Caught My Eye

And this quote:

"It would be folly for an individual to try to do better...than to go on in his own imperfect way, making his mistakes, riding out the rough and bewildering, exciting and beautiful storm of life until the day he dies"

 - Oscar Hammerstein II

from his amazing essay in This I Believe. It's a good read.

Making it by Hand

"You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made...it stays with you - always."

- Chef Bugnard

I came across this quote while reading Julia Child's book, My Life in France.  I love the sentiment expressed; that even after you gift it away or pass it on, the beauty of something you made stays with you always.  I'm not an accomplished cook like Julia, but I do like to make things with my hands.  And so I present this new segment, Making it by Hand.  Here for your viewing pleasure is my very first quilt.  I made it for my friend who just had a baby boy.  It's small and very simple, but I'm still immensely proud of it.

Thank heavens that blogs have made crafting cool again.  Otherwise I'd have to be a closeted quilter.

Humbled again by thoughts that aren't my own...

The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or 'real' life.  The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending one day by day.
- C.S. Lewis

Do you love how he says "of course" as if to suggest all of us who didn't realize this earlier are just plain silly?  Oh.  Of course.  I knew this was the truth all along.

Now if only I could paraphrase it enough to have it tattooed on my right forearm.  Suggestions?

Finding your Calling

A regal lady in the Met

You know what it means when you see a photo of a statue up here.  It means I've come across something that's made me think and I want to share it with all of you.  I hope you will read through this post and then contribute to the conversation in the comments -  I really want to know what you think!

The Marriott School Alumni Magazine published an article recently that my dear Joe encouraged me to read.  Based on a campus devotional address given by Professor Jeffery Thompson, the article is called Finding Your Calling.  [click the link to read the full text].    Thompson discusses the anxiety we often feel when we think about what our calling may be in this life.  Did I miss it?  Am I up to the task?  Is there really only one way?  Are you serious - this is IT?  I ask myself that last one a lot.  Thompson presents the misinformation (what he calls heresies) to which we often fall victim when we consider our callings in life.  He then corrects them with real life examples and gospel principles. 

Here are the heresies along with a few of my favorite quotes from the article:

1. You might have a calling or you might not

2. You have to find your one true calling

3. When you find your calling, work will be bliss

4. The world will celebrate your calling

Thompson discusses the challenging work of zookeepers (which is pretty much the same as mothering); how they are often underpaid and overworked but still feel a great sense of satisfaction with their work.  He concludes:

The pain and sacrifice were not threats to their sense of calling - they were part of it.  The work was meaningful because of the burdens.

Also:

You may do the most important, exciting work in the world, but some days will be mundane.  You will be called upon to sacrifice.  We can't expect deep meaningfulness from our calling unless we are willing to assume its burdens as well.

Remember that it is a heresy to believe that work is meaningful only when it gives us status.

When you focus your work first and foremost on blessing others, you will become extraordinary at what you do.  You will find fulfillment and success much more reliably than if you work to get ahead.

There are not enough surfaces in my home for me to cross stitch all of these gems.  But I would like to remember these principles on days when my work feels like pure drudgery.  Friends, what about you?  What are some of the callings you've considered for your life?  What are the dreams you still hold on to?  What are you doing to achieve them?  What holds you back?  How do you bridge the gap between dreaming big and performing the day to day necessities?  I guess all these questions boil down to fulfillment.  Are you fulfilled?  If so, who is your therapist?

Just to get the juices flowing here's a fun list of things I'd love to be.  Some are just pipe dreams, others are really going to happen:

- lounge singer

- paramedic

- ASL interpreter

- awesome gardener

- neighborhood watch lady

- community theater star

- birth photographer

- expert quilter

- zookeeper (I wanna hold baby monkeys)

- volunteer for NILMDTS

- photography mentor

- author

Make it count

Statue in Washington DC

Yesterday I heard a fascinating interview on The Diane Rehm Show with man named Joshua Foer, who wrote a book called Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything.  The interview was basically about improving your memory and what it's like to be a memory champion.  Yes, there is such a thing.  Anyway, while the whole bit was interesting, the interview took a poignant turn for me when Mr. Foer uttered this little gem:

I have to say if there's one takeaway that I had from this experience of training my memory, it's not memorizing shopping lists and decks of playing cards... It's that if you want to remember something, you've got to be the kind of person who remembers to remember. You know, you can be the kind of person who throws down your keys and doesn't pay any attention and you can do that with everything in your life. You know, you can move through and not pay attention and not be mindful. But if you are going to remember your life, you're going to have a memorable life, you've got to be there, you've got to be mindful. You've got to be paying attention. 

Wow.  Thank you for that great reminder.  I'm determined to really be here (wherever that is) and to be mindful and to make my life one worth remembering.  How inspiring.

If you get a chance,  you should really listen to this interview - Foer also offers up a theory as to why we feel life speeds by us so quickly, the older we get.  Everyone wants to know that, right?

These words are on my mind

Because of a recent tragedy that occurred very close to my home.

Because it's something I need to always remember.

Because it's always easy to judge and sometimes hard to love.

Because I'm practicing every day.

Because President Monson quoted it and it went straight to my heart.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them"

                                                 - Mother Teresa

The Ordinary Day

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are... Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow.  One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

- Mary Jean Iron 

No great thoughts today - just this quote that I'm trying my hardest to live by.  I am always guilty of looking for the "rare and perfect Tomorrow."  I often find myself bored, discontent, feeling glum - whatever you call it - with my daily routine.  These words are a sobering reminder for me to appreciate what I have and to cherish every day.  There are extraordinary days every now and then - but the normal, uneventful passing of time is what really makes up the substance of life.  It's up to me to decide what I make of it.

I love busts - they just look so academic.