For One More Day

I finished my third Mitch Albom novel this morning, For One More Day and it definitely did not disappoint. I read his previous novels about two years ago and fell in love with the way he tells his stories. Each book is fairly short and a very quick read. The stories are filled with life lessons that make you think and re-evaluate your life and the way you are living it. This book followed the story of Chick Benetto who was a previous professional baseball player who tried to take his life, but failed. He was given a second chance. The book goes back and forth between him telling the story of his attempted suicide and the story of his childhood and what it was like growing up with his mother. He was a daddy's boy even after his father left his family and throughout the rest of his life he questioned the actions of his mother and how she chose to raise her family. The creativity of how the story was told is what amazed me. I finished the book in two days and tried to read in almost every spare moment. I wanted to re-read the other two books as soon as I finished it, but I have so many other books taking up my shelf that I need to read. So I began No Limits by Michael Phelps and will try to read them another time after I've finished a few others.

Listen

Standing in the garden,
left hand laden
with ripe strawberries. The sun

beams off the glassy
backs of flies. Three
birds in the birch tree.

They must have been there
all year.

My mother, my grandmother,
stood like this
in their gardens,

I am 43,
This year I have planted my feet
on this ground

and am practicing
growing up out of my legs
like a tree.
-Linda Lancione Moyer

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I can't sleep. I woke up not feeling to hot and found out we had a snow day. My first real full snow day while in college. We should have had one yesterday, but I skated my way to and from class only falling twice. I'm so excited about not having my night class that I can't sleep. So I'll tell you about all of the reading I've been doing this past weekend. Instead of studying for my exam on Friday I began reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I have heard off its fame as being a "cult-classic" and always had an interest in reading it,but never got around to it. Finally, when I was shopping for therapy supplies at Target, there it was sitting on the wrong shelf by the childrens books I was actually looking at. It was meant to be. I bought it, waited a few days and started reading Friday afternoon. I didn't want to put it down. It's a short book that kept me wanting more. It's the story of Charlie, a 15 year old freshman in high school. The book is in the form of letters. You don't know where he lives or who he is writing the letter to, but you do know his inner most thoughts. The book follows Charlie through his first year of high school where he encounters the death of a friend, the feeling of an outsider, the love of books and finally new friends who would change his life. You feel with Charlie as you read through his letters. You feel his highest highs and his lowest lows. When he is sad you are sad. It explores the world of sex, drugs and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. While this book led me feeling emotions I didn't even know I had, I am so happy this book finally fell into my hands. He writes as if he is talking. His run-on sentences make you feel as if he is sitting right there with you and his wisdom far exceeds that of a 15 year old boy. If you have the time I highly recommend taking a peak into Charlie's life. It makes you think back to your own time in high school and how it was both exciting and scary to experience so many new and different things with your friends. It is written in the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye, another book I have not yet read. It was on a summer reading list in high school, but I never got around to reading it. It's collecting dust on my shelf at my parent's house so I'll have to dust it off and start reading the next time I'm home. The book also explore's Charlie's love of reading by the books his English teacher gives to him. I've heard of several of them and want to look in on them again once I'm made a dent in the unread books on my shelf.

The Monk Stood Beside a Wheelbarrow

The monk stood beside a wheelbarrow, weeping.

God of Buddha nowhere to be seen -
these tears were fully human,
bitter, broken,
falling onto the wheelbarrow's rusty side.

They gathered at its bottom,
where the metal drank them in to make more rust.

You cannot know what you do in this life, what you have done.

I saw the weeping monk
and knew I also had a place on this hard earth.

- Jane Hirshfield

Lord of Healing

Lord of my greatest fear:
Let in your peace

Lord of my darker shame:
Let in your grace

Lord of my oldest grudge:
Let in your forgiveness

Lord of my deepest anger:
Let in your love

Lord of my loneliest moment:
Let in your presence

Lord of my truest self-my all:
Let in your fullness.

- Alison Pepper, England

My First Mittens

Over Thanksgiving break I found a pattern online for a pair of cabled mittens. Last winter I embarked on my first creative endeavor by knitting a hat with ear flaps. It took forever to finish, but came out beautiful and very warm. I wanted to make a pair of mittens to go with my hat, but I had trouble finding the yarn I bought one year prior. It was a brown alpaca blend with random bits of color woven throughout. I decided to practice making my mittens with a different yarn. I bought a skein of Vanna's Choice yarn and made my first mitten ever. There were several mistakes, but I made it through to the end. From a distance it looks great, but upclose you can see my tiny imperfections. Being the perfectionist I am I decided to start all over with another set with another color. One set turned into three and I didn't end up keeping a single pair. I gave the first to my mom and the next two pairs to each of my grandmas. They turned out great, but now I must find the time among the other three knitting projects I have started to knit my own pair of cabled mittens. No worries, I'll probably have them done just in time for summer when I won't be able to wear them. I'll keep you posted on the progress .....

How Could I Reject Who I Am?

A fish cannot drown in water. A bird cannot fall in the air. Gold is not dissolved in fire - for there it receives its brilliant sheen. This gift is given to everything: To live with its own nature. How could I oppose who I am? I am inclined toward God, and must go through all things into God.
-Mechtild of Magdeburg, Germany, c. 1212-82

Brian Andreas

I was first introduced to Brian Andreas during my senior year of high school. I took a Religions of the World class where we were exposed to faiths from all parts of the globe. The class was about exploring different forms of spirituality while finding your own. Every class we would start with a prayer. Each student was given the opportunity to open the class with something that represented her faith and spirituality. It could be serious or a fun activity. I had the most amazing teacher, Ms. Hayes. She was so in tuned to her own spirituality and had so many great words of wisdom for her young age. She provided a sample prayer the first day which included my first experience of Brian Andreas. He is a writer/sculptor/painter who writes short paragraphs or sentences that focus on memories, stories or words of wisdom. He combines them with drawings that almost look like a kid has drawn them which gives then a raw edge. Ms.Hayes read us "Real Reason" which states, "There are things you do because they feel right and they may make no sense and they make no money and it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other and to eat each other's cooking and say it was good." We were then asked to write our own story. Some piece of wisdom that relates to who we are and what we hope to accomplish in this world. I don't remember exactly what I wrote, but I remember wanting to touch the lives of others by doing something great. I wanted to write and hope to change the lives or even make it just a little bit better with the words I wrote. Ever since that class in high school I have been obsessed with Brian Andreas. He created a company entitled, StoryPeople, where anyone can have access to his stories and prints. I find myself going to storypeople.com whenever I'm feeling stressed and need or relax or just read something funny. I was blessed to receive three of his books for Christmas which I immediately read and have marked some of my favorite quotes. I was even inspired to produce some of my "wooden art" based on some of the drawings from Brian Andreas which are looking fabulous in my room. More to come on my wooden pieces in later blogs ....

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I can't sleep. It's late and there is nothing on TV. The perfect moment to describe one of the most amazing stories I have ever heard. I was first exposed to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly during AAC class last semester. We watched the movie during class and I received the book for Christmas. It is a very easy read and I finished it in a day. This story is truly remarkable. It is the story of the previous editor of the French edition of Elle magazine that was written in the blink of an eye, literally. Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a stroke at the age of 43. He was completely paralyzed and suffered from what is called, 'locked-in syndrome'. He is a prisoner in his own body and his only way of communicating is through the blinking of his left eye. During his time at the Naval Hospital he composed this memoir. He would wake up very early in the morning before the nurse came into his room and he would memorize what he wanted to write for the day. A woman would then come to his room to compose him sentences. She would read through the alphabet and he would blink his eye when the correct letter was read to form words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters and finally this book as the finished product. The book follows his life in the Naval Hospital and his thoughts and feelings about being 'locked-in'. He describes what goes on around him and things he notices that other don't. His is amazing. I can't imagine my life being taken away from me like that. His children come to visit, but he isn't able to hug them. His father isn't able to make the trip so he calls, but Jean-Dominique isn't able to physically answer. He relates his situation to a diving bell and a butterfly (hence the title ha). His body is the diving bell that continuously sinks deeper and deeper into the ocean, while his thoughts and his mind are his savior that takes him away from being 'locked-in'. In the book he says, "My diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly." In one chapter of the book he describes taking a trip to Hong Kong for a conference. He has never been to Hong Kong, but he gets lost in his thoughts for hours and pictures himself in his previous lifestyle. The movie was made in French, and although you have to read the subtitles, it is something to be seen. The book must be read as well. I would finish a page and wonder how long it took for this page to be produced. The entire experience was definitely life changing and makes you think about the simple things in life we so easily take for granted.

My Obsession

I'm obsessed with art. Any kind of art. Photography, fashion, painting, pottery, literature, music, crafts, theatre, knitting, cooking, dance. I love all of it. It takes my breath away. When I was younger it was such a treat to be able to dress up and go to the theatre to see a play. My favorite, The Nutcracker. I loved the idea of living in a world where all of your dreams become a reality. I loved the part where the oversized woman would come out on stage and her children would pop out of her large skirt and dance across the stage. It's so magical. I even wish to someday name my future daughter after Clara, the main character who I wished I could be. I love to read. I was always the girl with her nose stuck in a book and I attempt to keep it there whenever I have the time to read something other than my text books. I knit. I began knitting my senior year in high school and have made numerous basic scarves, but just recently have expanded my abilities to socks, hats, mittens, and most recently a baby bunny blanket. I paint. Not prints or watercolorts, but what I call, "wooden art". My dad will cut out anything out of wood that I draw for him and paint it, usually based on something I've seen. I don't consider myself an artist because my level of artistic ability needs an immense amount of growth, but I can't help but make an attempt. This blog will be a collection of my growth as an artist and a tribute to those who have become my inspiration. My first is a prayer. I found it in a book of women's prayers given to me by a family friend for my college graduation. While I have flipped through the book and read the prayers on pages I happen to open I have no made the attempt to sid down and read through it. This year I'm going to try to read one every morning to help relieve a little stress and start out my day on the right foot. Here is my daily prayer ....



The Truth About Myself

O God,

help me to believe

the truth about myself-

no matter how beautiful it is.

- Macrina Wiederkehr