remembering the edges

They take pictures of mountain climbers at the top of the mountain.
They are smiling, ecstatic, triumphant.
They don’t take pictures along the way. Bcuz who wants to remember the rest of it?
We push ourselves because we have to, not because we like it.
The relentless climb, the pain and anguish of taking it to the next level. Nobody takes pictures of that. Nobody wants to remember.
We just want to remember the view from the top, the breath taking moment at the edge of the world. That’s what keeps us climbing... and it’s worth the pain. That’s the crazy part. It’s worth anything.

tonight, thinking of my climbs and my breathtaking moments

pree

(quote from Grey's)

Some wisdom by Jodi Piccoult in 'Handle With Care'

I've been reading a LOT lately. And in all my books I have been finding little pieces of wisdon... be them encouragement, be them a challenge, a laughter or just something to think about. I decided from now on I will capture some of those words in my blog. As a way to remind myself of the many lessons I learn as I devour book after book...

Quotations from Jodi Picoult's Handle With Care which I just read a couple of months ago, and also a few other books I read by Jodi...

* "Fault lines. These are the places where the earth breaks apart. These are the spots where earthquakes originate, where volcanos are born. Or in other words: the world is crumbling under us; it's the solid ground beneath our feet that's an illusion" (Handle with Care)

* "You put someone up on a pedestal, and all of a sudden, from that perspective, you notice what's wrong (...). You spend all your time and energy making it right, and all the while, you are falling apart yourself. you dont even realize what you look like, how far you've deteriotated, because you only have eyes for someone else" pg. 411

* "It was possible that a miracle wasn't something that happened to you, but rather, something that didn't"

"It takes two people to make a lie work: the person who tells it, and the one who believes it." (Vanishing Acts)

* "You make yourself strong because it's expected of you. You become confident because someone beside you is unsure. You turn into the person others need you to be. "(Vanishing Acts)

* "Change is a funny thing. We never are quite sure what we are becoming or even why. Then one day we look at ourselves and wonder who we are and how we got that way. Only one thing about change remains constant...it is always painful"

*"Once you had put the pieces back together, even though you may look intact, you were never quite the same as you'd been before the fall." / "The damage was permanent; there would always be scars. But even the angriest scars faded over time until it was difficult to see them written on the skin at all, and the only thing that remained was the memory of how painful it had been."

"Words are like nets - we hope they'll cover what we mean, but we know they can't possibly hold that much joy, or grief, or wonder." (Change of Heart)

"It is the things you cannot see coming that are strong enough to kill you. " (My Sister's Keeper)

night-night
pree

six words can say a lot

Last week I learnedabout a book called "Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs from Writers Famous and Obscure". It is a compilation of six-word memoirs. It is a New York Times bestseller and subject of hundreds of stories from The New Yorker to NPR .

"Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”). "

So I've been reading a few of them, and coming up with my own... here are some I liked/wrote:
* Love like you have lost it.
* Laughed with me, now is silent
* Pivotal discoveries: clitoris, internet, gin, you.
* Regretted tomorrow's inaction before it passed.
* Want to be loved. Cant ask.
* Feel so alone in crowded room
* Started getting old, not growning up
* Scared shitless but keep pushing along


Here is a video on the book

Six-Word Memoir book preview from SMITHmag on Vimeo.

words to live by

I think its wonderful that technology now allows for people all over the world to connect with each other. That because of technology we can be inspired by others stories, and feel touched by their words, and change the way we live our lives... even when we never met.

Prof. Pausch without a doubt inspired thousands and thousands of people. He leaves us now but we should keep his message with us.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/07/25/obit.pausch/index.html

Others who have inspired me...



Pree

food for thought

Yesterday at work I heard a training that ended with the presenter (a soon to retire senior leader) giving us some advice on how to be successful at work. I strongly agreed with most of his points and felt (as usual) reaffirmed that Im in the right place... He had 10 tips to success which were all supported by catchy quotations. I copied them down and here they are for your entertainment....

1) Some things you must see to believe, other you must believe to see.
2) Dont let having faith prevent you from seeking truth
3) Hoping for the best is not a strategy
4) Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
5) Strike first, strike fast, strike hard.
6) Why dont lions hunt mice? Bcuz even if they catch them, they'll starve / Its not often easy, not often kind... you have to make up your mind
7) People dont fear dying as much as living anonymously
8) If you and I see everything the same way, one of us is redundant... and its not me
9) Work as hard as you play; play as hard as you work / The difference between tragedy and comedy is just time
10) Say waht you mean, and mean what you say