Friday, November 5, 2010

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

I am a very bold person.

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."

-attributed to Goethe


Because I am a bold person, hesitancy bothers me. When I see people hedging, I get frustrated. It took me a long time to figure out why. I used to think that they didn't know themselves well enough to move forward and act. That they were indecisive and rely on others to help them make their decisions.
That is very judgmental, I know.
The more I observe people, however, the more I understand the hesitators. Perhaps they do not know their own mind, perhaps they like to mull over things for a long time, or perhaps they just know that some things do not require worry on their part. This last point is something I could learn from.
A down side to being a hermit is that we often do not understand people. We can understand a person (usually ourselves, and very well) but people, societal rules, and social constructs.... some of the things we do just seem so binding and ridiculous.
This is where boldness comes in. This is where my inner Rhett comes out to play.
And I believe that once you fully commit yourself, not much can stop you. There's something powerful about commitment. "Failure is not an option." is a more powerful statement than some people realize.

Monday, September 6, 2010

hope is a good thing

I think hope and despair are two sides of the same coin. Hope is the dream, and despair is a nightmare.

I had a nightmare and a dream last night. Literally. It's particularly odd since I never remember my dreams.

Should I believe in coincidences?

Coincidence is logical.
Johan Cruijff

Coincidence is the word we use when we can't see the levers and pulleys.
Emma Bull

Saturday, August 21, 2010

love, like, loathe and kiss, date, dump.

I like this show: LEVERAGE

I loathe this sport: Volleyball
And I LOVE this book (and despise the movie): The Count of Monte Cristo


Out of Mr. Darcy, Mr. Thornton, & Mr. Rochester, I would....

Kiss Mr. Rochester
"What do you think of the Master?" - Ms. Fairfax
"He seems very changeable, Ma'am." - Jane Eyre

Dump Mr. Darcy
"I could more easily forgive his pride if he had not wounded mine." - Elizabeth Bennett

And I would marry Mr. Thornton.
"I don't want to possess you! I want to marry you because I love you!" -Mr. Thornton
"Well you shouldn't! Because I don't like you...and I never have." - Margaret Hale

Monday, July 12, 2010

should, ought, and won't.

10 things i feel slightly guilty about not liking:
1. seafood.
2. politics
3. The Work and the Glory series.
4. physical exercise
5. math
6. people that let their emotions take over their lives.
7. modern fiction
8. crowds
9. pictures of people's vacations
10. facebook status abusers.


10 things i feel no shame whatsoever about:
1. ridiculous amounts of cheese on spaghetti or lasagna.
2. making obscure references that i know no one understands
3. driving fast.
4. the fact that all i think comes out my eyes. (it's true, i can never hide how i really feel)
5. the whole debacle with the jerk.
6. i can be unrepentantly ambitious.
7. my scrooge-iness.
8. how much i like reading. i will almost always choose to read and not play.
9. my need to make food look pretty... more than it should taste good.
10. the fact that i posted something as narcissistic as this.

it's a good day. :)

Monday, July 5, 2010

The Very Thought of You

"There's no such thing as a difficult decision... the truth is decisions are easy. You know why? Because every time, every time, you already know the answers... You see, You didn't come to see me to make a decision. You came to me because you didn't like the decision you'd already made." - Pederson


I love the recklessness of faith. First you leap, and then you grow wings.
William Sloane Coffin

"People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed."
-CS Lewis

1. I wonder sometimes how often I've gone to my mom, not to make a decision but to feel justified in the decision I already knew I was going to make. I don't think people struggle with deciding. I think they struggle with the consequences they knew they won't escape.
2. HA! I love faith too. But man, sometimes it's hard to jump.
3. Galileo once said "you cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself." How true, how true. And dear CS sums it up very well too. We already know how and why we should do things. I think this is where the importance of example comes into play.
4. I love America. Happy Birthday Homeland.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 2

"Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting,
That would not let me sleep: methought I lay
Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly,
And praised be rashness for it, let us know,
Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well,
When our deep plots do pall: and that should teach us
There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will,--"

-Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 2.

The lenses through which we view life affect how we interpret new experiences. This is not new information.
I find myself thankful for the rashness in me that often saves me from myself.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

spot-on

"Inability to Disengage Personal Worth from Ideas. Now this is a kicker. I think some people are so invested in their ideas, in what they have learned, that they view any sort of disagreement as a personal attack. This is the worst way to live. They seem to take arguments as an opportunity to get angry and hurt and, consequentially, retreat further away from any possible risk of having their faulty sense of self shaken."
-Clancy