It Is Easy To Be Unhappy

The reason I think it's harder in the short run to choose celebration over blame is that you have to take responsibility for more of your own bad outcomes, you have to be grateful for what you have when you're plainly receiving less than someone else, and you have to make a conscious decision to assess individuals and discrete situations solely on their merits, instead of just lumping them all into some category of Things You Already Know. In other words, you have to assign yourself to the role of student in life, instead of the more secure feeling Master of All Knowledge.

Choosing optimism is choosing vulnerability and humility on an ongoing basis, and that's often in conflict with our nature.


Great quote from Washington Post columnist Carolyn Hax on how easy it can be to remain unhappy. Please read the rest via Kerry's blog.

More About MORE

Referring to the quote from yesterday:

"A Buddhist friend told me that if you're feeling stressed, get rid of the stuff you don't need and finish the things you've started."

Does anyone know the actual Buddhist saying (or passage) this is from? Thanks!

Inspiration from MORE magazine?

Yes, I'm reading MORE magazine. I bought an issue a few months after my 40th birthday and was very upset. That issue had a multitude of articles and ads dealing with plastic surgery that angered me. I expected the mag to be about embracing and loving the age you are instead of trying to hide it. However, I've since read a few more issues left at my local Starbucks and have given the mag another chance. One thing I've enjoyed are the cover subjects and interviews; Patricia Clarkson, Holly Hunter, Michelle Obama, Emma Thompson, all smart, sassy, independent-minded women who would be cool to hang out with.

Well, enough about the magazine and more about why I'm writing. In this month's July/August issue, in an article about actress Julia Ormond there are these few lines of text that hit me.

"A Buddhist friend told me that if you're feeling stressed, get rid of the stuff you don't need and finish the things you've started."

Though Julia then goes on to make a joke about it, I thought it was great advice. I mean I've been sorta moving in that direction, but I guess I really needed to see it put that simply for it to really hit.

Film: Could Brad and Cate Change My Life?

Okay, maybe I'll finally have to give the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a chance.

1. On various sites I have seen that the costumes (more about those later) worn by Cate Blanchett were to die for and...

2. on Kay's blog I found a quote from the movie that really spoke to me; especially this bit:

"...I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

I think I want to start over.


Image: Jacqueline West costume design sketch

Metamorphosis

And the day came
when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

anais nin