Moonwalking With Goodreads

In May of last year, while loitering in the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, I read about half of Joshua Foer's "Moonwalking With Einstein" (2011). Given my high geek quotient and memory I couldn't resist a book with the subtitle "The Art & Science of Remembering Everything".

Then a few months ago, my local librarian turned me onto the Goodreads website. If you're a reader and any kind of list maker, you'll love this site. Rate some books you've finished and an algorithm spits out recommendations; Foer's book appeared on my non-fiction list, reminding me (ahem) to finish it. It was so worth it. To date, every non-fiction recommendation made by the site has been worthwhile; what a find.

I do have a quibble with the 1-5 star rating system Goodreads uses. Two stars for "OK" and one star for "I didn't like it" doesn't give me enough room. I need a category in between those two. I'm curious if any of you familiar with the site agree or disagree. But "Moonwalking For Einstein" is fully deserving of a Goodreads four star rating ("I really liked it") and I'm depending on you to remember I said so.    


       

An Unspoken Escape Clause

What do you think of when you hear the word "calling"? Has anyone ever told you they thought you missed your calling? How did that feel? Have you known anyone who you thought missed their calling?

It's tempting to offer guidance to people who seem adrift, especially when you sense they have a strength or skill that could be vocationally valuable. And if I know someone well enough and they persist in asking me for guidance even after I've dodged the issue several times, I will occasionally relent. But I'm careful about using the word calling. It's possible this is silly semantics on my part. But doesn't the word itself imply the person would hear something, even if just in a metaphorical sense?

The most challenging circumstance I've faced in this arena was when someone significantly younger than I recently asked me "What do you think I was called to do?"  Flattered as I was that this individual wanted my insight, my initial reaction was to ask a series of questions like "What are you passionate about?" "What have others told you are your strengths or skills?" "How can you combine your passion with those strengths?" Though I didn't, I also wanted to add a caveat about the whole calling thing. Something like "Being called to do something now doesn't preclude being called to something different in the future". After all, how many called people have you known who later had difficulty escaping that calling?  

Words That Can Haunt Me, Part 7: Forgiveness

Which is easier for you - to forgive others or to forgive yourself?

Compared to many people who have shared their stories with me, either personally or via a memoir, my experience to date has been largely free of the type of trauma and/or dysfunction that would call on me to forgive others in order to fully heal. For that, I'm grateful.

At the same time, forgiving others, even when a trespass has not necessarily been traumatic, does not come easy to me. When I still regularly attended religious services, any homily about forgiveness would linger with me for weeks.

But forgiving myself puts this word into the haunting realm. I veer from the paradox of how to forgive myself for being unforgiving of others to ridiculously mundane matters re self-forgiveness. For example, the genesis of this post occurred on a day when I kept postponing some reading. On that day, in order to rally above a dip in mood, I wrote in my journal - "Forgive yourself for not wanting to read today". It worked for a few moments but the absurdity did not escape me.

Smoky Mountain, Here I Come

Though it's silly doing so, since returning from Congaree National Park in South Carolina, I've found myself comparing it to the other National Parks I've visited. My inescapable conclusion: I'd return to any of those other parks before visiting Congaree again.

But every road trip has numerous pleasures. From this trip to the just OK Congaree?
* Spending more time than planned in historic Charleston, South Carolina - unique and beautiful Southern homes, a soothing rocking chair while gazing at the harbor, great raw oysters at Pearlz.
* Listening to John Updike's 2006 novel "Terrorist". Having an expressive reader (Christopher Lane) narrating those remarkable Updike descriptions reminded my wife and I why Updike's writing has entranced us both for over 30 years.
* Seeing my youngest niece and two friends, all Carolinians now.

And despite my underwhelmed reaction to it, Congaree itself had appeal. Nice 2.4 mile hike on an elevated boardwalk, towering pine trees, a relaxing quiet periodically interrupted by woodpeckers, one of nature's most intriguing sounds. Next National Park? Smoky Mountain in the fall. Oh yeah, almost forgot - we did our planning for that while in the car on this trip - gotta love the Internet! Which National Park is next for you? And how did the last one you visit compare to others you've seen?         

Stuff

Compared to most people I've met sharing my economic and educational background, I've never had a great deal of stuff. Some days, I think this is because I never really wanted stuff. Other times I wonder if my lack of stuff is more tied to a lack of ambition. If you're more like me than not, what reasons have you given to yourself and others for your lack of stuff?

I've known people that have lots of stuff. But I haven't met that many who have the stuff they need the moment they need it. If you have lots of stuff, how true has this been for you? What systems do you have for storing, organizing and maintaining your stuff? I have enough trouble keeping track of photographs let alone a lot of stuff.

A few months ago someone suggested to me people would be better off accumulating more good actions rather than more stuff. This makes sense to me especially since I really don't like cleaning stuff.    
    

Book Club Juice

I've come to rely on book club juice, pure and simple.

After three years attending multiple book club meetings each month, with only one this May, I'm feeling a little off. So much inspiration for blog posts and songwriting, so many interesting perspectives on books I likely wouldn't have chosen to read, cool quotes that nail the essence of a book being discussed. Most recent tasty morsel - "Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional". The book club participant attributed this to Buddha; I didn't check - doesn't matter because it's in my bag of tricks now thanks to her and him, if she was right.

It would have been so neat to discover this juice prior to 2010. What a blast if I could have been part of a discussion about "At Play In The Fields of the Lord" by Peter Matthiessen or "The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart" by Alice Walker or "My Secret History" by Paul Theroux. Or anything by John Updike or Anne Tyler or Toni Morrison. But wait; I can still suggest any or all of the above, right?

And another thing. When I'm away a lot like this month, aside from missing my juice, I also get library withdrawal symptoms. Suggestions from cyberspace doctors?   

#11: The Mt. Rushmore Series

Which four actors would be on your Mt. Rushmore? All my choices are still alive, close in age, white and more the leading type than character actors. Listed in alphabetical order, my Mt. Rushmore has:

1.) Jeff Bridges: If he'd never starred in any movie except "Fearless", Bridges would be here. But he was also "The Big Lebowski". In addition, he's the actor who most convincingly portrays musicians; a cynical jazz pianist in "The Fabulous Baker Boys" and a dissolute country singer and guitarist in "Crazy Heart".

2.) Gene Hackman: An actor who can redeem nearly any film. Although I'm partial to his early roles in movies like "I Never Sang For My Father" and "Once In A Lifetime", my favorite Hackman performance was a small part he played in a little seen Woody Allen gem called "Another Woman".

3.) Laura Linney: Want to see a range that will dazzle you? Watch "The Truman Show", "Mystic River", "You Can Count On Me", & "The Squid and The Whale" back-to-back. Try not to be amazed.

4.) Meryl Streep: No explanation required.

As with musicians, it was difficult for me to pick just four for this iteration of Mt. Rushmore. And though my baby boomer bias is clear here, even fitting ten or twelve actors on my mountain wouldn't change that.    

My Grade (So Far): Wit

wit: the keen perception or cleverly apt expression of amusing words or ideas or of those connections between ideas which awaken amusement and pleasure.

This monthly series kicked off in February 2012, starting at the beginning of the alphabet; ambition was the first attribute for which I gave myself a grade (so far). And I've encouraged you to join me so if you've done so faithfully, you now have sixteen grades for sixteen unique attributes and perhaps some ideas about growth edges.

Of the attributes selected to date, a solid "A" for wit would give me the most joy. For a discernible improvement in wit, I'll remain satisfied indefinitely with my "Cs" for ambition & bravery. If trading my "A" for enthusiasm or my "B+" for determination would have those bon mots rolling off my tongue quicker, just show me where to sign. Hell, I'll accept even lower grades for "charm" or "generosity" in exchange for unlimited clever witticisms. How about you? Any wit envy? Do you marvel at people for whom those connections between ideas are humorous grist for the mill? I do.

My grade so far for wit? Doesn't matter; I want that "A".