Traveling truly is my favourite thing to do. Every aspect of the journey is thrilling to me, both “good” (exploring, learning, meeting people) and “bad” (frustrating layovers, plans that fall through) and everything in between. The important thing to me is to keep moving and keep experiencing things.
With that in mind, it makes sense that I am plagued by perpetual wanderlust. One consequence of knowing I was created to see as much as possible of this beautiful world (and constantly aching to do so, even if I have just recently returned home) is that I sometimes forget the first secret to a great journey:
I’ve recently been contemplating the idea of becoming penpals again. It is something I did quite frequently as an adolescent, but as life got busier it was one of the things I had to shove to the side. I decided to begin by writing letters back and forth with one of my young cousins, but at the same time I decided to start contacting friends from back home or around the world.
Living on the other side of the United States from most of my close friends has been harder on me than I care to admit. I’ve always been someone whom people could approach with their problems and ask for advice. I pride myself on that availability and loyalty. The distance makes it difficult to always be around when people need me. Electronic communication has its limits, and I seem to run into them at every turn.
"No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful. If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC."
-Kurt Vonnegut
Are there any words that you can not stand? Words that hurt to hear, that make you uncomfortable or cause pain, even if you can't pinpoint a reason why?
I'm sure most people do have words they dislike as well as ones they absolutely love. Most of the ones I hate are mispronunciations: "library" as "liberry" or "crayon" as "crown," for example. But there are a few that I just can't stand... like "moist." It just makes me uncomfortable. However, "moisture" is fine, which I can't explain.
On the other hand, I love plenty of words as well... "autumn," "verdant," "lithe," "galaxy," and "demure" are a few examples. They're words that are so beautiful you can feel it in your soul, words that explain themselves.
So I would like to ask for suggestions. What are some of the best and worst words in the world... not just in the English languages, but in any language?
If I could choose to have a "super power," it would be to read minds... not so that I could find out what people were thinking about me at any given moment. I'm sure that's what most people would be interested in using it to learn, but I think I would end up more disappointed than pleased with the results.
My reasoning and usage would be different. I would love to know people's thoughts simply to analyze which things people think about most often each day.
Someone dear to me died a few days ago. He was fairly old, but his passing was sudden. no one expected it, and no one was ready—his family least of all, I’m sure. The loss cut my heart deeply, especially since I had not seen him in a while. I had intended to arrange to meet up the next time I was in Virginia… but now that opportunity has been lost.
But you know what is remarkable? Reading online about all the lives he changed while he was here. The man was a teacher at my middle / high school, and later became the assistant principal before retiring a few years ago. He touched so many lives. Truly.
Alumni from my high school have been sharing so many beautiful memories. He influenced everyone he met…not just as a teacher or member of the school administration, but as a mentor in personal matters as well as academic… and as a friend to so many.
He’s gone now, but I wish he could come back for a moment to see how many lives he changed and how many young people have grown into better adults because of him.
We all need to strive to leave that sort of beautiful mark upon the world. We need to act as guides to help those along the way who will be running the world when we’re gone.
This one’s for you, Robert Soper. Every encounter I had with you was inspirational—you were so full of wisdom and love, and easily one of the sweetest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Tell Mrs. Dell hi for me… I’ll see you both again some day.
Last night I reread a childhood favourite of mine: A Wrinkle in Time. In fact, I was so fond of it in elementary and middle school that I remember dedicating pretty much an entire summer to reading Madeleine L'Engle's other works. I remember particularly enjoying The Moon by Night, House Like A Lotus, and A Ring of Endless Light.
The trouble with books you read and enjoyed years ago is that the details tend to gradually fade. That's no different from day-to-day life, of course. But rereading a beloved story from childhood is much the same as flipping through old photographs: all the memories come flooding back. With books, you also get the added benefit of noting little things you might have missed (or not deemed important) when you were younger.
Everyone dreams…
whether you remember the dreams or not, your mind probably creates hundreds of bizarre scenarios overnight. They could be comprised of any number of components, such as school or work or even places that you don’t think you’ve ever seen before.
For many people, at some point in their lives they experience what is called a “recurring dream”—one that you have night after night. It doesn’t have to be lots of nights in a row, either, you could have them a few times each month and it would still count. It’s commonly agreed that such dreams have an important message, and that they won’t cease until you figure it out.
Art made solely for the potential of monetary gain, has lost its meaning. It's no longer art at all.
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