February 22nd, 2017
Affirmation: All of my feelings and others' feelings are valid.
Word of the Day: dudgeon (n):
____
Strangers
I flew into California this morning/ early afternoon for a medical school interview tomorrow (that starts at 7am), so I will keep this post brief since it's already pretty late and I have a lot more prep work to do.
It was a pleasant flight and I watched the movie Demolition. I wanted to write a review about it but it was underwhelming and I am not inspired to write one. Perhaps my expectations were too high (expectations are dangerous things!). I had read good things about the movie and I like Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts as actors. Oh well.
I did have a really good conversation with the lady sitting next to me, however. She was a psychiatrist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She told me a lot about Louisville (which I want to visit now), as well as her life in the Congo (where she was born to missionary parents). When I mentioned how her life reminded me of "The Poisonwood Bible" (one of my favorite books), she said that she had met Barbara Kingsolver and that they had discussed their respective experiences.
The woman mentioned that she was going to visit her father for his 95th birthday in Loma Linda. I have always been fascinated by the Loma Linda community because of its status as a "Blue Zone." Longevity studies have long been fascinating to me and I conducted a year long research project on Aging in the 10th grade.
My "seat mate" mentioned that her father was actually an admissions dean at Loma Linda medical school decades ago and encouraged me to visit the town, which is just 30 minutes away from Ontario airport (in the opposite direction of Pomona, which is where my hotel is located). I decided to visit, and I am glad that I did. I love exploring new places and seeing new things and meeting new people.
On the drive over, I was also struck by how clean, beautiful, and vast California is. And I was in awe of how looking in one direction I saw snow-topped mountains and looking the other way, I glimpsed palm trees and desert. When I finally got to my hotel in Pomona, I explored the town a bit, and was taken by how different it is from Loma Linda, yet wonderful in its own way.
I will write more tomorrow after my interview. In the midst of my usual types of posts, I will also try to include some more consistent articles roundup posts, movie/ book/ theater/ music/ etc. posts, as well as personal posts such as this one.
Until tomorrow: How do you feel about striking up a conversation with a stranger?
Have you experienced any serendipities as a result of your conversations?
In what ways are you a stranger to yourself?
Affirmation: All of my feelings and others' feelings are valid.
Word of the Day: dudgeon (n):
1. a feeling of
offense or resentment; anger: We left in
a high dudgeon.
The
Grasses
The same wind that uproots trees
makes the grasses shine.
The lordly wind loves the weakness
and the lowness of grasses.
The axe doesn't worry how thick the branches are.
It cuts them to pieces. But not the leaves.
It leaves the leaves alone.
The motion of the body, the inhaling-exhaling,
comes from the spirit, now angry, now peaceful.
Wind destroys, and wind protects.
There is no reality but God,
says the completely surrendered sheikh,
who is an ocean for all beings.
The levels of creation are straws in that ocean.
The movement of the straws comes from an agitation
in the water. When the ocean wants the straws calm,
it sends them close to shore. When it wants them
back in the deep surge, it does with them
as the wind does with the grasses.
The same wind that uproots trees
makes the grasses shine.
The lordly wind loves the weakness
and the lowness of grasses.
The axe doesn't worry how thick the branches are.
It cuts them to pieces. But not the leaves.
It leaves the leaves alone.
The motion of the body, the inhaling-exhaling,
comes from the spirit, now angry, now peaceful.
Wind destroys, and wind protects.
There is no reality but God,
says the completely surrendered sheikh,
who is an ocean for all beings.
The levels of creation are straws in that ocean.
The movement of the straws comes from an agitation
in the water. When the ocean wants the straws calm,
it sends them close to shore. When it wants them
back in the deep surge, it does with them
as the wind does with the grasses.
____
Strangers
I flew into California this morning/ early afternoon for a medical school interview tomorrow (that starts at 7am), so I will keep this post brief since it's already pretty late and I have a lot more prep work to do.
It was a pleasant flight and I watched the movie Demolition. I wanted to write a review about it but it was underwhelming and I am not inspired to write one. Perhaps my expectations were too high (expectations are dangerous things!). I had read good things about the movie and I like Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts as actors. Oh well.
I did have a really good conversation with the lady sitting next to me, however. She was a psychiatrist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She told me a lot about Louisville (which I want to visit now), as well as her life in the Congo (where she was born to missionary parents). When I mentioned how her life reminded me of "The Poisonwood Bible" (one of my favorite books), she said that she had met Barbara Kingsolver and that they had discussed their respective experiences.
The woman mentioned that she was going to visit her father for his 95th birthday in Loma Linda. I have always been fascinated by the Loma Linda community because of its status as a "Blue Zone." Longevity studies have long been fascinating to me and I conducted a year long research project on Aging in the 10th grade.
My "seat mate" mentioned that her father was actually an admissions dean at Loma Linda medical school decades ago and encouraged me to visit the town, which is just 30 minutes away from Ontario airport (in the opposite direction of Pomona, which is where my hotel is located). I decided to visit, and I am glad that I did. I love exploring new places and seeing new things and meeting new people.
On the drive over, I was also struck by how clean, beautiful, and vast California is. And I was in awe of how looking in one direction I saw snow-topped mountains and looking the other way, I glimpsed palm trees and desert. When I finally got to my hotel in Pomona, I explored the town a bit, and was taken by how different it is from Loma Linda, yet wonderful in its own way.
I will write more tomorrow after my interview. In the midst of my usual types of posts, I will also try to include some more consistent articles roundup posts, movie/ book/ theater/ music/ etc. posts, as well as personal posts such as this one.
Until tomorrow: How do you feel about striking up a conversation with a stranger?
Have you experienced any serendipities as a result of your conversations?
In what ways are you a stranger to yourself?
Hope you had a great day
ReplyDeleteLove
D
Tiring, but good!
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDelete