The Simplest Thing

"Advice? I would say there is one basic idea that should be kept in mind in all the exchanges we make in life, whether of career or anything else. We should decide not in view of better pay, higher rank, 'getting ahead', but in view of becoming more real, entering more authentically into direct contact with life, living as a free and mature human person, able to give myself more to others, able to understand myself and the world better. I hope that these few notes may be of some use."

-Thomas Merton

I've spent the past two days trying to find a better way of saying an extremely simple sentence.

I quit my job on Monday.

More to come.

Life

In the fall of 2005 I took a riverboat trip down the Yangtze River. Living in extremely confined quarters with a group of 28 college students for a week was often trying and occasionally rewarding. While on the trip, a friend and I sat down with our journals and decided that we were going to begin our lists of things we wanted to accomplish with our lives. The idea started when Tom heard a NPR story about a man who had passed away somewhat recently. Early in his life, he made a list of things he wanted to accomplish before his death. During his wake, his family hung the list in the funeral home and every single item on his list was checked off.

After two and a half years, it seems like time to make the list public. I'm happy to say that I've accomplished some of the items, added to the list, and removed things that don't make sense. The things on this list range from academic to personal and from enormous trips to learning carpentry. I'm glad I took the time to write this in 2005 and even happier that I finally took a chance to revisit it now.

The Life Goals List
Bethlehem for Christmas
Cairo
Trans-Siberian Express
Visit the Church of San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome. Climb the stairs on your knees.
Trekking in Bhutan
Week at the monastery in Taize
Learn (or make the best attempt to learn) Biblical Hebrew and New Testament Greek (x)
Biblical Schloar: Gospel of John or Pentateuch
Ph. D.
MA Theology
Complete a book of short stories
Complete a poetry manuscript
Children's fantasy novel
Publish an essay on Sin & Redemption in Tolkien
Spend a week in Thomas Merton's monastery
Backpack the Pacific Crest Trail
Ironwoman
Learn carpentry
Touch all the continents
Be in Mexico for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Kayak around the arctic circle
See Carmen in France
Hug a redwood in California (x)
See the Mississippi Headwaters (x)

Addicted to You

I have a problem.

Last night I went to the St. Joseph the Worker Fundraiser. I managed to arrive in time for the "fill a paper bag with second-hand books for four dollars!" part of the evening.

Uh-oh. In the twenty-four hours previous I had been strongly encouraged to apply for a MA in systematics for the fall of '08. An hour previous I had a lovely dinner and drinks with two long-lost friends. Now I was suddenly offered the chance to go crazy with second hand books for the the rock-bottom price of four dollars. AND I could tell myself that I was really supporting a volunteer program in The Cities. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty wonderful.

Forty some odd books and two ripped paper bags later, I found myself trying to categorize my purchases. I had one truly phenomenal find, some good finds, and some books I thought others would love. The books all fall in to one of four categories.

1. Theology (sub categories will be noted)
4: Literary Theory/Non-Fiction
5. Fiction/Drama
6. Books purchased for others

Because I think that bookshelves are a pretty good indication of how well you can get along with another person (and because I have a sick, sick obsession with making lists), I thought it might be interesting to share the new additions to my already over-stocked shelves.

Enjoy this little look into my Psyche.

Theology (Spirituality)
C.S. Lewis A Grief Observed
Henri Nouwen: Can You Drink The Cup?
Joan Chittister, OSB: Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of Benedict Today
Henri Nouwen: The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom

Theology (Biblical Studies)
Synopsis of the Four Gospels
Jerome Biblical Commentary
Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives Vol II

Theology (Liberation, also including Sex & Gender)
Helen M. Luke: Women, Earth, and Spirit: The Feminine in Symbol and Myth
Richard A. Norris, Jr. (ed): The Christological Controversy
William G Rusch (ed): The Trinitarian Controversy
Robert Blair Kaiser: The Politics of Sex and Religion
Human Sexuality: New Directions in American Catholic Thought
Karen Kennelly, C.S.J. (ed): American Catholic Women: A Historical Exploration
Gustavo Gutierrez: We Drink From Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People
Gustavo Gutierrez: A Theology of Liberation

Lit Theory/Non-Fiction
Fredrick Engels: The Condition of the Working Class in England
Susan Brownmiller: Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape
Henry David Thoreau: Walden and Civil Disobedience
Kitty Ferguson: Stephen Hawking: Quest for a Theory of Everything
Barbara Ehrenreich: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Richard L. McGuire: Passionate Attention: An Introduction to Literary Study
Arundhati Roy: War Talk
New French Feminisms: Writings by Simone de Beauvoir, Helen Cixous, Annie Leclerc, and others
Stanley Fish: Is There a Text in This Class? The Authority of Interpretive Communities

Fiction/Drama
Vergil: The Aeneid
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Antoine de Saint Exupery: The Little Prince
Yann Martel: The Life of Pi
Jane Austen: Persuasion
Madeline L'Engle: A Live Coal In The Sea
Toni Morrison: Love
John Steinbeck: The Pearl; The Red Pony
Jack Kerouac: The Subterraneans
Six Great Modern Short Novels (The Dead: Joyce; Billy Budd: Melville; Noon Wine: Porter; The Overcoat: Gogol; The Pilgrim Hawk: Wescott; The Bear: Faulkner)
Hannah Green: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Carl Sandberg: The Fiery Trial
Alice Walker: The Temple of My Familiar
Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun
Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew

Books for Others
Bob and Jenna Torres: Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World (For Krista's roommate, Katy)
Steven Spielberg: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (I actually have no idea how this ended up in my bag)
Lee Iacocca: Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (Father Prosen cannot stop talking about how much he wants to read this book)