Playing in the Dust

"I took this incarnation 

to experience your universal drama,

Yet like a small child, 

I only played with dust."

This short stanza is from a poem by Lex Hixon called "The play of my soul is over" (found in the book Mother of the Universe).  Now, I don't exactly ascribe to the whole worship-the-goddess-Kali, Hindu-reincarnation, wear-a-garland-of-severed-heads-around-your-neck lifestyle that the poems endorse, but I do like the message that these particular verses are throwing out there.  

It's kind of spinning the traditional carpe diem mantra.  To me, it's saying, take the opportunity in front of you.  Take advantage of what you are being faced with right now.  Don't just sit and let life pass you by.  It reminds me of that little kid on Christmas Day, who wakes up to find that Santa brought him this awesome, new, and exciting (fill-in-the-blank), but instead of being totally enthralled by the new toy all day, he ends up just playing with the empty box that the toy came in for ages.  (I realize that this analogy could also be used to say "Find Joy in the Little Things!" or "Look Past Appearances!" but bear with me here.)  The kid is sitting with this empty box in front of him, and it consumes all of his focus, so much so that he misses out on all of the excitement that waits for him with the true prize.  How much am I missing out on by only focusing on empty boxes?  In this case, the author of this poem took on Incarnation- to experience Universal Drama!  This sounds (albeit slightly ridiculous) like it has so much potential!  And yet he sits playing in the dust, missing out on so much.

As much as I would like to say that I read this book on my own to expand my cultural horizons and understand a novel way of thinking, I actually read it because it was assigned in my World Lit class.  Today when we were discussing it, my professor summed up one of the major points of the book as this:

 Death only matters if you are living a less-than life. 

It was a striking thought.  It resonates especially with me because I realized that my God is great enough to reach me even through the teachings of another religion.  This thought about less-than life is exactly what God is saying to me about my life... death is not important because my life is not less-than when I have redemption and a higher purpose to live for (his glory).  I have something new to focus on.

SO here we go, time to start.  Don't settle for less than this fantastic new life- Put down the empty box.  Brush off the dust. 

Invincible Summer

Today was terribly cold- which is especially shocking because it has been such a warm winter, and finally, out of nowhere, frigid temperatures have suddenly arrived.  I know that lots and lots people are happy about this because the unusually mild weather didn't feel right, but I have secretly loved the lack of cold, and I am a little bit sad that it is here. 

However!  To remind myself, and all of the other secret warm weather enthusiasts out there, that winter doesn't last forever, let's remember what we love about summer.  (This list is from an Anthropologie catalog that I journaled about almost exactly this time last year).

It's the little things...

A bit of shade, all-day grazing, everything green, bare feet, keepsakes, real books, remembering when, her famous recipe, sandal season, goofing off, dress-up, lazy Sundays, nowhere to go, fancy just because, Mom's tree, sleeping in, hobbying, sweet tomatoes, a light breeze, sun on shoulders, an afternoon nap, coming home.

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

-Albert Camus

New York Living

As of late, I have taken to daydreaming elaborately about an imaginary life in New York City.  I absolutely would love to move there for a year or so after I graduate, so why not start planning a little early?  Of course, it's hard to show exactly how great this life I've planned in my head is, but I'll try my best.

First, the effortlessly chic fashion.  I got these shots from The Sartorialist, a beautiful blog of street fashion photography.

  How confident and lovely and sexy and cool are these women?  There is just something breathtaking about a New York woman... a certain je ne sais quoi.  One day, that will be me.

Next, the apartment.  Studio apartment, big windows with great light, exposed brick, lots of dark wood.  Can't I dream big?  Something of a combination between these:

I'm sure there will also be a romantic fire escape, of course, à la Audrey singing "Moon River".  

Finally, excitement and culture and scenery every time I walk outside.  Something new or something historical, beautiful or interesting or avant-garde around every corner.

 

My little town blues, they are melting away.  I'm gonna make a brand new start of it, in old New York.  If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere.    It's up to you, New York, New York.

Books Books Books

(the Quintessential Reading List that Guys Would Not Enjoy)

  

Summer-beach-day Book... Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart 

     It's about the first two girls to work on the floor at Tiffany & Co - how could it not be good?  A summer filled with excitement, romance, and New York City... absolutely one to live vicariously through.

    

Pick-up-where-you-left-off-when-you-get-a-chance Book... The Paris Wife by Paula McLain  

     Semi-historical/fiction about Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley.  Such a bittersweet novel.  Love the excitement of Paris in the twenties, hate the heartache that you know is coming from the first page.

     

Read-all-month-long-every-second-of-Christmas-break Book... Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  

     The book (and the movie, for that matter) gets better every single time I read it.  There's something about relating to a character that can make a story so lovable and comforting, and I am pretty sure that every girl can relate to Elizabeth in one way or another.

     

Stay-up-late-and-read-with-a-flashlight Book... The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger  

     Normally, I would say that I like the traditional love stories, not the weird ones where you know there isn't a cliched happy ending and you have to think really hard the whole time.  But I love this book, and again, the movie is wonderful.

       

Anytime-anywhere-anyplace-quick-romance Book... Every Single Book Ever by Deeanne Gist

     I honestly cannot get enough of these historical romances... they all pretty much have the same plot, set in different time periods.  However, I happen to love the plot and I happen to love history, so these books are right up my alley.  They do not ever get old. 

Okay, SO, I do realize, in looking over this list, that these books kind of have a central theme.  They are all one million percent chick books (whoops, hence the title of this post).  This fact doesn't make them any less great or any less worth reading though, I promise.

 

Abs the Blogger 1.0

How does one blog?  What should I blog about?  Who is going to read this blog?  Do I have time to blog?  Why do I feel the need to blog?  Will what I blog be worth reading?

All valid questions - none of which I have answers to.  Regardless, here I am venturing into the blogging world.  Why not?

This whole idea started out extremely promising... I typed "how do I make a blog" into the Google search bar and voila! a blog was born.  In general, I expect that I will ended up posting just about everything; whatever happens to be on my mind at the moment.  Maybe nothing terribly profound, but then again, maybe something spectacular.

The premise behind the overly-thought-out title, After All, came from the idea that maybe, possibly, perhaps occasionally I could end my posts with the cheesy catch phrase and a little wisdom.  That may turn out to be too much though, we'll see.

Anyway, here goes nothing.  After all, what do I have to lose?