To blog or not to blog.

.... a way to scatter my scrambled thoughts across the internet.

"The distance is nothing: it is only the first step that is difficult." - Marie Anne Du Deffand
My friend gave this to me written on a piece of paper before I left on my first big trip of my big new job that is bigger than me. Three cities, three time zones, eight days and me. The first step was difficult. I was handed a giant car, keys and handful of people to see. And I went. I did it. I was alone and comfortable with it. I enjoyed the cities. I remembered what it felt like to be on my own agenda and only my own. I worried about myself and only myself. It was effortless, but not without frustration. But I did it.

There. Blog on.

in 2008. a starting place.

here's my free style.
1- read more words.
2- say more words.
3- find fullfillment.
4- be resilient.
5- stay passionate.
6- caucus. january 3.
7- try to make my voice be heard.
8- clarity.
9- invigoration.
10- less complication.

"Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."
Frank Herbert

We are all cups.

Books. Books. Books.

"The great thing about reading books is that it makes us better than cats. Cats are said to have nine lives. What is that compared to the girl, boy, man, woman who reads books? A book read is a life added to one’s own. So it takes only nine books to make cats look at you with envy.

And I’m not talking here only of “good” books. Any book—trash to classic—makes us live the life of another person, injects us with the wisdom and folly of their years. When we’ve read the last page of a book, we know more, either in the form of raw knowledge—the name of a gun, perhaps—or in the form of greater understanding. The worth of these vicarious lives is not to be underestimated. There’s nothing sadder—or sometimes more dangerous—than the person who has lived only his or her single, narrow life, unenlightened by the experience, real or invented, of others."

-Yann Martel in a letter to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

Rainer Maria Rilke.

So I added Rainer Maria Rilke to the I'm Loving section this week. And I thought, in honor of one of THE most beautiful books I've ever read, I would explain just why it is I'm loving Rilke and his Letters to a Young Poet.
So here, blog friends, is my list of 4 reasons why you should immerse yourself in Rilke's literary stylings:
1- His effortless, accessible language. I have found in my reading of "classic" or "old" literature, especially in poetry, that many of the authors are hard to relate to. Words draw me in when I find them in myself. Let me tell you, Rilke speaks my language. Granted I don't say things like: "Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write."(Letter 1) But I would think, "hmmm, what within myself is urging me deeply to do the things I love?"

2- The fact that these are personal pieces of correspondence. Letters are insightful, personal, and one of my favorite means of communication. Plus Rilke writes a wicked great one.

3- His relevent subject matter. Mr. Kappus, the recipient of Rilke's letters, was young when receiving his mail. Young like myself. Troubled with the same issues those of us "coming of age" struggle with daily. Rilke speaks of ambitions, love, faith, solitude, learning, etc, all of which speak to me. "...I am touched by your beautiful anxiety about life..." (Letter 4)

4- "You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now." (Letter 4)
(This is simply reason enough!)

I'd definitely recommend the letters and everything Rilke. I believe you won't be disappointed. In fact, I think you'll be profoundly affected.

To quote another source..."The History Boys"...
Hector says, "The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours."
Rilke set down my words long before I existed.

Today is poetry.

I woke up this morning to the sound of resurfacing road equipment dragging along the dewy pavement and clanking against the curb. My shower felt especially refreshing as the hot water steamed up the tiles, clearing my formally congested chest. I dressed in a jade colored sweater, piled on bright green mascara and slipped into my favorite nine west peep toe heels.
Hooray! I'm cured. Aside from a raspy voice (that Phoebe of Friends would truly admire) I am feeling like a new person today--I even lasted an entire day at the office!
It feels like a Thursday...tempting me with the approaching weekend. I can't wait to enjoy the early August sun this weekend.

A little Walt Whitman to get the health streak back on track:

"I know I am solid and sound,
To me the converging objects of the universe perpetually flow,
All are written to me, and I must get what the writing means."
(from Song of Myself)

That is awesome. simply awesome.
Happy August.

(did you know that august means "to be profoundly honored" like a revered holy man or king...ironic how most people hate August because it ends the sweet sweat of summer and starts the sticky first days of school where it is too hot to be in the linoleum coated classrooms...)