Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned,
From wandering on a foreign strand!
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite these titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch concentered all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung.
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.

- Sir Walter Scott

Enthusiasm, Gratitude, and Smiling

I read this quote today:

"My husband and I took our grandson to lunch for his fourth birthday. After lunch, we buckled him in the backseat for the drive home. In the front seat, we began to discuss the schedule of the day, but I heard this four-year-old talking to himself. He was saying over and over, "I am such a lucky boy. I am such a lucky boy." He was expressing his joy to anyone who would listen." ( Living Happily Ever After - Coleen K. Menlove)

I loved this story! First of all, I love that the child was so pleased and grateful for his birthday excursion. But secondly, I love that he was murmuring it to himself over and over again - so that he would not forget it. He wanted to savor his happiness - hold onto it - relish it.

It is so easy to focus on our sources of discontent - that we may remove them, improve, progress, and make great changes. However, we should express our joy - savor it - in the wonderful experiences and blessings we enjoy. We should smile and laugh and love the wonderful and beautiful things, experiences, and people that we know in life!

"Nothing discernable to the eye of the spirit is more brilliant or obscure than man..."

"... nothing is more formidible, complex, mysterious, and infinite. There is a prospect greater than the sea, and it is the sky; there is a prospect greater than the sky, and it is the human soul." (Victor Hugo: Les Miserables)

"A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it! Something of the awfulness, even of Death itself, is referable to this. No more can I turn the leaves of this dear book that I loved, and vainly hope in time to read it all. No more can I look into the depths of this unfathomable water, wherein, as momentary lights glanced into it, I have had glimpses of buried treasure and other things submerged. It was appointed that the book should shut with a spring, for ever and for ever, when I had read but a page. It was appointed that the water should be locked in an eternal frost, when the light was playing on its surface, and I stood in ignorance on the shore. My friend is dead, my neighbour is dead, my love, the darling of my soul, is dead; it is the inexorable consolidation and perpetuation of the secret that was always in that individuality, and which I shall carry in mine to my life's end. In any of the burial-places of this city through which I pass, is there a sleeper more inscrutable than its busy inhabitants are, in their innermost personality, to me, or than I am to them?" (Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities)

On momentum, direction, and constraints

"Their paths diverged as they flew... Some of them forgot they were weightless and let go of the wall... Now they drifted lazily in many directions, waving their arms, trying to swim...Everything depends on how you push off, the course you set when you start. It means we're going to have to get very good at controlling our launches and rebounds or we're all going to end up in the middle of nowhere."
(Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game)

The reason this quote intrigues me is because of the similarity it has to the situation of the unconstrained, independent, limitless young single adult. I am convinced that it is actually very dangerous to be one.

Our paths do diverge as we go. It is natural and exciting that they do. But sometimes it is easy to forget that there are so few constraints and we can drift lazily - forgetting what our life's purpose is, forgetting the work that we can be doing.

To be without constraints, without a set direction, without limits is to lack the ability to progress. In anything - math, science, language - there are rules, laws, and limits. Whether it is a formula, a law, or grammar rules, it is necessary to define them and to follow them if anything is going to be built and if progress is going to be made. If these constraints do not exist, it can be paralysing. How can one begin to filter, to choose, to make decisions? One can easily lose momentum and end up floating...

We must catch hold, build momentum, and take off; without letting the weightlessness distract, discourage, or paralyze - only then can we navigate and begin to build.

The Banana Bandit

The origins of the Banana Bandit

A long time ago... oh, perhaps as long as 6 months ago, one of my co-workers (Chad) returned from lunch to find (inexplicably) a banana on his desk. The banana had on its peel a funny face - made by a blue felt marker.

The face was very silly. In fact it looked a lot like this.

Chad was not amused. In fact, he went to each person on our team (there were about 8 of us) demanding to know who was the culprit. No one claimed responsibility, and so Chad's final bitter words had been, "I just can't believe no one will admit to it."

And so the story ended.

Until today.

The Banana Bandit Returns

I received this IM today from Chad...

Chad: are you the banana bandit?
karren: the what?
karren: stealing bananas?
karren: is that why you asked me what I had for lunch :-)
Chad: no the banana bandit has struck again, although I'm not convinced it's the same person, but who knows...quite a little mystery
Chad: you know how in horror movies, like scary movie the person is different but carries on the act
karren: hahahaha
karren: right
karren: it's a sick horror story
karren: involving bananas
karren: so does this one have a face on it too?
Chad: no, a picture of a banana
karren: lol
Chad: very classic
karren: on a banana?
karren: that kind of cracks me up more than a face
Chad: well the mystery will continue
Chad: I trust none of ya
Chad: you all did it, as far as I'm concerned
Chad: just wish the banana would have been a little less ripe, that way i would have eaten it

At this time, I went to see the banana for myself. I was very disappointed. I expected the banana to be a small drawing centered as the face before had been. Instead it looked like a banana shaped ruler. Very disappointing. I discussed it further with my co-worker Christina.

christina: maybe chad put it on his own desk to get attention :-)
christina: LOL
christina: you can tell him i said that
christina: that is SO FUNNY
(Chad's response:)
Chad: I am very attention starved

However, I know it was not Chad. I have my own opinions on who it is, but just as before, I am also confident that he/she will not come forward. And so it ends again.

For now.

Ode to Lake Shore Drive

O Lake Shore Drive!
I pound the pavement that you provide between the lake and the city.
To my left, the expansive sea of Lake Michigan.
To my right, the pulse and laughter, the song and sweat of Chicago's summer.
Others pass me, I pass others. The rhythm of the run facilitates a friendly nod.
Past the river, to the park, and ever by the lake.