Hollow Acceptance

Read: "Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation."
Persuasion (A MUST READ)

Ponder: Vanity= caring too much about what people think of you! (my own inadequate definition) What can vanity lead to? Selfishness, hatred, loss of compassion, and destruction of inner beauty. Appearance has become the most important thing to many people today, and while it may buy you some acceptance, be assured that it is hollow acceptance.

Pursue: We all have some vanity. It's just a fact of life. We care about how we look, how we dress, how we feel around others, and it isn't a bad thing. But when vanity takes you over and becomes "the beginning and the end" of your character, well, then you're in trouble. Pride and vanity are human nature but so are humility and compassion. Don't let the negative characterics suffocate the positive. Don't choose to forfeit the eternal, priceless beauty inside for the temporary, hollow beauty outside, because in a fleeting moment, that beautiful outer shell will fade away and all that'll be left is what you will have made of the inside.

Conquer

Read: "But you see, just becuase we've been ...dealt a certain hand...it doesn't mean that we can't choose to rise above-to conquer the boundaries of a destiny that none of us wanted. To try to retain whatever essential humanity we can."
...TWILIGHT! (yeah I'm a fan too :P)

Ponder: Do you ever think about fate; destiny? The belief that your life is already laid out and choosen for you; to me that seems depressingly final. But to be able to change your path, to become whoever you want to be? Who doesn't want that? But is the ability to "rise above-to conquer the boundaries of a destiny" a realitiy we can make for ourselves?

Pursue: What if life is both, both our destiny and our choices? Is it possible for them to coexist? Just because you've been "dealt a certain hand" doesn't mean you have to live with it. Change it, change yourself. To believe that you cannot change your own fate is to give up. Believe in yourself, believe in your strength because the hand you've been dealt (your destiny) isn't set in stone and you DO have the power to change it.

Simply Simplify

Read: "I'd lived in so many bodies, but never one I loved like this. Never one that I craved in this way. Of course, this would be the one I'd have to give up. The irony made me laugh, and I concentrated on the feel of the air that popped in little bubbles from my chest and up through my throat. Laughter was like a fresh breeze-it cleaned its way through the body, making everything feel good. Did other species have such a simple healer? I couldn't remeber one."
The Host

Ponder: Ok, so this is an expert from a science fiction novel and you're probably wondering how on earth I can relate it to real life. But....think about it. How often do we take the miracle of our bodies for granted? How often do we forget to laugh just because it feels good? The point of view the character from this book (an alien in a human body ;P) offers is very different. They dwell on the simple parts of being human; the smells, the colors, the emotions, the relationships, the laughter!

Pursue: In this small exerpt from a sci fi novel, I've discovered the first step to a happy life. Take a step back and appreciate the miracle you are. Stretch your arms, wiggle your toes, run a lap and feel the heat course through you muscles, laugh just to feel the air escape. Be grateful that you are you and that you don't have to worry about a strange alien infestation stealing our planet and taking over your mind. :) It's the little things that bring us the most happiness.
P.S. I recomend this book to EVERYONE! It's "science fiction for people who don't do science fiction" and it's amazing :)

Thinking of Home

Read: "Addie Bundren will not be. And Jewel is, so Addie Bundren must be. And then I must be, or I could not empty myself for sleep in a strange room. And so if i am not emptied yet, I am is. How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home."
As I Lay Dying

Ponder: In this passage from William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, one of the main characters, Darl, is going through a mini identity crisis. His mother is dying and he believes that once she is gone, so is he. His thought processes are very confusing but I believe that he is almost trying to make himself believe that Addie Bundren isn't gone because her family isn't gone. It's Darl's only way to cope with the death of his mother and it's his final attempt to draw sense from the passing of a loved one.

Pursue: Hmm...this is a hard one. How do you purse an identity crisis? But then why would you want to in the first place? I think the message to draw from this passage is that hard stuff happens; stuff that causes our own self to collapse on itself and makes us ponder the fact of our own existence. Darl was not a very intelligent man and his lack of knowledge expressed itself in his methods of greiving. We are different. We need to remember those whom we've lost, and keep them with us always. Our hearts should be our safest homes, and we should keep everything that is dear to us in them.

A Delayed Introduction

Ok, so my first post was kind of a "trial run" and it might not have made much sense; my apologies. I'm writing this blog because I love to read. I love to read and I love to learn from what I read. That would explain the title I chose for my blog. After going back and reading my first post, I realized that it probably makes absolutely no sense to anyone. From now on, I intend to pick an excerpt from the current book I'm reading and write my thoughts and connections pertaining to that excerpt. Hopefully, this will open your mind to new ideas and help you understand why I believe books to be so much more than a bunch of words.

Barn Burning?

Reading William Faulker's "Barn Burning" has caused me to really think about human nature and human error. The father in this story is probably the most complex character I've read. He is quiet, brutal, and mysterious, but also so much more. How do you really classify someone's character? Words alone cannot do the job, and we have no other way of communicating. As I ponder this character, I realize that I know him. He is in every person I walk past in the hallways. His jealousy and hate are a part of all of us. But along with jealousy and hate come compassion and love. Though his character didn't appear to possess these qualities, I am sure that we as humans do. His own form of revenge was barn burning, what are ours? How far are we willing to go before reason and conscience remind us of who we are?