Vera the rockin' granny

will post more today later. i figure if i start a post, no matter how short or half-hearted I'll be tempted to come and finish it before the day's done...time will tell; yes it will.

I met Vera, a 99-year old rockin' granny, a few days ago. She talked my ear off and though she was 5 times my age (literally (almost)) she's the one who had the energy and left me feeling more bouyant afterwards. I'm going to try to make it to her hundredth birthday party in February. She gave me these timeless nuggets of wisdom:

1. When you travel, keep a journal, or at least log a sentence or two stating where you were on what day; that way, when you're 99 you can reminisce about your travels and actually know where and when your adventures took place.

2. When you get married, kiss your spouse goodnight, even (and especially if) you don't feel like it.

3. Go to Honduras (while one and two are transcendent truths, I think that this third piece of advice (not that this is a bad thing, just saying its not timeless) simply comes from Vera's desire to visit Honduras. Vera, if I ever hit up Honduras, you'll be the first to know. If you're dead then, be comforted that your Honduras dream was fulfilled vicariously through my travel there.

Catalytic Relationships

Oh my goodness! I haven't blogged in such a long time that I forgot that I had my own blogsite! It's been almost two years since I wrote a real entry (I've decided the June 19, 2008 post doesn't count...I mean c'mon, a post has got to be at least 25 words to be considered an entry; sorry Charlie. 22 words just doesn't cut it I'm afraid. :/ =)

Well, maybe I'll get back into the habit of posting now; and this post will be the catalyst. Lately, I (re)-read the book "Tuesdays With Morrie" for the developmental psych class I'm currently taking. The memoir, about a dying professor passing on life lessons to his former student, inspired me some and made me think. Well, let me back up. My thoughts along themes of truly living and dying well have been spurred by the three-fold combo of reading "Tuesdays With Morrie," viewing "Garden State," and taking a dev psych class this term.

I really identified with Braff's character on Garden State: numb but moving into adulthood. I talked to a good friend, Min TenX, and to my surprise he had watched the movie recently and it had affected him similarly. Both of us were inspired to feel more deeply and live with both eyes open and a greater engagement in our community; even if that means risking more pain, heartache or negative emotions. Along the lines of "Tis better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all", it's also better to have lived fully and suffered more than to have lived safely but half-heartedly.

"Tuesdays With Morrie" reminded me that the most important thing in life is relationships; the more we invest in others, the more we ultimately live meaningful, full lives. By throwing ourselves whole-heartedly into our relationships.We learn to self-sacrifice and fulfill our ultimate purpose: loving and enjoying God and other people with all of our being. In doing so we lose our lives only to find our lives redeemed.