heft of these days."
shh, quiet, there it is. i can hear it beginning again.
* * *
I cannot count the times I have cursed my lack of urgency. If ever I love again, I will not wait to love as best as I can. We thought we were young and that there would be time to love well sometime in the future. This is a terrible way to think. It is no way to live, to wait to love. - Dave Eggers
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