• Check out the emotion in these shots from cnn.com and chicagotribune.com during the 2016 Olympics announcements. Talk about capturing a moment in time ...
• I don't remember which pill Neo takes in "The Matrix," but I'm pretty sure that point-of-no-return stuff is based on real life. Once you realize certain things, there's no going back.
• Also based on real life was that Bill Cosby show "Kids Say the Darndest Things." This conversation happened recently:
Fifth-grader: Are you still in high school?
Me: No, I'm a college graduate.
Fifth-grader: Because you look like you're still in high school.
• Some people really freak out if you make eye contact. (Strangers, I mean. Not normally people you already know.) Smile, and they just about run away. I think I'm a little too entertained by this. ... But I'm also the idiot behind you in line waving and making stupid faces at your infant.
• If Oprah can feature a woman who tries to go on 100 coffee dates to find "The One," I'm pretty sure I could pull off just about anything.
• The best friends aren't afraid to call you out when you need it. I've heard it twice in one week from two different parties in two different situations. Must be true.
• I wonder how long/many times I would have to sit casually, looking not-too-busy at an establishment before someone – anyone (who isn't working at said establishment) – approaches me for any reason at all. I had a pretty good time watching people watch me and whisper not-so-discreetly about why I was eating alone on my dinner break. It could be fun. Wagers?
• People have such interesting things to say. I learn so much just from listening (or reading, as the case may be). What excites them, what they value, where they've been, what they've seen, what they think. Don't underestimate what other people can teach you about the world and about yourself.
• "Life's a journey, not a destination." – Aerosmith, American rock band.
"Happiness is not a goal, it is a byproduct." – Eleanor Roosevelt, civil rights advocate and former first lady.
"There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way." – Wayne Dyer, American author.
"Happiness is not down the road; happiness is the road." – spiritual leader Dalai Lama?
... Seeing any trends here? As someone who grew up thinking that you choose one path and stick to it in order to be "successful," I'm starting to realize that maybe that's the wrong way to go about things. There's no one way to live happily, and there's no rule that says you can't change your mind along the way.
It's never been my idea of exciting to settle – or "settle-in." That's partly because the thought of going from day to day in the same, stale routine year after year without learning new things and having no way out terrifies me into action. ("Security is a kind of death." – Tennessee Williams, American playwright.) Maybe the way to go is to do what makes you happy until it doesn't anymore – or at least until you have a greater interest in something else – then find the next thing that does.
I think people end up in a rut when they can't admit when something that once made them happy no longer does. There's a stigma that goes along with it, that somehow admitting it means you screwed up the first time. But I don't think that's the case at all. People are constantly changing, no matter how old they are – if they allow it to happen. They take on new interests, new thought processes. It takes a brave and honest person to realize, admit and act on a new endeavor.
"When you get out of here, the world is going to grab you by the hair and start running. And you'd better keep up." – Dr. Peter Voelz, retired journalism professor, Eastern Illinois University.
But there's also a difference between giving up and moving on as described above. The preceding paragraph doesn't apply to situations in which you just give in, give up, or stop trying. I'm working on things as we speak that have become very hard, much harder than I thought they would be when I started working on them. It's easy to rationalize yourself into thinking you don't want something because not having it, not working toward it, not following through would be easier. And it is easier – for now. But if you give in to that weakness, you'll eventually realize that you never wanted that thing any less. You just gave up before you could see all the good there was to be had. Figuring out the difference is a skill in itself.
"Opportunities of a lifetime never come without some sort of price." – Marc Malone,
"Nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy." – Dr. Kelso, "Scrubs"
I expect this whole mind-set to continue to shift as I get older, but I think I've come a long way from worrying that choosing the wrong major would be the end of my one chance to do things "right."
"...and if you don't like it, change it." – Jared McClellan, was wise beyond his years at 17.
• Call me crazy, but whomever David Letterman chooses to sleep with does not affect me personally. Because it doesn't affect me, I don't feel the need to chastise him, call for an end to his career, ask any further questions, or really have any opinion at all on his recent announcement. (In fact, I think the real issue here is the alleged blackmail by a network higher-up anyway, but that's apparently not as interesting to the masses.) The point being, until there's a crazy twist that gets me wrapped into it, his sex life is his business and only his. (Hmm ... OK, kiddies, how else might we be able to apply this principle?)
• Noodles & Co. has a "no tip" policy. (Which means you don't leave one, even when dining in.)
• No matter what you're thinking, feeling, dealing with at any given time, someone has thought, felt or dealt with the exact same thing. When that "thing" is good, this thought might seem to cheapen the uniqueness of your experience. When that "thing" is bad, this thought will be a comfort. (Funny how that works, isn't it?)
• Kandi Burruss, a cast member on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," wrote TLC's "No Scrubs" and was a member of Xscape.
• A good friend once said that sometimes you have to lie a little to get yourself through tough times. By the time you start believing what you've been telling yourself, it's not so tough. (You might have heard this expressed as, "Fake it until you make it," but I prefer that my clichés not rhyme.)
• France may put warning labels on airbrushed photos. Also, check out these 10 doctored shots.
• I think it's safe to assume that most people haven't figured things out as well as you might imagine.
Happy Tuesday.
"Happiness is not down the road; happiness is the road." – spiritual leader Dalai Lama?
... Seeing any trends here? As someone who grew up thinking that you choose one path and stick to it in order to be "successful," I'm starting to realize that maybe that's the wrong way to go about things. There's no one way to live happily, and there's no rule that says you can't change your mind along the way.
It's never been my idea of exciting to settle – or "settle-in." That's partly because the thought of going from day to day in the same, stale routine year after year without learning new things and having no way out terrifies me into action. ("Security is a kind of death." – Tennessee Williams, American playwright.) Maybe the way to go is to do what makes you happy until it doesn't anymore – or at least until you have a greater interest in something else – then find the next thing that does.
I think people end up in a rut when they can't admit when something that once made them happy no longer does. There's a stigma that goes along with it, that somehow admitting it means you screwed up the first time. But I don't think that's the case at all. People are constantly changing, no matter how old they are – if they allow it to happen. They take on new interests, new thought processes. It takes a brave and honest person to realize, admit and act on a new endeavor.
"When you get out of here, the world is going to grab you by the hair and start running. And you'd better keep up." – Dr. Peter Voelz, retired journalism professor, Eastern Illinois University.
But there's also a difference between giving up and moving on as described above. The preceding paragraph doesn't apply to situations in which you just give in, give up, or stop trying. I'm working on things as we speak that have become very hard, much harder than I thought they would be when I started working on them. It's easy to rationalize yourself into thinking you don't want something because not having it, not working toward it, not following through would be easier. And it is easier – for now. But if you give in to that weakness, you'll eventually realize that you never wanted that thing any less. You just gave up before you could see all the good there was to be had. Figuring out the difference is a skill in itself.
"Opportunities of a lifetime never come without some sort of price." – Marc Malone,
"Nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy." – Dr. Kelso, "Scrubs"
I expect this whole mind-set to continue to shift as I get older, but I think I've come a long way from worrying that choosing the wrong major would be the end of my one chance to do things "right."
"...and if you don't like it, change it." – Jared McClellan, was wise beyond his years at 17.
• Call me crazy, but whomever David Letterman chooses to sleep with does not affect me personally. Because it doesn't affect me, I don't feel the need to chastise him, call for an end to his career, ask any further questions, or really have any opinion at all on his recent announcement. (In fact, I think the real issue here is the alleged blackmail by a network higher-up anyway, but that's apparently not as interesting to the masses.) The point being, until there's a crazy twist that gets me wrapped into it, his sex life is his business and only his. (Hmm ... OK, kiddies, how else might we be able to apply this principle?)
• Noodles & Co. has a "no tip" policy. (Which means you don't leave one, even when dining in.)
• No matter what you're thinking, feeling, dealing with at any given time, someone has thought, felt or dealt with the exact same thing. When that "thing" is good, this thought might seem to cheapen the uniqueness of your experience. When that "thing" is bad, this thought will be a comfort. (Funny how that works, isn't it?)
• Kandi Burruss, a cast member on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," wrote TLC's "No Scrubs" and was a member of Xscape.
• A good friend once said that sometimes you have to lie a little to get yourself through tough times. By the time you start believing what you've been telling yourself, it's not so tough. (You might have heard this expressed as, "Fake it until you make it," but I prefer that my clichés not rhyme.)
• France may put warning labels on airbrushed photos. Also, check out these 10 doctored shots.
• I think it's safe to assume that most people haven't figured things out as well as you might imagine.
Happy Tuesday.
1 comment:
I enjoy your blog. I'm glad you've started it up again. I'm not even sure why I put this in my RSS originally, but it always provides some points to ponder.
Also, as someone who looks young, I've been mistaken for a middle schooler before at the school I teach at.
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