And proud of it. Happy pi day!
11.3.12
(intro)vert
The other day while I was shelving I got distracted by an article. That's the problem, you see, with working in a library is that you want to read things. I refrained and came back after class to read the article. I was intrigued because it was about the power of being introverted, and I am an introvert.
We live in a society that was made for and rewards extroverts. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with extroverts (I actually rather like quite a few of them). I even have some extroverted qualities myself. But I do think that we value too little the qualities of introverts. Sounds cheesy, but God made people different for a reason.
The article really didn't have anything profound to say, and I already knew that I had introverted tendencies, but it really it home with me. It reminded me that it's okay that I am the way I am. There is nothing wrong with me. People too often mistake introvertism for being shy, afraid of social situations or complacent. It's none of those things (although they can accompany introverted traits). Introverted people are genuinely content to be on their own. They like to do things one-on-one with people they know well. They don't love small talk. They get over stimulated by big groups, especially big groups of people they don't know.
It's okay that I would often rather do things alone than be in a crowded room with a bunch of strangers. It's okay that I prefer one-on-one conversations or that I would much rather have a small get together with my close family and friends than a huge bash. It reminded me that there is value in those qualities. I'm contemplative and observant. I can focus and work independently. I like to talk about real things and get passed that small talk stuff. I find satisfaction and fulfillment being on my own. I even enjoy it.
Being introverted doesn't mean I hate being with people (I really like people you see), or that I'm shy, or that I'll never do crazy extroverted-like things. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't go out of my comfort zone to get to know people or do things with people even when I'd rather be alone. It's all about balance.
After reading the article I felt empowered. Over the years (and especially the last few weeks) I've come to love and accept the fact that I am an introvert. I don't need to fight against it. I think it's made me realize why I am the way I am and why I react the way I do to things, which in turn helps me to see ways to cope in this extroverted world and push myself.
I am M and I am an introvert.
We live in a society that was made for and rewards extroverts. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with extroverts (I actually rather like quite a few of them). I even have some extroverted qualities myself. But I do think that we value too little the qualities of introverts. Sounds cheesy, but God made people different for a reason.
The article really didn't have anything profound to say, and I already knew that I had introverted tendencies, but it really it home with me. It reminded me that it's okay that I am the way I am. There is nothing wrong with me. People too often mistake introvertism for being shy, afraid of social situations or complacent. It's none of those things (although they can accompany introverted traits). Introverted people are genuinely content to be on their own. They like to do things one-on-one with people they know well. They don't love small talk. They get over stimulated by big groups, especially big groups of people they don't know.
It's okay that I would often rather do things alone than be in a crowded room with a bunch of strangers. It's okay that I prefer one-on-one conversations or that I would much rather have a small get together with my close family and friends than a huge bash. It reminded me that there is value in those qualities. I'm contemplative and observant. I can focus and work independently. I like to talk about real things and get passed that small talk stuff. I find satisfaction and fulfillment being on my own. I even enjoy it.
Being introverted doesn't mean I hate being with people (I really like people you see), or that I'm shy, or that I'll never do crazy extroverted-like things. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't go out of my comfort zone to get to know people or do things with people even when I'd rather be alone. It's all about balance.
After reading the article I felt empowered. Over the years (and especially the last few weeks) I've come to love and accept the fact that I am an introvert. I don't need to fight against it. I think it's made me realize why I am the way I am and why I react the way I do to things, which in turn helps me to see ways to cope in this extroverted world and push myself.
I am M and I am an introvert.
contrary to popular belief
I am indeed alive.
Remember how I thought 2012 was my year? Well I think I was right. The last few weeks have been crazy--full of grad school news, big surprises, several trips being scheduled, school, work, calling, and lots of life. It seems like my whole life has been thrown into a blender and the liquify button was left on. I feel the potential, but I also feel the weight of all the "grown-up" stuff I have to deal with. It's finally hitting me: I'm graduating. And with that graduation I'll become a "real" person (as opposed to a fake one I've been this whole time). There are a lot of things that go with becoming a real person. Am I ready? I can't even change the tires on my car (despite being taught several times) or name all 44 presidents in order.
Oh bother. Still so much to learn.
M
Remember how I thought 2012 was my year? Well I think I was right. The last few weeks have been crazy--full of grad school news, big surprises, several trips being scheduled, school, work, calling, and lots of life. It seems like my whole life has been thrown into a blender and the liquify button was left on. I feel the potential, but I also feel the weight of all the "grown-up" stuff I have to deal with. It's finally hitting me: I'm graduating. And with that graduation I'll become a "real" person (as opposed to a fake one I've been this whole time). There are a lot of things that go with becoming a real person. Am I ready? I can't even change the tires on my car (despite being taught several times) or name all 44 presidents in order.
Oh bother. Still so much to learn.
M
26.1.12
confessions of a man-hater
Recently it seems that every girl I know has a boy in their life that is doing something very stupid. I've had multiple conversations with girls about the hurt all these boys have caused. The conversations inevitably end in frustration, exclamations of loathing and anger, feminist declarations, and a whole bunch of things that boys are doing wrong. And it always ends with an "I hate boys."
I'm totally guilty of adopting the man-hating persona. Throughout my life I've been told I am intimidating and scary, that I need to be nicer to boys, and that I give off this "I don't need a boyfriend" vibe. While I may come off that way (I'm working on it), it's high time I acknowledge how much I really do like them. Maybe the boys in our lives will be better because we look for the good in them and not the bad.
In my attempt at reconciliation, here is a short list of reasons why I love boys:
They see things in a more linear and simple way. Girls get lost in the dark and twisty webs of their minds. Boys offer a much needed straightforward perspective.
In general they tend to be funnier than girls. Humor is so important in life and I'm grateful for the boys in my life that make me laugh.
They push you to do more adventurous things. It's really hard to get a group of girls to go hiking. Add some boys to the mix and you'll be up in the mountains in a jiffy.
They genuinely want to fix problems. This definitely a point of contention (I just want you to listen to me; I don't want you to fix it!), but I think that it shows their love and respect for you if they want to help solve your problems.
They are strong and more physically apt than I am. Cannot tell you how many times that has come in handy.
They can hold the priesthood of God, which links us to them eternally.
Pretty much they are just really cute. (especially when they wear this. I'm totally a sucker for a man in uniform).
Boys are great. Even when they are not.
your reforming man-hater,
M
I'm totally guilty of adopting the man-hating persona. Throughout my life I've been told I am intimidating and scary, that I need to be nicer to boys, and that I give off this "I don't need a boyfriend" vibe. While I may come off that way (I'm working on it), it's high time I acknowledge how much I really do like them. Maybe the boys in our lives will be better because we look for the good in them and not the bad.
In my attempt at reconciliation, here is a short list of reasons why I love boys:
They see things in a more linear and simple way. Girls get lost in the dark and twisty webs of their minds. Boys offer a much needed straightforward perspective.
In general they tend to be funnier than girls. Humor is so important in life and I'm grateful for the boys in my life that make me laugh.
They push you to do more adventurous things. It's really hard to get a group of girls to go hiking. Add some boys to the mix and you'll be up in the mountains in a jiffy.
They genuinely want to fix problems. This definitely a point of contention (I just want you to listen to me; I don't want you to fix it!), but I think that it shows their love and respect for you if they want to help solve your problems.
They are strong and more physically apt than I am. Cannot tell you how many times that has come in handy.
They can hold the priesthood of God, which links us to them eternally.
Pretty much they are just really cute. (especially when they wear this. I'm totally a sucker for a man in uniform).
Boys are great. Even when they are not.
your reforming man-hater,
M
22.1.12
motion
Life has been set in motion. I feel like all these little moments and pieces of my life have been set in motion to add up to something. I don't know how they all fit together but somehow they do. I've heard several people talk about how 2012 is going to be their year. It holds promise, potential, and life. 2012 is my year too. It began with me starting my lasts at dear old BYU. It will involve several amazing trips, moving away, starting anew, belonging to a new home and (hopefully) a new school. It will mean more fun times with friends, random adventures, time to read, time to live. Each day I wake up with a sense of being on the edge of something great. Guess what? It's a great place to be. But the funny thing is, I'm not anxious for things to change. I'm learning to love this now. And I'm finding reasons to live in this moment instead of longing for the past or future. As the great C.S. Lewis wrote, "this is the eternal now." "This moment contains all moments." The first presidency message this month is about living a full life. As my home teachers taught me this inspired message, I couldn't help but feel the truth of these words:
And this song (as cheesy as it is) keeps coming to mind.
I hope your 2012 holds as much potential.
love love love
M
Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities.You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.
And this song (as cheesy as it is) keeps coming to mind.
I hope your 2012 holds as much potential.
love love love
M
5.1.12
Newsflash: I LOVE MY MAJOR
I do I do. I love that I have professors who love love love what they are teaching and translate that into how they teach. I love that I take classes that push me to think in new ways and are not just about regurgitating information. I love that I am trusted to learn material, to take my own education seriously and not have to babysat through busywork. I love that it's not about getting an A, but about learning. I love that my professors facilitate discussion and push us to learn writing, presentation, and speaking skills. I love that my classes are small and personal.
Oh and I love when professors say things like: "there you are on a date and then all of a sudden someone sticks you with a dirty knife" to start off a discussion on the immune system.
loving little life (still!),
M
Oh and I love when professors say things like: "there you are on a date and then all of a sudden someone sticks you with a dirty knife" to start off a discussion on the immune system.
loving little life (still!),
M
28.12.11
to the left, to the left
I shouldn't love it as much as I do, but I do. And when I hear that someone else is, I feel an instant kinship to them. I love when people I've known forever finally notice, as if it was some special trick I've kept hidden from them. It's silly I know, but I love love love being left-handed.
Sure there are disadvantages like the perpetual stain of pencil or ink on your hand or the need to seek out certain "left-handed" desks in a classroom. Oh and then there are things like learning how to crochet–a little tricky when the person teaching you is doing everything with the opposite hand. I bet you didn't know that there are quite a few objects like bunch bowl ladles or scissors that are right-handed. I also blame my lack of coordination on being a lefty. I kick and throw with my right, but with little skill. What was I supposed to do when all the other kids were doing it with that hand? I'd like to think that if I'd learned with my left, I'd be a master (maybe).
But guess what? Being a lefty is the best. You get special treatment. "Oh sorry, you can't sit there. I'm left-handed; I need to sit on the end." You get special items like left-handed sewing scissors. You have the advantage in sports (not that I would know about that). Left-handed people are definitely smarter (remember this is my blog). Out of the last 14 presidents, half of them have been left-handed. Significant? I think yes.
And apparently, I would be really great at primitive fighting.
signed,
your little lefty
M
Sure there are disadvantages like the perpetual stain of pencil or ink on your hand or the need to seek out certain "left-handed" desks in a classroom. Oh and then there are things like learning how to crochet–a little tricky when the person teaching you is doing everything with the opposite hand. I bet you didn't know that there are quite a few objects like bunch bowl ladles or scissors that are right-handed. I also blame my lack of coordination on being a lefty. I kick and throw with my right, but with little skill. What was I supposed to do when all the other kids were doing it with that hand? I'd like to think that if I'd learned with my left, I'd be a master (maybe).
But guess what? Being a lefty is the best. You get special treatment. "Oh sorry, you can't sit there. I'm left-handed; I need to sit on the end." You get special items like left-handed sewing scissors. You have the advantage in sports (not that I would know about that). Left-handed people are definitely smarter (remember this is my blog). Out of the last 14 presidents, half of them have been left-handed. Significant? I think yes.
And apparently, I would be really great at primitive fighting.
signed,
your little lefty
M
24.12.11
Jealous
Dear Charlotte
Brontë,
Want to lend some of your amazing vocabulary to me? Even just for a day? I wish I could throw words around like caprice, piquant, quiescence, assiduous, celerity, or salubrious as if it was no big deal.
your devoted reader,
M
PS if you love the Brontë sisters, you'll love this.
Want to lend some of your amazing vocabulary to me? Even just for a day? I wish I could throw words around like caprice, piquant, quiescence, assiduous, celerity, or salubrious as if it was no big deal.
your devoted reader,
M
PS if you love the Brontë sisters, you'll love this.
23.12.11
what I really believe
Last week I read this article, part of a regular column Michael Otterson writes for the LDS Church. In the article Otterson relates how church members in Davis County, Utah were asked to help each other clean up debris from a storm and prepare for another one. On that Sunday church was canceled and neighbors gathered to help one another. Otterson describes this as "pure religion" and I couldn't agree more. I am so grateful that I belong to a church that is prudent and practical. Worship is vital to religion, but so is serving and helping the people around you. Acting on principles of faith, love, charity–that is what God put us on this earth together to do. I have never felt closer to people than when I am serving them.
I came home last Friday to find my roommates in the apartment next door. I turned the corner to see why they were there and my eyes met a large puddle (or puddles rather) of water down the hallway, in their kitchen, etc. And there were my roommates with buckets, towels, brooms–ready to get to work. I joined them, sweeping up water (not the most effective tactic, but it did the job). We don't know the girls across the hall as well as we should, but I'd like to think we share something now that is stronger than if we had spent 3 hours talking. I couldn't help but smile as I swept dirty water into a bucket. This is me, living what I believe.
Sunday I found myself among the Christmas books. Every year, no matter what other books I read, I have to include my two favorites at least a few times: The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree and Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect. It's ironic that their titles are antitheses of each other, because they are essentially about the same thing: giving of yourself when you feel there is nothing to give. I cried as I read how Ruthie's mother, her husband away at war, cut up her wedding dress so Ruthie would have the perfect Angel's dress to wear in the Christmas pageant. I cried as I read of the Queen who saw Small Pine's true heart, that he was more beautiful than all of the other trees because of who he was, not what he looked like. I've read these books hundreds of times, but this time their messages hit me more poignantly than before. More than anything, God wants us to give of ourselves. He wants us to fall, to be vulnerable, to love. When we love others, we love Him with a love deeper and more transcendent than before.
Happy Christmas,
M
I came home last Friday to find my roommates in the apartment next door. I turned the corner to see why they were there and my eyes met a large puddle (or puddles rather) of water down the hallway, in their kitchen, etc. And there were my roommates with buckets, towels, brooms–ready to get to work. I joined them, sweeping up water (not the most effective tactic, but it did the job). We don't know the girls across the hall as well as we should, but I'd like to think we share something now that is stronger than if we had spent 3 hours talking. I couldn't help but smile as I swept dirty water into a bucket. This is me, living what I believe.
Sunday I found myself among the Christmas books. Every year, no matter what other books I read, I have to include my two favorites at least a few times: The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree and Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect. It's ironic that their titles are antitheses of each other, because they are essentially about the same thing: giving of yourself when you feel there is nothing to give. I cried as I read how Ruthie's mother, her husband away at war, cut up her wedding dress so Ruthie would have the perfect Angel's dress to wear in the Christmas pageant. I cried as I read of the Queen who saw Small Pine's true heart, that he was more beautiful than all of the other trees because of who he was, not what he looked like. I've read these books hundreds of times, but this time their messages hit me more poignantly than before. More than anything, God wants us to give of ourselves. He wants us to fall, to be vulnerable, to love. When we love others, we love Him with a love deeper and more transcendent than before.
Happy Christmas,
M
18.12.11
the agony and the ecstasy
Eat dark chocolate covered peppermint Joe Joe's and you'll never taste something so wonderful.
Eat dark chocolate covered peppermint Joe Joe's and you'll probably die.
We may or may not have gone through a box in less than 24 hours. Oh dear.
Eat dark chocolate covered peppermint Joe Joe's and you'll probably die.
We may or may not have gone through a box in less than 24 hours. Oh dear.
8.12.11
So I decided that
- I should wear red lipstick and ruffles more often. Not necessarily together (although that could be a winning combination). Sometimes it's good to feel extra girly.
- this is the reason why men at BYU are not allowed to have beards:
"Disadvantages of the N-95 masks include the difficulty in ensuring a reliable face-mask seal with each use and impossibility of effective use by bearded individuals"*
Administration just wants to make sure everyone has equal protection from ebola and other VHFs.
- changing the topic of your research paper the day a draft is due is not a smart thing. Changing the topic of your research paper to something that you really don't know how to put into words, is not a smart thing either. However, changing the topic of your research paper to something that is way cooler than your first topic could be a good idea.
- sometimes being too much is not being enough.
- home-grown potatoes (or pretty much home-grown anything) are way better than store bought.
M
*Borio, L, et al. "Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses as Biological Weapons." JAMA. Vol. 287: 18. May 2002: 2391-2405.
6.12.11
The solution to every problem
But seriously.
I haven't found a problem that dancing to Tainted Love by Soft Cell couldn't solve. Best. Song. Ever.
It's a life philosophy I've been living for quite some years now and it's served me well.
Happy finals. Mine will be so much better now that I've danced it out.
M
I haven't found a problem that dancing to Tainted Love by Soft Cell couldn't solve. Best. Song. Ever.
It's a life philosophy I've been living for quite some years now and it's served me well.
Happy finals. Mine will be so much better now that I've danced it out.
M
22.11.11
a letter for you
Dear french class,
Just writing to remind you to give me a pat on the back for coming today. When I woke up with 15 minutes to get ready I was determined not to, but I was even early.
love,
M
Dear pride,
I regret to inform you that I swallowed you yesterday when I checked out Probability for Dummies from the library. I may have a great science-y GPA, but probability and I have never been able to understand one another. Mr. GRE, however, is forcing an intimate acquaintance.
I'm sure I'll see lots more of you,
M
Dear toilet,
Sorry you had to come up against an engineer's daughter. I have to say that you were no match for my paper clips and ingenuity. But thanks for working again.
regards,
M
Dear dove peppermint bark chocolate,
Thanks for not being sold out the second you went on the shelves this year. I really appreciate your company while I think about all the homework I should be doing but am not.
loves,
M
Dear thanksgiving break,
Thank you for coming. Food, sleep, and a break from real life is exactly what I needed.
you're the best,
M
Dear Till We Have Faces,
Thanks for being an awesome "I have to read for school but want to keep reading anyway" book. Unfortunately I've read what was assigned for the break already and I have 5 million other things to do, but maybe we'll hang out soon.
yours,
M
Dear family,
Wishing (already) that more of you were here for Franksgiving. My informative powerpoints won't be the same without such an attentive audience.
love you to the moon and back,
M
Just writing to remind you to give me a pat on the back for coming today. When I woke up with 15 minutes to get ready I was determined not to, but I was even early.
love,
M
Dear pride,
I regret to inform you that I swallowed you yesterday when I checked out Probability for Dummies from the library. I may have a great science-y GPA, but probability and I have never been able to understand one another. Mr. GRE, however, is forcing an intimate acquaintance.
I'm sure I'll see lots more of you,
M
Dear toilet,
Sorry you had to come up against an engineer's daughter. I have to say that you were no match for my paper clips and ingenuity. But thanks for working again.
regards,
M
Dear dove peppermint bark chocolate,
Thanks for not being sold out the second you went on the shelves this year. I really appreciate your company while I think about all the homework I should be doing but am not.
loves,
M
Dear thanksgiving break,
Thank you for coming. Food, sleep, and a break from real life is exactly what I needed.
you're the best,
M
Dear Till We Have Faces,
Thanks for being an awesome "I have to read for school but want to keep reading anyway" book. Unfortunately I've read what was assigned for the break already and I have 5 million other things to do, but maybe we'll hang out soon.
yours,
M
Dear family,
Wishing (already) that more of you were here for Franksgiving. My informative powerpoints won't be the same without such an attentive audience.
love you to the moon and back,
M
17.11.11
You know you're a microbiology major when... part VI
Your class field trip is to the sewage plant in Salt Lake.
Guess what? I can't wait.
It's true; I am a nerd.
M
The rest of the series can be found here
Guess what? I can't wait.
It's true; I am a nerd.
M
The rest of the series can be found here
Wise man, Mr. Lewis
"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell."
-C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
-C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
15.11.11
Face
Ever feel like you can't face the things you need to do?
That was tonight. So instead I ate Dove chocolate and watched TV. Not one of my finest moments, but to be honest, I feel better. I've been caught up in the dark and windy webs of my mind for the past three weeks and I needed a break. I just couldn't think about anything anymore. So instead I curled up under the covers and pushed away the guilt.
Tomorrow I'll press reset and deal with the homework and decisions. Tonight I'm just going to be.
That was tonight. So instead I ate Dove chocolate and watched TV. Not one of my finest moments, but to be honest, I feel better. I've been caught up in the dark and windy webs of my mind for the past three weeks and I needed a break. I just couldn't think about anything anymore. So instead I curled up under the covers and pushed away the guilt.
Tomorrow I'll press reset and deal with the homework and decisions. Tonight I'm just going to be.
8.11.11
The girls those boys will marry
Girl 1: look at this
Girl 2: your abs?
Girl 1: yeah this line
Girl 2: ugh. Is that from your spray tan?
Girl 1: no it's from when she waxed me
Girl 2: your abs?
Girl 1: yeah this line
Girl 2: ugh. Is that from your spray tan?
Girl 1: no it's from when she waxed me
7.11.11
Why there are no boys to marry at BYU
Boy 1: I mean when you read you have to imagine things yourself. I would rather have someone tell me what it looks like.
Boy 2: I know, seriously. I would much rather play on my ipad.
5.11.11
this thing
I walked in, finding only a smattering of people in the theater, all sitting in pairs. Great. My solitary presence won't be as easy to hide. There is something about going to a movie alone that always invites pity. I was fine with it (I mean who really wants to go to a French documentary about philosophy anyway?) but I felt like daggers of pity were being shot my way. Oh look at that poor girl, she came to international cinema all by herself. She doesn't have a cool, artsy boy with her like I do. Trust me, I don't need your daggers of pity or your artsy boys thankyouverymuch.
I sat with my head tilted to one side resting on my hand, willing myself to make it through all 84 minutes. I looked at the clock: It's only been 32 minutes? No way. I checked the clock again. 37 minutes. Kill. Me. Now. The movie was about Jacques Derrida, a French philosopher. It was weird, intriguing, boring, nauseating (can you say shaky and awkward camera movements?), interesting, thought-provoking, and really lame all rolled into one, 84 "feels like 1,000" minute documentary.
At one point someone asks him what he thinks about love. He gets all bent out of shape because he cannot (ce n'est pas possible!) answer a general, open-ended question like that. She struggles to narrow the question and eventually drags a response out of him. He tells her that when one talks about love, one has to ask who or what. Do you love the "absolute singularity" of the person or do you love that they are this or that, that they do this or that? Are we in love with the person or what they are?
I think when we are learning to love someone (not just romantically, but that too) we love what the person does, what they like, what we see of ourselves in them. But when we truly love someone, we love what Derrida calls the "absolute singularity" of that person. We just love them. period.
It made me think about the thousands of bridal showers I've been to. "So tell us all why you love Tom." "Well, I love Tom because he's so kind, he's funny and smart, and he always does such nice things for me." When we talk of love, we usually talk of what we love about the person, not the person. But as we grow in love, we learn to say in our heart: "I love Tom because he's Tom." He's enough.
I sat with my head tilted to one side resting on my hand, willing myself to make it through all 84 minutes. I looked at the clock: It's only been 32 minutes? No way. I checked the clock again. 37 minutes. Kill. Me. Now. The movie was about Jacques Derrida, a French philosopher. It was weird, intriguing, boring, nauseating (can you say shaky and awkward camera movements?), interesting, thought-provoking, and really lame all rolled into one, 84 "feels like 1,000" minute documentary.
At one point someone asks him what he thinks about love. He gets all bent out of shape because he cannot (ce n'est pas possible!) answer a general, open-ended question like that. She struggles to narrow the question and eventually drags a response out of him. He tells her that when one talks about love, one has to ask who or what. Do you love the "absolute singularity" of the person or do you love that they are this or that, that they do this or that? Are we in love with the person or what they are?
I think when we are learning to love someone (not just romantically, but that too) we love what the person does, what they like, what we see of ourselves in them. But when we truly love someone, we love what Derrida calls the "absolute singularity" of that person. We just love them. period.
It made me think about the thousands of bridal showers I've been to. "So tell us all why you love Tom." "Well, I love Tom because he's so kind, he's funny and smart, and he always does such nice things for me." When we talk of love, we usually talk of what we love about the person, not the person. But as we grow in love, we learn to say in our heart: "I love Tom because he's Tom." He's enough.
1.11.11
I heart reading
"Literary experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality. There are mass emotions which heal the wound; but they destroy the privilege. In them our separate selves are pooled and we sink back into sub-individuality. But in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do."
-C.S. Lewis
"The value of myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by 'the veil of familiarity.' The child enjoys his cold meat (otherwise dull to him) by pretending it is buffalo, just killed with his own bow and arrow. And the child is wise. The real meat comes back to him more savoury for having been dipped in a story; you might say that only then is it the real meat. If you are tired of the real landscape, look at it in a mirror. By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our mind, the real things are more themselves."
-J.R.R. Tolkien
-C.S. Lewis
"The value of myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by 'the veil of familiarity.' The child enjoys his cold meat (otherwise dull to him) by pretending it is buffalo, just killed with his own bow and arrow. And the child is wise. The real meat comes back to him more savoury for having been dipped in a story; you might say that only then is it the real meat. If you are tired of the real landscape, look at it in a mirror. By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our mind, the real things are more themselves."
-J.R.R. Tolkien
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)