Thought for Today
Creativity
The Magic of the World Underwater
Have 4 minutes 50 seconds? Then watch this absolutely beautiful video of the underwater world of Fiji and Tonga.
One of the true joys of the internet is that our friends and family send us links to videos such as these where we can be magically transported to a world we would otherwise never see. The photography is beyond spectacular, the accompanying music perfection. If you click on the “cc” button, you will be shown the species and location of the fish and other creatures you see.
What impressed me so is the clear intelligence in the eyes of the fish as they watch the diver filming them. This is a real treat.
The Walking Reward
I am not ashamed to admit it. I do not like to exercise. (Although I do love to dance. That’s exercise, right?)
Over the course of my life I have at times been a jogger and a regular walker. Once I got out there, it was okay, but I could think of soooooo many things I’d rather be doing. The time has come that I need and want, (very abstractly), to get out there once again. My incentive? I’d bring my camera and hope that might help.
So I made use of it and took some shots of the beautiful garden flowers that so many of the folks in my town take the time to plant and tend.
Will it be enough inspiration for tomorrow? I guess we’ll see.
Top 100 Teen Reads
Only because I’d decided to start reading a book I’ve had for a while on my “to-read” list by Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, did I go on to check out his website and blog, and come across this list compiled by NPR, (National Public Radio.)
Alexie linked to the list because his terrific YA novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was ranked #31. I do enjoy lists, and figured why not check it out. So what are teens reading? The list, a result of 75,220 votes in NPR’s Best-Ever Teen Fiction poll and compiled in August 2012, has ranked J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series number 1, followed by Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.
It’s a list of classics such as The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, and more recent offerings by Laurie Halse Anderson, Lauren Oliver and John Green plus many other popular current authors. I’m surprised to see how many classics actually make it in the top portion of this list.
Want to see what NPR says are the Top 100 Teen Reads? Check it out here as well as the 235 other finalists. Descriptions of all books are also on the site. Have some summer reading time? You may want to start here!
Crossing Our Own Bridges
When I first saw this photo, I had to swallow hard. That is not a bridge I’d be able to cross. The photograph is of the Carrick-a-rede-rope bridge in Northern Ireland and connects the mainland to a tiny island. It is now a tourist attraction, but was once used by salmon fishermen for over 350 years. It is 98 feet, above rocks and the sea, built only of wood and ropes. It is easy to imagine how it would sway when one crosses to the little island on the other side.
It reminds me of bridges in my own life … the sometimes difficult paths that I am traveling to places I want to go. Just like real bridges, some of these can be crossed in hours, days, or maybe years. Some are nice and secure and amazingly happy, like when I used to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, and some are much more challenging, like this one would be. Some feel like they have a sheer drop to the sea and cliffs below.
We all have bridges we need … or want … to cross. I’d had a discussion of this metaphor with a friend a few years ago; a particular challenge I faced, (and still do), seemed the equivalent of crossing this rope bridge. How would I get where I wanted to go? She suggested I imagine the rope bridge bathed in white light, one continuous safety net. I accepted this in theory, but it didn’t banish my fears. And then I had a thought. If I really, truly wanted to get there, I could crawl. Maybe not a bold or terribly brave move, but if that’s all I can do right now? Then I can crawl.
And sometimes that’s what we have to do. Some days we can dance around and through wherever we want to go. Others we can walk with our head held high. But if we sometimes have to crawl to get there, at least we can say we never gave up. One day, one step at a time.
We’ll all get there.
Still A Dreamer 