Hard Truths:
- You are a work in progress. And today, your very human self may or may not have eaten too many lightly salted nuts and dark M&Ms--even though inner voice [and imagined kind voices of boot camp leader, Patsy, and boot camp friends, Heidi and Nicky] told you to just leave them on the CVS shelves and walk away. At some level, you knew that crunching the sweet and salty morsels between teeth would feel good, empowering even, on a day with many weighty tasks and problems you wished could disappear. Can't fix the world but can shatter brittle, brightly colored M&M shells and knobby cashews with a fierce bite. [What do you think you are, a squirrel fattening up for the winter? Fortifying yourself against anxiety, sadness and pain?]
- Bad feelings haunt you for a while. Regrets don't fade fast. They're like ugly gray beasts that slink around following you, trying to ruin your day. And the thing is, you can't make them disappear. They are regretful precisely because they're in the past and you can't change them, only the way you look at them.
- The more negative you are, the more the beasts will trail you.
- Inevitably, others will disappoint you and you will disappoint others. Perhaps most painful of all, sometimes you will disappoint yourself.
Soft Landings:
- A friend who listens is a graceful gift.
- So is forgiveness, and you really have to remember to give that gift to yourself, not just to others.
- Every single day, hour, minute and breath is a new chance to turn and face the sun.
- No one is perfect.
- It will be all right.
Posts
Alice, have you read Eat Pray Love? I'm re-reading it again. While it was a pop sensation, I find it strikingly moving and get something new out of it every time. I'm just wrapping up her time in India (the Pray section) and so much of what she learns would speak to you with your grappling of hard truths, I think.
ReplyDeleteHi Kim. i tried to read it once when it first came out but couldn't get into it for some reason. in fact, i remember us talking about it back then. maybe i will try it again, not sure. have stack of books on bedstand that i want to get to..... i am interested in the movie, though! thanks. btw, on topic of books, H. just read Three Cups of Tea and is raving, raving about how beautiful it is. Bet you've read that too? my friend Patsy was also reading it. I have to give that a whirl also. alice
ReplyDeletesee, now that was one I couldn't get into! Isn't that funny? F. read it and enjoyed it, but I found the writing a little clunky and I put it down, meaning to pick it up and never did. I think the story is a beautiful one, but I couldn't get beyond the craft, which felt inelegant on some level.
ReplyDeleteEat Pray Love was not for every one, but I really enjoyed it. The first few chapters are a little whiny, but then it's quite fun and, in its own breezy way, quite provocative.