Life Without Fences

"...seeking to live a life of unreserved devotion, a life without fences." 

- Amy Carmichael 

Original Photo: I think I'll start a new life, a photo by Noukka Signe on Flickr.

10 Life Philosophies

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.  ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it.  ~Jack Handey

Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive.  

~Mel Brooks

I have a simple philosophy:  Fill what's empty.  Empty what's full.  Scratch where it itches.  ~Alice Roosevelt Longworth 

For some reason, human beings want to live life well. Most of us aren't happy sloughing off and letting the years fly by unheeded; we feel the need to be proactive and enthusiastic and wise and right. So we develop mottoes and mantras that seem to condense the "method to the madness" of living. 

I thought it would be interesting to compile a list of ten different "life philosophies." I know that it's hard, if not impossible, for a one-liner to sum up someone's entire attitude about life, but it seems to be a popular way for people to target their mission, goals, purpose, etc. Each of these approaches has its pros and cons, and each one offers a different perspective on this big, hairy mess we call life. 

Maybe this will help you formulate your own personal philosophy. Maybe it will make you realize that life philosophies are actually quite stupid. Whatever it does, it should be interesting! 

Three Myths About College and Finances

Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.

-Ambrose Bierce

If you know anything about my education, you've probably guessed that I am not a go-with-the-flow kind of person when it comes to college. In this video I bust 3 major myths about higher education and finances, so that you can know exactly how to get a great college education without taking on the burden of debt. Enjoy!

To find out more about Ben Kaplan and Zac Bissonnette, check out these links.

One Thousand Gifts: Soap, Friends, Birds, Music, Graffiti, and Pickles

“Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle.” 

― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Pear trees bursting out in a froth of blossoms

• Whipping up muffins in the morning
• The perfect sugar cookie: firm outside, fluffy inside
• Messy remnants of good times
• Chicken trucks barreling down our highway
• My brother's "inside voice"
• The carved table in my room--racetrack, palace, desk
• Granddaddy's love living in the woodwork
• An easy burden and a yoke that is light
• The amazing power of prayer
• An intercessor for all my weaknesses
• High scores on college papers!
• Bill Bryson's hilarious travelogue
• "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." -1 John 4:4
• Crisp white shirt on a warm afternoon
• The swollen bud of a spring mayapple
• Raindrop, almost invisible, turning the world upside down
• I know that God is listening
• A newly-made bed
• A smile when it's hard
• Sweaty morning exercise
• Piles of muddy weeds
• Clean socks, inside out
• A scribbled Granny letter

A Little Learning...

Original Photo by JoesSistah on Flickr.

More Gifts

• Wind is the breath of sunshine
• The whistling train is victorious, chugging and squealing onward and upward
• My pillow is the transport to a world without expectations or responsibilities 
• From Grace for the Good Girl, "You are not accepted because you are good. You are free to be good because you are accepted."
• My hard-working-mud-caked-blue-jean brother
• Creative fingers, held in anticipation over keys of black and white
• Interactions with blog readers
• Arriving to piano lessons early, sipping hot black coffee

• Hearing words of inspiration and encouragement while wiping spaces clean 
• Mom and Dad, laughing together on the porch
• Aaron and his buddies laughing as they spill sawdust over the garage
• My parents taking it easy after I banged up the car
• "By perseverance the snail reached the ark." -C.H. Spurgeon
• "On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgment and efforts to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur." - Evelyn Underhill
• Kyla's hilarious, wonderful review post: www.altogetherseparate.com
• Napkins in symmetrical rows, fresh in their pink elegance

• Cinnamon-ed muffins fluffing in the oven
• A spider folded, dangling underneath a table; repulsive then fascinating  
• Fuzzy blanket, lovingly stitched
• The littlest nails in the finished Axis and Allies game board
• The complex melodies and rhythms of classical music
• The frosting, chapping air to remind you that you're alive
• Rocks and dirt, turning with the flip of a shovel and a muddy converse shoe
• The incredible intricacy of snowdrops
• Adorable Russian doll earbuds
• Scrumptious strawberries in thick chocolate ice cream
• Cute little mini cooper
• Broken lips praising the Lord

• My tea tidy, glued with love
• A knitted scarf, a white elephant gift, and a wrinkled book from Goodwill
• Gelatinous halwa, glossy and sweet
• Blue jays hopping and diving and nibbling
• Burst of sunlight through lowering clouds
• After-midnight laughter over party plans
• Mamage laughing at my lame joke
• Late night laughs with the backseat comedians
• Nibbling--cook's privilege
• Guests having a blast at a party we created

• The opportunity to hear college lectures while cleaning
• Mr Byron, growing old alone in his house
• The possibility of a tumor on Malachi's brain
• Another hard night of cleaning
• Blazing orange coals, simmering in the stove
• Rows of colorful, beautiful, comfortable clothes
• A man and his dog, lounging warm in the office
• I can hear my loving, happy family around me
• The assurance of God's approval through Christ
• Knowing that God is listening to every word I pray

Marinating in Insanity

y2.d40 | worry lines, a photo by B Rosen on Flickr.

I just heard this phrase used in the context of an interview* and was immediately hooked. The context was someone taking the leap from steady employment to entrepreneurship, and he was scared stiff thinking of all the terrible possibilities. What if this fails? What if I'm wrecking my future? What if my parents are right to be skeptical? He basted himself with the juices of fear for years. 

Then he took the leap. In a cold sweat, with the doubt of coworkers ringing in his ears, he turned in his two-week notice and leapt into the world of freelance design. The rest, as they say, is success. He is now doing very well for himself, is incredibly good at what he does, works with clients around the world (some big names, I might add), and spends $0 on marketing--it's all word of mouth from satisfied customers.

This isn't just a business success story, though, it's a wake-up call for all of us who have been marinating in our own insanities: the insanities of worry, doubt, worst-case-scenarios, and second guessing. What does marination do? The acids of a marinade break down the tissues in raw meat, tenderizing it, making it mushy. What will happen if you marinade in the insanity of uninformed, unnecessary fear? You'll break down. You'll eventually get so soft and muddle-headed that you won't be able to make any progress. Your wings will collapse before you even try to take flight.

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

Dale Carnegie

Note to self: Get out there and stop worrying about what might happen.

*This interview was on an awesome podcast, Coach Radio, with Justin Lukasavige (coachradio.tv) and Charlie Pabst (charfishdesign.com). 

Daring, Different, Impractical

I have just discovered an amazing, motivational, and potential life-changing quote from someone I've never heard of before.

"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." 

 - Sir Cecil Beaton

Can We Be Original?

Is creativity possible in a world where there is nothing new under the sun? 

Are all our favorite books, movies, and songs just regurgitations of the author/screenwriter/musician's prior experiences? 

Are we all "inspired" by others, or just shameless hacks?

You tell me!

P.S. I apologize for the substandard audio/visual quality. I'm working on it! If you wonder how I had the gall to post this anyway, watch my other video on learning to fail. 


9-20-11
P.S. Here's an insightful quote from Mark Twain that might answer my dilemma:

There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.

LIFE

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

Helen Keller

"If you're bored with life - or you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don't have enough goals."

Lou Holtz

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well-preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!”

Attributed to Bill McKenna

Winning IS Everything

"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."

                                                   -Henry Russell "Red" Sanders

I recently heard this quote lambasted. "Then what's the point of life?", people say, "To beat everybody else and make yourself important? How lame and inhuman." In my opinion, though, this quote doesn't have to be translated like that.

Sure, it was spoken in a competitive football context, where you winning means that someone else has to lose. But what's the point of football if it isn't to win? As the great Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers once said, "If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?" Good point, Vince. 

So what is the point of your life? What do you want to win? If your goal is to smash the "competition" into the ground and put yourself on top then certainly that isn't honorable and you've probably got your priorities out of whack. But what if your aim is to be the greatest daughter that you can be? To help as many people as you can? To follow Christ in everything? In that case falling short isn't going to do you any favors. Coming in at second place isn't an option. 

Too often we get hung up on the idea that our win equals another person's loss. That's simply not true! George Bernard Shaw supposedly said, "If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple.  But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." That's how life works in the real world. 

So don't be afraid to win! You being a success doesn't drag other people down. If you're not winning, who is?

Finish line, a photo by ukanda on Flickr.

Bonhoeffer: Denial of Self

Bonhoeffer, a photo by depone on Flickr.

“To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Just A Reminder...

"The question is... How deep do you want to go through the rabbit hole?", originally uploaded by Temari 09.

There you will look for the Lord your God, and if you search for him with all your heart, you will find him. When you are in trouble and all those things happen to you, then you will finally turn to the Lord and obey him. He is a merciful God. He will not abandon you or destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant that he himself made with your ancestors. "Search the past, the time before you were born, all the way back to the time when God created human beings on the earth. Search the entire earth. Has anything as great as this ever happened before? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Have any people ever lived after hearing a god speak to them from a fire, as you have? Has any god ever dared to go and take a people from another nation and make them his own, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt? Before your very eyes he used his great power and strength; he brought plagues and war, worked miracles and wonders, and caused terrifying things to happen. The Lord has shown you this, to prove to you that he alone is God and that there is no other. He let you hear his voice from heaven so that he could instruct you; and here on earth he let you see his holy fire, and he spoke to you from it. Because he loved your ancestors, he chose you, and by his great power he himself brought you out of Egypt. As you advanced, he drove out nations greater and more powerful than you, so that he might bring you in and give you their land, the land which still belongs to you. So remember today and never forget: the Lord is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god.

-Deuteronomy 4:29-39, Good News Translation

Why Fairy Tales?

"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from."

-C.S. Lewis, Till We All Have Faces

What is it about fairy tales that entrances us and makes us pine for "happy ever after"? We see Cinderella step gracefully into her carriage, feel our hearts race as Gaston and the Beast battle it out on the castle roofs, and sympathize with Aurora's sense of romance and isolation. We're immediately wrapped up in the music, mystery, and magic of a splendid storybook adventure.


Despite the outright satire in the movie Enchanted, I still get a silly little thrill when I hear them sing about "true love's kiss". It's a film that almost makes fun of Disney fairy tales, and yet it's a beautiful fairy tale in itself. As Mom and I watched the credits roll last Sunday night I could hear her sighing next to me, "Isn't it a pity that life isn't like a fairy tale?"


That nearly broke my heart, because it is so true. It is a pity. I want to be like Giselle--I want to sing a little ditty and have woodland creatures appear to do my bidding; I want to meet a devastatingly handsome man (or two) who is madly in love with me; I want everything to blossom at my touch and be eternally beautiful and contented.

I think that everyone (or every girl and woman, rather) wants to be a princess: a daring, independent damsel with a brain of her own who just so happens to fall into distress and is saved by a hunky prince. It's the longing for adventure, romance, and--more than that. 

Is Disney to blame for our longings, or are their "princess stories" just a symptom of something deeper?

What is Wisdom?

Not to know at large of things remote

From use, obscure and subtle, but to know

That which before us lies in daily life,

Is the prime wisdom.

                                                                                    -John Milton

Muffin Monday: Apple and Pecan

Here's a lovely looking recipe I found on Simple Daily Recipes. There's nothing like a warm muffin on a cold morning--slightly sweet, with tasty spices and just the right amount of nuts!

Wet ingredients:

·         3/4 cup low-fat milk

·         1/2 cup applesauce

·         1 egg

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

Dry ingredients:

·         2 cups flour

·         1/2 cup brown sugar

·         1 tablespoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

·         1 small apple, peeled, cored & chopped

·         1/2 cup toasted pecans

Preheat oven 400ºF degrees. Grease bottoms of muffin cups.

In a small bowl, whisk the wet ingredients.  In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together and make a well in center of bowl.  Pour in wet ingredients and slowly stir together until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Do not over mix the batter.

For the mini-muffin pan, I used a small (1 teaspoonful) scooper, for uniform muffins.  This recipe made 24 mini-muffins plus 2 regular size muffins; or 12 regular muffins.

Bake the MINI-muffins 10-12 minutes.

Bake REGULAR size muffins 18-20 minutes.

Something to chew on while your muffins bake:

"Believe those who are seeking the truth.  Doubt those who find it."  

~Andre Gide