A re-read

So I'm home earlier than most of my friends and I have been spending a lot of quality time with my family...whether it be the normal fistfights, bickering, tears...we stick together because that's what being a family is all about. Anyhow, it's been great winding down and thinking about what I want to do after this break, goals I want to achieve in this time off. I crept back to my favorite shelf in my bookcase and found amongst my favorites, one of THE favorite. Need I say more about my adoration for this book?

The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien

I know, it looks like one of those typical books about war, and I won't tell you that it's not but I just want to recommend it to readers...because it is truly a special book.

It consists of short anecdotes...short stories with intensely raw emotions woven through them that triggered something inside of me that I didn't know was there. I did not understand war from this novel, because I haven't experienced it...and I live a life far from that described in this novel. Yet, I have had these emotions described in O'Brien's stories...the feeling of regret, the weight of responsibility and love, fear to see those around you leave...disappear...die.

The vulnerable side of the human creature when we are so stubbornly entangled in the love of others is exhibited in the most heartbreaking way under O'Brien's pen. As predicted, the idea of death allows the actions of his characters to be justified under that context. I especially feel gravitated towards how O'Brien uses the human capacity of remembering and the power of our memories to illuminate why each character stands where they are today...

This quick re-scan and re-read of some of my favorite stories from this special novel made me see again, why I stick to what I believe in. In this world filled with shifting values and numbness towards life&dedication...it is important to re-track your WHYs...
why you do what you do and most importantly, why you are what you are today. 

Grab a copy of this book and you may find a story that speaks to you like how some of them spoke to me.

The Value of Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson delivered 2 of my all-time favorite talks on TED. His talks surround the nurturing of creativity in education. Which I must say, is not vital to the development of the human culture but scarily relevant to every individual...because the presence of creativity defines our identities.

His British wit and smart way of delivering a message allows his ideas to be absorbed effectively and I hope that if you pass by my blog and have not heard his talks that it'd be a wise decision to do so-- it will be one of the best-spent 20~40 minutes of your life!

His 1st Talk- Schools Kill Creativity


His 2nd talk- Bring on the learning revolution!


"Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent, NOT a singular conception of ability, and at the heart of the challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability and of intelligence..."
--Sir Ken Robinson

Moved by movement

My friend shared this link today on Facebook and,
This is Billy Bell and his choreography, his heart--put out there in movement.
I've gone through the debate of the "language of the arts" countless times with individuals specializing in different disciplines and despite my belief to acknowledge and understand the validity of both sides of an argument, this is the one topic that I stand my ground for...

Movement is a language of our body, every single choreographed moment is a word our body wants to speak. When choreographers move with a message in mind, muscles that are connected to the blood that pumps from our heart...SPEAKS. So even if you may not understand the language, acknowledge its existence and the heart behind it.

Moments

So John Lennon once said that "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans", I'd hate to think that my life is defined as such. Instead, we must live for moments. Life shouldn't be an accumulation of the bland events that happen while we wait for more...no, life should be the sum of all the moments that make us laugh in the most vulnerable and childish ways... touching moments that are genuine and heartfelt and moments with our treasured soul mates that wash all your worries away.

Don't let life pass by without feeling your breath being taken away or your heart pounding like a dynamite. 

It's a precious one.