29 Gifts

I am currently reading the book, 29 Gifts, written by Cami Walker, a woman living with Multiple Sclerosis. The theme of the book reminds me of that presented in the movie Pay It Forward - give to others, who will give to others, who will give to others, thus making the world a better place one person, or one gift, at a time.

The book encourages readers to commit to giving 29 gifts in 29 days, journal about it, and watch as abundance flows into your life. The gifts can be anything: a present, food, some change, or a kind word. By not focusing on your own problems, pains, and issues, you are more receptive to others and are more able to receive the good things life has to give you.

This message is synonymous with other books I have been reading, from Wayne Dyer's Power of Intention to Louise Hay's Heal Your Life to Abraham-Hicks' Ask and it is Given to Neale Donald Walsch's Conversations with God. I have realized that I can no longer ignore the "coincidental" books that have arrived in my life, all spreading the same message. It is time to reorder my life and shift my focus to others. I have spent my life as an overachiever - always pushing myself to and beyond the limits, striving for perfection and accepting nothing less, often breaking down in tantrums over failures (humiliating to admit this, but it's true). I once threw my 7th grade Social Studies folder across my living room at 11 p.m. because I couldn't come up with an answer to one question on a homework assignment as my parents looked on in disbelief. They never expected me to be perfect, I put that impossible expectation on myself. It has led to a life of anxiety and fear of failure. This year has been a turning point in my life, as I focus more seriously on who I am and who I want to be. I want to be kind and peaceful, enjoying every minute of every day with which I am blessed.

After reading this last book, 29 Gifts, I am convinced that the stress I place on myself on a daily basis is not worth it. Life has so much to offer and I am missing out. I have decided to embark on the 29 Gift challenge that Cami Walker promotes on her website. (In case the website link doesn't work: www.29gifts.org). This world we are living in is in serious turmoil. We have had an abundance of earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, flooding, and destructive winter weather, and I have to wonder if those are direct effects of the energy we humans have been pouring into the universe. Thoughts have energy (Einstein understood this), and actions have stronger energy. We as a human species have become selfish, negative, and depressed because we've been focusing on all the "wrong" things: money, success, status, materialism, and approval from others. Let's get back to our Source, reconnect, and begin noticing the beauty in each person on this planet. We're imperfect, but we can certainly try harder, be kinder, and give more.

What would the world be like if one person was kinder? Two? Ten? A thousand? A million?

Read the book. Visit the website. Take the challenge. Let me know how it goes for you.

Looking for Alaska

Well, there are no warm and fuzzies after reading this book. I actually feel very drained and lethargic (although that could also be due to the fact that I am recovering from a stomach virus). Really, though, this book makes me feel like a dark and rainy day. Here's a quick synopsis of the book. Miles Halter lives in Florida and has no real friends. He decides to go to a boarding school in Alabama, the same one his father attended, called Culver Creek. His roommate is also from Alabama and his name is Chip, but his nickname is The Colonel. Alaska is a girl that also attends Culver Creek. As a kid her name was Mary, but when she was 7 or 8 years old (I can't remember) her parents let her choose her own name. She studied her father's globe for a long time and decided on Chad. Once her father told her that was a boy's name, she changed it to Alaska. Alaska and The Colonel spend their free time drinking and smoking. Miles gets dragged into this warped friendship with The Colonel and Alaska, which leads to Miles falling in love with Alaska. The problem here is that Alaska has a boyfriend named Jake, so she just leads Miles on, who is nicknamed "Pudge" by The Colonel. Miles is not pudgy, but rather tall and lanky. Anyway, nothing really exciting happens in the book until about halfway through when Alaska freaks out after a night of drinking and crashes her car into a cop car, killing herself. So, the entire second half of the book is about Pudge and The Colonel trying to piece together her death: was it a suicide or an accident? The book ends with Pudge and The Colonel pulling off a school prank that is supposed to be hilarious, all in memory of Alaska. I must have missed the hilarity. There was no excitement in this book, everything just WAS. There were, however, some memorable lines from the book:

The Colonel is getting dressed for Alaska's funeral and asks Pudge if he can wear his flamingo tie. Pudge responds by telling him, "It's a bit festive, given the occasion."
"Can't wear it to the opera," said the Colonel, almost smiling. "Can't wear it to a funeral. Can't use it to hang myself. It's a bit useless, as tie's go."

For some reason, I laughed right out loud after reading those lines. Maybe it's just the irony of having a tie you can't really wear - the world is full of those cheesy ties that are meant to be humorous, but doesn't that deem them practically useless???

The book is chock-full of references to the labyrinth of life and The Great Perhaps, and I guess that reading this book felt like making my way through a labyrinth. I'm happy to be out.

For the record, this book won the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. I don't know if I'd want my kids reading this.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Well, my most recent reading venture was a little painful. I Love, love, LOVE the movie Under the Tuscan Sun starring Diane Lane (who doesn't love HER?). So, when I realized it was based on a book I just had to read it. Bad idea. Very bad. In my experience, no movie is ever better than the book. Evidently I was proven wrong with this one. The movie is infinitely better than the book. Due to my weird need to finish a book instead of abandoning ship, I forced myself to complete it. Three weeks later, here I am writing this blog entry about how inferior it was to the movie. The book read more like a diary. There were very boring accounts of every little experience in Italy. I really thought I'd identify with the book because I've been to Italy and have lived in a European country. If the book had focused more on the cultural aspect of the experience I may have enjoyed it more. But, it did have some recipes that looked (and sounded) tasty. Bottom line: watch the movie!