“Oscar Wilde said that if you know what you want to be, then you inevitably become it – that is your punishment, but if you never know, then you can be anything. There is a truth to that. We are not nouns, we are verbs. I am not a thing – an actor, a writer – I am a person who does things – I write, I act – and I never know what I am going to do next. I think you can be imprisoned if you think of yourself as a noun.”
–Stephen Fry
I think Mr. Fry and Mr. Wilde to be two incredibly wise men.
A Rainbow over Titanic Belfast.
I’ve decided to stick, somewhat, with the theme of storms and rainbows that I’ve been going with for most of the month thus far. Since we’re nearly finished with the month of August, I can start fresh next week, but I’ve added a little something more, to make this final week of summer, for the most part, its own.
I have been thinking about the last ten years since Hurricane Katrina happened. My life wasn’t directly affected by that storm. I remember watching it on television, all the horrible news reports that were coming out of New Orleans, and wondering what my grandmother might have thought of it, as she had just died a few weeks earlier.
Now, I come across so many things, in the course of my week, that I want to share because they make me happy or because I just think they are note worthy.
The TToT has become a place where I can make note, as I don’t know if all the technology and extra information since my grandmother’s death and Katrina, if it’s all that good or not, but I like to share it anyway.
Ten Things of Thankful:
For the first so-called autumn evening of the season.
I know it’s not officially fall yet, but this week I felt the air coming in through m open window, and it smelled like fall.
When I say that people flip out. Yeah, I know the sooner fall comes and summer ends, the closer we are to cold and snow of winter (I know), but maybe I want fall to start now, even just a little bit, and maybe it can be an extra long one, so as to not bring on winter for months and months.
But I’ve already come across things like this, a sure sign that people are starting to think pumpkins and changing leaves:
and
Haunted Mansion Drops in Price But Still No Takers
For my brother arriving back in Ontario, safe and sound, after one hell of a summer road trip through Canada’s Maritime provinces.
Although we were communicating, every few days while he was gone, it was nice to receive the full rundown, both over the phone and in person.
For see shells, red rocks, and other seaside treasures.
For my brother’s effort in finding me something Anne of Green Gables related from his time on Prince Edward Island: postcards, a fridge magnet, and even a little straw hat. He says he considered, for a moment, getting me the full sized version that I could wear, but on further consideration, went with the miniature one instead.
🙂
Good idea.
For lunch out with family, even a three-year-old nephew who thinks he should stand up on the bench seat, but we block him in. He just wants to be closer to our heights at the table, and that is equal to him standing when we’re sitting. I can’t say I blame him for that.
For the perfect combination of Irish culture and Italian food.
The name Muldoon’s Pizza speaks for itself, but our waitress had a rather thick Italian accent.
For another guest posting spot:
Thanks, Hasty, for the chance for being real, as this is on the list of things that scare me, thus means it’s completely worth doing.
For my returning brother’s highly appreciated assistance with technology matters this week.
He helped me figure out that I could fix one more thing, made wrong by the computer issues I dealt with back in the spring, by downloading software from the Internet.
I can, once more, use my scanning device, known as an EyePal, to start work on the final few high school courses I need to complete my high school diploma.
Of course, now I have no more excuses. The only person standing in my way is me. This is something I have battled with for years, since I was unwell and unable to graduate, and I have been left feeling unaccomplished, ashamed, and embarrassed for years since that time.
I have made some progress and am half way to my goal. I have completed two out of the final four credits necessary, over these last few years, and that means I am all the more close to being finished.
This scares me because I then have to decide on what my next move should be. As long as I have something standing in my way, be that technology problems or lack of the education necessary, I don’t have to make the really tough and frightening decisions about my future.
No more excuses means facing my fears, head on!
For the chance I’ve had, of late, to get to know an old friend, a friendship that has become new again.
I attended a farewell party, a drop-in brunch as it was called, and got to wish her well as she and her husband start fresh in California.
For more opportunities to face my fears and work on my issues with crowds and unfamiliar situations.
I attended this goodbye party, with a friend, and we both faced our nervousness at these things. OFten, much of what we are afraid will happen doesn’t end up happening, and the worst turns out to be all in your mind. We wanted to wish someone well and, by going together, we had the support we needed.
Then, my friend and I were at our local county fair and we very nearly had a reunion with an old friend of ours.
She was actually a best friend. At one time, it was the three of us, inseparable. We have grown apart from this old friend and I had it on pretty good authority we may run into her, as the county fair is a common place to find her and her family every summer.
We ran into her sister and her father, but just missed her by a narrow margin. I can’t decide if this was for the best or not, unavoidable or something else altogether. Missed opportunities are disappointing, because you never know if they were meant to be, but I guess not this time.
Things have to come together, at just the precise moment in time:
You’ve Never Seen Clouds Like This Before
I don’t like to turn down things. In fact, I’m making a huge effort, in my life, to not turn down chances and opportunities when they present themselves. It’s a work-in-progress, but I am determined not to let my shyness and awkwardness win out.
The Milky Way Over Yellowstone is Impossibly Beautiful
So whether it’s the destruction of a storm (past or present) with the anniversary of Katrina or this week’s Hurricane Erica. Or maybe it’s another terrible story of a shooting of two news persons. I see no reason to shy away from living life and paying attention to the beauty of the world, all of which makes for a much brighter existence.. That’s why I write down what I’m thankful for every week.
I listened to two interesting things this week. One was a conversation between writer’s Chimamanda Adichie and Zadie Smith and the other was an interview with poet Mary Oliver.
Between the Lines: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with Zadie Smith
I could listen to conversations such as these, all day long. They teach me about writing, about feminism from strong females, and about facing my fears.
In other words:
So whether it’s the beautifully explored character development in and of a novel or the splendid simplicity of nature in poetry – I liked the idea of examining a star, or anything for that matter, not only by the shape or form it comes in, but by what’s at its heart. You never know what you’ll find in both.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
–Mary Oliver
Her Headache 
