Two good easy reads....
Judith Michael Acts of Love (Wife and husband co-author)
Elin Hilderbrand Silver Girl a new author to me and I will get getting more of her works.
Left to read in my book bag,
The Way We Eat Why Our Food Choices Matter Peter Singer
Coffin Man James D. Doss
Dead Last James W. Hall these are new authors to me
The Paid Companion Amanda Quick this is a no thinking reading book..
Against All Enemies Tom Clancy (756 pages! my kind of book!!) and I have read lots of his work already
Perhaps I will start another book before bed....yeah I have time! See ya!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Two Books Read
I have read 2 more books this week, as well as baked cookies, bread and banana bread....lots and lots!
Enough of the baking...
Nothing Left to Lose by Allan G. Johnson
This book was a good read, not a happy read, but a good one. Will most likely look into his other works.
Kindred Spirits by Sarah Strohmeyer
This book was also a good read but also not a happy read. I really do think the author intended readers to find comfort and happiness in her story, but overall I found it rather depressing. There were good things in this book, not all bad things, good martini recipes!! She also wrote The Cinderella Pact which I may look at but then she has a series of books Bubbles Betrothed, Bubbles A Broad etc....who knows? Another drink book or a character called Bubbles? May pass on these.....who knows
Enough of the baking...
Nothing Left to Lose by Allan G. Johnson
This book was a good read, not a happy read, but a good one. Will most likely look into his other works.
Kindred Spirits by Sarah Strohmeyer
This book was also a good read but also not a happy read. I really do think the author intended readers to find comfort and happiness in her story, but overall I found it rather depressing. There were good things in this book, not all bad things, good martini recipes!! She also wrote The Cinderella Pact which I may look at but then she has a series of books Bubbles Betrothed, Bubbles A Broad etc....who knows? Another drink book or a character called Bubbles? May pass on these.....who knows
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Broken Music
Broken Music by Marjorie Eccles
A Mystery....a new author to me and one I enjoyed tremendously. I definitely will be looking for her other works. Enjoyed to the last page!
A Mystery....a new author to me and one I enjoyed tremendously. I definitely will be looking for her other works. Enjoyed to the last page!
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Road Less Travelled
This homework from my therapist and the following statements, excerpts are for me to be able to look back and re-read if wanted. Don't want to buy this book. According to my therapist, this is his best book, has written several. He is M.Scott Peck MD
Life is difficult. Once we truly know life is difficult, once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult, no longer matters. ((I am having difficulty with that statement!))
Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems. Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning.
What are these tools, these techniques of suffering, these means of experiencing the pain of problems constructively that I call discipline. There are four: delaying of gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing. The problem lies not in the complexity of these tools, but the will to use them.
Yet more important than role modeling is love. When we love something, it is of value to us, and when we value something, we spend time with it. Good discipline requires time. The feeling of being valuable is essential to mental health and is a cornerstone of self discipline. When one considers oneself valuable, one will take care of oneself in all ways that are necessary.
Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit. We must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it.
The neurotic assumes too much responsibility; the person with a character disorder not enough. When neurotics are in conflict they assume they are at fault. The character disorder person assumes the world is at fault. Neurotics make themselves miserable; those with character disorders make everyone else miserable.
It is only through a vast amount of experience and a lengthy and successful maturation that we gain the capacity to see the world and our place in it realistically, and thus are enabled to realistically assess our responsibility for ourselves and our world.
Lying can be divided into two types; white and black. A black lie is a statement we make that we know is false. A white lie is a statement that is not in itself false, but that leaves out a significant part of the truth. The fact that a lie is white does not in itself make it any less of a lie or any more excusable. The more honest one is, the easier it is to continue being honest, just as the more lies one has told, the more necessary it is to lie again.
We are incapable of loving another unless we love ourselves. We cannot be a source of strength unless we nurture our own strength.
No matter whom we fall "in love" with, we sooner or later fall "out" of love, if the relationship continues long enough. This is not to say we invariably cease loving the person with whom we fell in love. But it is to say the feeling of estatic lovingness that characterizes the experience of falling love always passes. The honeymoon always ends. The bloom of romance always fades. Real love often occurs in a context in which the feeling of love is lacking, when we act lovingly despite the fact we don't feel loving. Love is not a dependency. When you require another individual for your survival , you are a parasite to that individual. There is no choice, no freedom involved in your relationship. It's a matter of necessity rather than love. Love is free exercise of choice. Two people love each other only when they are capable of living without each other but choose to live with each other. If being loved is your only goal, you will fail to achieve it. The only way to be assured of being loved is to be a person worthy of love. The person who truly loves does so because of a decision to love, this person has made a commitment to be loving whether or not the loving feeling is present.
The principal form that the work of love takes is attention. Having to beg for attention won't make a person feel valuable.
The need for one's parents to listen is never outgrown. While it is true one's capacity to truly listen may improve with practice, it never becomes an effortless process.
People handle their fear of change in different ways but the fear is inescapable if they are in fact to change. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is acting in spite of fear.
GRACE---It is hardly remarkable that we sicken and die, what is truly remarkable is that we don't sicken often and we don't die very quickly. It is a major thesis of this section that grace, manifested in part by "valuable or agreeable thing not sought for" is available to everyone, but that while some take advantage of it, others do not. A powerful force originating outside of human consciousness which nurtures spiritual growth of human beings. This force has been consistently recognized by religions who have applied to it the name of grace. Goodness of God is ever whole. Love is conscious, grace is not. Many are called, few are chosen...(his interpretation of that statement is as follows) all are called to and by grace but few choose to listen to the call.
To be aware of grace, to personally experience its constant presence, to know one's nearness to God, is to know and continually experience an inner tranquility and peace few possess. This knowledge and awareness brings with it enormous responsibility...to experience the obligation to be the agent of His power and Love.
For the existence of this force (once we perceive it) indicates with incontrovertible certainty that our human spiritual growth is of utmost importance to something(one) greater than ourselves.
Whew!! that is a long post!! I did get through it this time before it went to "save" as I have not figured out how to edit posts!!
Life is difficult. Once we truly know life is difficult, once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult, no longer matters. ((I am having difficulty with that statement!))
Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems. Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning.
What are these tools, these techniques of suffering, these means of experiencing the pain of problems constructively that I call discipline. There are four: delaying of gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing. The problem lies not in the complexity of these tools, but the will to use them.
Yet more important than role modeling is love. When we love something, it is of value to us, and when we value something, we spend time with it. Good discipline requires time. The feeling of being valuable is essential to mental health and is a cornerstone of self discipline. When one considers oneself valuable, one will take care of oneself in all ways that are necessary.
Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit. We must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it.
The neurotic assumes too much responsibility; the person with a character disorder not enough. When neurotics are in conflict they assume they are at fault. The character disorder person assumes the world is at fault. Neurotics make themselves miserable; those with character disorders make everyone else miserable.
It is only through a vast amount of experience and a lengthy and successful maturation that we gain the capacity to see the world and our place in it realistically, and thus are enabled to realistically assess our responsibility for ourselves and our world.
Lying can be divided into two types; white and black. A black lie is a statement we make that we know is false. A white lie is a statement that is not in itself false, but that leaves out a significant part of the truth. The fact that a lie is white does not in itself make it any less of a lie or any more excusable. The more honest one is, the easier it is to continue being honest, just as the more lies one has told, the more necessary it is to lie again.
We are incapable of loving another unless we love ourselves. We cannot be a source of strength unless we nurture our own strength.
No matter whom we fall "in love" with, we sooner or later fall "out" of love, if the relationship continues long enough. This is not to say we invariably cease loving the person with whom we fell in love. But it is to say the feeling of estatic lovingness that characterizes the experience of falling love always passes. The honeymoon always ends. The bloom of romance always fades. Real love often occurs in a context in which the feeling of love is lacking, when we act lovingly despite the fact we don't feel loving. Love is not a dependency. When you require another individual for your survival , you are a parasite to that individual. There is no choice, no freedom involved in your relationship. It's a matter of necessity rather than love. Love is free exercise of choice. Two people love each other only when they are capable of living without each other but choose to live with each other. If being loved is your only goal, you will fail to achieve it. The only way to be assured of being loved is to be a person worthy of love. The person who truly loves does so because of a decision to love, this person has made a commitment to be loving whether or not the loving feeling is present.
The principal form that the work of love takes is attention. Having to beg for attention won't make a person feel valuable.
The need for one's parents to listen is never outgrown. While it is true one's capacity to truly listen may improve with practice, it never becomes an effortless process.
People handle their fear of change in different ways but the fear is inescapable if they are in fact to change. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is acting in spite of fear.
GRACE---It is hardly remarkable that we sicken and die, what is truly remarkable is that we don't sicken often and we don't die very quickly. It is a major thesis of this section that grace, manifested in part by "valuable or agreeable thing not sought for" is available to everyone, but that while some take advantage of it, others do not. A powerful force originating outside of human consciousness which nurtures spiritual growth of human beings. This force has been consistently recognized by religions who have applied to it the name of grace. Goodness of God is ever whole. Love is conscious, grace is not. Many are called, few are chosen...(his interpretation of that statement is as follows) all are called to and by grace but few choose to listen to the call.
To be aware of grace, to personally experience its constant presence, to know one's nearness to God, is to know and continually experience an inner tranquility and peace few possess. This knowledge and awareness brings with it enormous responsibility...to experience the obligation to be the agent of His power and Love.
For the existence of this force (once we perceive it) indicates with incontrovertible certainty that our human spiritual growth is of utmost importance to something(one) greater than ourselves.
Whew!! that is a long post!! I did get through it this time before it went to "save" as I have not figured out how to edit posts!!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
An easy read
Fern Michaels....Return to Sender
One of those for entertainment only books....won't need to re-read this.
One of those for entertainment only books....won't need to re-read this.
Have done it again!!
I really feel stupid when I read a book and don't realize I have already read it until the end!!
Dreams of the Dead by Perri O'Shaughnessy is one that I have read twice and the second time, enjoyed the book until the end and had the "duh" moment of "wait, I have already read this! I remember this ending!"
Oh well! Guess that means it is a good enough book to read twice!! Especially for people like me with the senior moments going on!
Dreams of the Dead by Perri O'Shaughnessy is one that I have read twice and the second time, enjoyed the book until the end and had the "duh" moment of "wait, I have already read this! I remember this ending!"
Oh well! Guess that means it is a good enough book to read twice!! Especially for people like me with the senior moments going on!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Judge Judy Sheindlin.....every girl should
I just finished Judge Judy's book Beauty Fades, Dumb is Forever. Good good read! Every pre-teen girl should read this book!! I don't agree with every thing but she does make a lot of sense. She also made me laugh out loud. My co-workers wanted me to share what I was enjoying so very much. One of the "nuggets" of wisdom, not humor, is If your relationship isn't working and you are considering a break-up, stay realistic about that too.
You have to say, "I'll be happier alone." Be sure that is what you are thinking, not "I'll be happier with someone else." If you're truly unhappy, you'd better hope you have the self-confidence and resources to go out on your own. You need a spirit of self-esteem. If your grievance is that your mate isn't as wonderful as another man might be, you're running on the same treadmill."
You will have to read the book yourself to find the humor!! My sense of humor is a little twisted so won't post what I find hilarious.....trust me, there is a lot of humor in this book!
You have to say, "I'll be happier alone." Be sure that is what you are thinking, not "I'll be happier with someone else." If you're truly unhappy, you'd better hope you have the self-confidence and resources to go out on your own. You need a spirit of self-esteem. If your grievance is that your mate isn't as wonderful as another man might be, you're running on the same treadmill."
You will have to read the book yourself to find the humor!! My sense of humor is a little twisted so won't post what I find hilarious.....trust me, there is a lot of humor in this book!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Death in Teheran (From Viktor Frankl 's book)
This is the last story from that book! I promise!
Death is Teheran
A rich and mighty Persian walked in his garden with a servant. The servant cried that he had just encountered Death, who had threatened him. He begged his master to give him his fastest horse so that he could make haste and flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening. The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse. On returning to his house, the master himself met Death, and questioned him, "Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?" "I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran," said Death.
Think about this one!!!
Death is Teheran
A rich and mighty Persian walked in his garden with a servant. The servant cried that he had just encountered Death, who had threatened him. He begged his master to give him his fastest horse so that he could make haste and flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening. The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse. On returning to his house, the master himself met Death, and questioned him, "Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?" "I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran," said Death.
Think about this one!!!
Finished the Viktor Frankel book!
I will not "read" the whole book onto my blog but it is such a great book! So I want to save some of the more meaningful (to me) statements.. We have a tendency to look into the past to help make the present bearable. in robbing the present of reality, it becomes easy to overlook opportunities to make something positive. It is a pecularity of man that he can only live looking to the future. This is his salvation in the most difficult moments, although he sometimes has to force his mind to the task. ((Remember this author is a survivor of the concentration camps)).
He who has a "why" to live for can bear with almost any "how".
It doesn't really matter what we expect from life but rather what life expects from us.
What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you. Having been is also a kind of being, perhaps the surest kind.
There are two races of men, the race of the decent and the race of the indecent.
No one has the right to do wrong, even if wrong has been done to them.
Mental health is based on certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish (the gap between what one is and what one should become).
Boredom causes more problems to solve than distress!
The meaning of life...differs from man to man, from day to day, and from hour to hour. Everyone's task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it. Each person decides whether he should interpret his life task as being responsible to society or to his own conscience.
We can discover the meaning of life in 3 different ways (1) by creating work or doing a deed (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. The second way of finding meaning in life is by experiencing something-such as goodness, truth, beauty-by experiencing nature and culture or, last but not least, by experiencing another human being in his very uniqueness--by loving him. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him.
(3) We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. It is man's main concern not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather see a meaning in his life.
Some of the people who nowadays call on a psychiatrist would have seen a pastor, priest or rabbi in former days.
"That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast."
After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips.
Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.
As to the causation of the feeling of meaninglessness, one may say, that people have enough to live by but nothing to live for; they have the means but no meaning. "Unemployment neurosis"..being jobless was equated with being useless, and being useless was equated with having a meaningless life. So people should fill their free time with some sort of unpaid but meaningful activity. The truth is that man does not live by welfare alone.
The perception of meaning more specifically boils down to becoming aware of what can be done about a given situation. If one cannot change a situation that causes his suffering, he can still CHOOSE his ATTITUDE.
Society blurs the decisive difference between being valuable in the sense of dignity and being valuable in the sense of usefulness. If one is not cognizant of this difference and holds that an individual's value stems only from his present usefulness, then, believe me, one owes it only to personal inconsistency not to plead for euthanasia along the lines of Hitler's program.
The book ends with the following paragraph:
You may be prone to blame me for invoking examples that are the exceptions to the rule. (Everything great is just as difficult to realize as it is rare to find). Saints or just decent people are in the minority. They will always remain a minority. And yet I see therein the very challenge o join the minority. For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best.
So, let us be alert--alert in a twofold sense:
Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of.
And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.
He who has a "why" to live for can bear with almost any "how".
It doesn't really matter what we expect from life but rather what life expects from us.
What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you. Having been is also a kind of being, perhaps the surest kind.
There are two races of men, the race of the decent and the race of the indecent.
No one has the right to do wrong, even if wrong has been done to them.
Mental health is based on certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish (the gap between what one is and what one should become).
Boredom causes more problems to solve than distress!
The meaning of life...differs from man to man, from day to day, and from hour to hour. Everyone's task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it. Each person decides whether he should interpret his life task as being responsible to society or to his own conscience.
We can discover the meaning of life in 3 different ways (1) by creating work or doing a deed (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. The second way of finding meaning in life is by experiencing something-such as goodness, truth, beauty-by experiencing nature and culture or, last but not least, by experiencing another human being in his very uniqueness--by loving him. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him.
(3) We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. It is man's main concern not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather see a meaning in his life.
Some of the people who nowadays call on a psychiatrist would have seen a pastor, priest or rabbi in former days.
"That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast."
After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips.
Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.
As to the causation of the feeling of meaninglessness, one may say, that people have enough to live by but nothing to live for; they have the means but no meaning. "Unemployment neurosis"..being jobless was equated with being useless, and being useless was equated with having a meaningless life. So people should fill their free time with some sort of unpaid but meaningful activity. The truth is that man does not live by welfare alone.
The perception of meaning more specifically boils down to becoming aware of what can be done about a given situation. If one cannot change a situation that causes his suffering, he can still CHOOSE his ATTITUDE.
Society blurs the decisive difference between being valuable in the sense of dignity and being valuable in the sense of usefulness. If one is not cognizant of this difference and holds that an individual's value stems only from his present usefulness, then, believe me, one owes it only to personal inconsistency not to plead for euthanasia along the lines of Hitler's program.
The book ends with the following paragraph:
You may be prone to blame me for invoking examples that are the exceptions to the rule. (Everything great is just as difficult to realize as it is rare to find). Saints or just decent people are in the minority. They will always remain a minority. And yet I see therein the very challenge o join the minority. For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best.
So, let us be alert--alert in a twofold sense:
Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of.
And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
On vacation....
On vacation from work...(duh) and have read two books so far, yes today is only Tuesday but I count the weekend also.
The first book I read is by a favorite author David Baldacci and is called The Sixth Man. This book had some unexpected twists to it, guess that is why it is a mystery?!! It is a very good read.
The second book is by S.J. Watson Before I Go To Sleep. This a new author to me and wow! This was a very good read. It was very spooky and the ending left you wanting to know more. Enjoyed this very much and would highly recommend it.
I am still working on the Viktor Fankl book mentioned before...this is a good book but one that makes you think. And some times I want to read without having to "think and ponder!"
On to baking....(cleaning out closets will be tackled another day) this is MY vacation after all!
The first book I read is by a favorite author David Baldacci and is called The Sixth Man. This book had some unexpected twists to it, guess that is why it is a mystery?!! It is a very good read.
The second book is by S.J. Watson Before I Go To Sleep. This a new author to me and wow! This was a very good read. It was very spooky and the ending left you wanting to know more. Enjoyed this very much and would highly recommend it.
I am still working on the Viktor Fankl book mentioned before...this is a good book but one that makes you think. And some times I want to read without having to "think and ponder!"
On to baking....(cleaning out closets will be tackled another day) this is MY vacation after all!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
This book is a memoir, a self-help book and a psychology manual and has become a classic. This book tells
the chilling and inspirational story of eminent psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz and other concentration camps for three years during World War II. Immersed in great suffering and loss, Frankl began to wonder why some of his fellow prisoners were able not only to survive the horrifying conditions, but to grow in the process. "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how". What alone remains is the last of human freedoms--the ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances.
"Don't aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run-in the long run, I say!--success will follow you precisely because you have forgotten to think of it."
Viktor had an American visa and was ready to leave Austria. His old parents were overjoyed because they expected I would soon be allowed to leave. The question beset me: could I really afford to leave my parents alone to face their fate, to be sent, sooner or later to a concentration camp, or even to a so-called extermination camp? I pondered this problem and could not arrive at a solution; this was the type of dilemma that made one wish for "a hint from Heaven" as the phrase goes. It was then I noticed a piece of marble lying on a table at home. His father explained it was a part of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. (the largest Viennese synagogue was burned down by the National Socialists). His father explained the letter engraved on the piece stood for one of the commandments. Which one? Honor thy father and mother was the reply. At that moment Viktor decided to stay with his parents and let his visa lapse.
WOW!
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him, mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp.It is this spiritual freedom--which cannot be taken away--that makes life meaningful and purposeful. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate and the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity, even under the most difficult of situations, to add a deeper meaning to his life.
What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected of us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life-daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk or meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks it constantly sets before each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment.
When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden.
Well, I need to quit tonight. As you can tell, this is a very intense book. I am just now reading about the issues they faced with their liberation.....more later...
the chilling and inspirational story of eminent psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz and other concentration camps for three years during World War II. Immersed in great suffering and loss, Frankl began to wonder why some of his fellow prisoners were able not only to survive the horrifying conditions, but to grow in the process. "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how". What alone remains is the last of human freedoms--the ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances.
"Don't aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run-in the long run, I say!--success will follow you precisely because you have forgotten to think of it."
Viktor had an American visa and was ready to leave Austria. His old parents were overjoyed because they expected I would soon be allowed to leave. The question beset me: could I really afford to leave my parents alone to face their fate, to be sent, sooner or later to a concentration camp, or even to a so-called extermination camp? I pondered this problem and could not arrive at a solution; this was the type of dilemma that made one wish for "a hint from Heaven" as the phrase goes. It was then I noticed a piece of marble lying on a table at home. His father explained it was a part of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. (the largest Viennese synagogue was burned down by the National Socialists). His father explained the letter engraved on the piece stood for one of the commandments. Which one? Honor thy father and mother was the reply. At that moment Viktor decided to stay with his parents and let his visa lapse.
WOW!
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him, mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp.It is this spiritual freedom--which cannot be taken away--that makes life meaningful and purposeful. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate and the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity, even under the most difficult of situations, to add a deeper meaning to his life.
What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected of us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life-daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk or meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks it constantly sets before each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment.
When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden.
Well, I need to quit tonight. As you can tell, this is a very intense book. I am just now reading about the issues they faced with their liberation.....more later...
Interesting excerpt
I thought I would have lots to say about Cutting for Stone. I really enjoyed this book and I want to read his others also. I don't know WHY this particular story sticks with me, as I am so totally not a number person.
Shiva says his 2nd favorite number is 66 because if you take the numbers you can divide into sixty-six, including 66, and add them up, what you have is a square.What is your favorite number if 66 is your second favorite. He writes on the board 10, 213,223. Pray, tell us why would this number interest us? This number is the only number that describes itself when you read it. "one zero, two ones, three twos, and two threes!" It was the only bit of mathematics that stayed with me from that year.
Then there is this passage, sorry if this offends anyone, but I found it extremely funny. Marion is assisting his father Ghosh with a vasectomy. "Now, I tie off the cut ends with catgut. And then I tell the patient, 'No communication with wife allowed for the next ninety days'"
Ghosh turned to the patient and repeated the sentence. The patient nodded. "okay, you can communicate, say Good morning, darling and all that, but no sex for three months." The patient grinned. "okay, you can have sex, but you must wear a condom."
"I use interruptus," the patient said, speaking for the first time.
"You use what? Interruptus? Pull and pray? Good God, man! No wonder you have 5 kids! It's noble of you to try to get off the train at an earlier station, but it's unreliable. No sir. Interrupt the interrruptus, unless you want to reach your half dozen this year. You know what we call young men who use coitus interruptus?
The patient shook his head. "We call them Father! Daddy. Pater. Pappa. Pere. No sir, I have done the interrupting for you. Give me three months and you can tell your missus that she is not to worry because you will be shooting blanks, and there will be no more interruptions and you will be staying for dessert, coffee, and cigars."
Now for a more serious excerpt...Matron is talking with an American about funding their mission...God will judge us, Mr. Harris, by what we did to relieve the suffering of our fellow human beings. I don't think God cares what doctrine we embrace." I'll confess, Mr. Harris, that as I get older, my prayers aren't about forgiveness. My prayers are for money to do His work." "Do you know, dear man, that in my darkest moments, you have so often been the answer to my prayers?"
This next story is when Ghosh was in prison...and a fellow prisoner would tell the story of Abu Kassem. It was a tale well known to children all over Africa: Abu Kassem, a miserly Baghdad merchant, had held on to his battered, much repaired pair of slippers even though they were the objects of derision. At last, even he couldn't stomach the sight of them. But his every attempt to get rid of his slippers ended in disaster: when he tossed them out of his window the landed on the head of a pregnant woman who miscarried, and Abu was thrown in jail. When he dropped them into the canal, the slippers choked off the main drain and caused flooding and off Abu went to jail.....The slippers in the story mean that everything you see and do and touch, every seed you sow, or don't sow, becomes part of your destiny. In order to start to get rid of your slippers, you have to admit they are yours, and if you do, then they will get rid of themselves. I hope one day you see this as clearly as I did in Kerchele. The key to your happiness is to own your slippers, own who you are, own how you look, own your family, own the talents you have and the ones you don't. If you keep saying your slippers aren't yours, then you will die searching, you'll die bitter, always feeling you were promised more. Not only our actions but also our omissions become our destiny.
Shiva says his 2nd favorite number is 66 because if you take the numbers you can divide into sixty-six, including 66, and add them up, what you have is a square.What is your favorite number if 66 is your second favorite. He writes on the board 10, 213,223. Pray, tell us why would this number interest us? This number is the only number that describes itself when you read it. "one zero, two ones, three twos, and two threes!" It was the only bit of mathematics that stayed with me from that year.
Then there is this passage, sorry if this offends anyone, but I found it extremely funny. Marion is assisting his father Ghosh with a vasectomy. "Now, I tie off the cut ends with catgut. And then I tell the patient, 'No communication with wife allowed for the next ninety days'"
Ghosh turned to the patient and repeated the sentence. The patient nodded. "okay, you can communicate, say Good morning, darling and all that, but no sex for three months." The patient grinned. "okay, you can have sex, but you must wear a condom."
"I use interruptus," the patient said, speaking for the first time.
"You use what? Interruptus? Pull and pray? Good God, man! No wonder you have 5 kids! It's noble of you to try to get off the train at an earlier station, but it's unreliable. No sir. Interrupt the interrruptus, unless you want to reach your half dozen this year. You know what we call young men who use coitus interruptus?
The patient shook his head. "We call them Father! Daddy. Pater. Pappa. Pere. No sir, I have done the interrupting for you. Give me three months and you can tell your missus that she is not to worry because you will be shooting blanks, and there will be no more interruptions and you will be staying for dessert, coffee, and cigars."
Now for a more serious excerpt...Matron is talking with an American about funding their mission...God will judge us, Mr. Harris, by what we did to relieve the suffering of our fellow human beings. I don't think God cares what doctrine we embrace." I'll confess, Mr. Harris, that as I get older, my prayers aren't about forgiveness. My prayers are for money to do His work." "Do you know, dear man, that in my darkest moments, you have so often been the answer to my prayers?"
This next story is when Ghosh was in prison...and a fellow prisoner would tell the story of Abu Kassem. It was a tale well known to children all over Africa: Abu Kassem, a miserly Baghdad merchant, had held on to his battered, much repaired pair of slippers even though they were the objects of derision. At last, even he couldn't stomach the sight of them. But his every attempt to get rid of his slippers ended in disaster: when he tossed them out of his window the landed on the head of a pregnant woman who miscarried, and Abu was thrown in jail. When he dropped them into the canal, the slippers choked off the main drain and caused flooding and off Abu went to jail.....The slippers in the story mean that everything you see and do and touch, every seed you sow, or don't sow, becomes part of your destiny. In order to start to get rid of your slippers, you have to admit they are yours, and if you do, then they will get rid of themselves. I hope one day you see this as clearly as I did in Kerchele. The key to your happiness is to own your slippers, own who you are, own how you look, own your family, own the talents you have and the ones you don't. If you keep saying your slippers aren't yours, then you will die searching, you'll die bitter, always feeling you were promised more. Not only our actions but also our omissions become our destiny.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Such a dweeb!!
Okay, I just read what I posted about "forgetting" who the author of the "Silver Sparrow" is....duh! That is the entire reason for this "blog"..to keep tract of what and who I read!! SO in the previous post is the answer to my brain sprain!!
I am currently reading a most wonderful book, need to get off here so I can read some more!!
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese I am only on chapter 15 but it is hard to put down. One comment made in this book is "God will judge us by what we did to relieve the suffering of our fellow human beings. I don't think God cares what doctrine we embrace." Is that a true statement or what!! And I feel the need to step up with more action by myself to help in ways I can here and now in my life!! And to remember a statement from a previous book, "you can't out give God".
Well, back to reading..
I am currently reading a most wonderful book, need to get off here so I can read some more!!
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese I am only on chapter 15 but it is hard to put down. One comment made in this book is "God will judge us by what we did to relieve the suffering of our fellow human beings. I don't think God cares what doctrine we embrace." Is that a true statement or what!! And I feel the need to step up with more action by myself to help in ways I can here and now in my life!! And to remember a statement from a previous book, "you can't out give God".
Well, back to reading..
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Too busy!! for words!!!
I have really been reading, just not taking the time to post what I have read. And of course now I don't remember some information about the books I have read! (Blame it on work...crazy busy, crazy hours, come home to crash and disappear into a book for a little while, then back to another day at work.)
First the book I enjoyed that I don't remember the author....Silver Sparrow. I will get her other books at some point in time. This was a book about her father, a bigamist, and how she was always "a secret." I wonder is she will write another book from the dad's perspective? That could be interesting also.
Eve Iris Johansen...a book of suspense. I have read many of her books already. Am looking forward to the next two Quinn and Bonnie.
It's Not that I am Bitter Gina Barreca This was interesting but don't know that I would read it again. The best part of the book was the 52 things learned by 51! There were some hilarious ones and then some that made me think!
It's Only a Flat Tire in the Rain Max Davis, M.A. Ok this is going to be a long post! This was an amazing book and one that I really needed to read at this time in my life!!
3 principles....1. Understand that life is a struggle. Scott Peck "Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult." 2. Embrace the struggle. 3. Trust God..He can be trusted, not always to keep adversity from entering our lives, but to guide us through it.
3 soul killers...1. too much diversion (we let urgent things take priority over the important!) 2. too much amusement (we don't know how to be quiet and alone. We are afraid of silence and boredom.)
3. too much stuff....Having stuff is not bad. But the pursuit of stuff, for stuff's sake, kills the soul.
3 soul nourishers....1. feeding on soul food...choice is the most powerful gift God has bestowed on humans. Nourishing our soul and becoming centered on God, begin with choice. Choice always begins in the mind, not the emotions. 2. Heeding the moment.....Don't miss life by living in the past or in the future. 3. Seeding others....a solid, life transforming principle is "you can't out-give God!!!"
The last book I just finished reading last night at midnight!! (I know I know....work in the morning...this is a very good book THANKS EMILY!!)
Born to Run Christopher McDougall This book actually makes you WANT to learn to run!! Unfortunately I am sure I am/would be again, like the writer says "In my mind's eye, I am light and quick as a Navajo on the hunt. In reality, I look like Frankenstein's monster trying to tango." SO to ask the question, "what is the right way to run??!" Would some one please tell me!! I did thoroughly enjoy this book, just wish I had the time/energy to run...I know I know I have 24 hours in my day just like everyone. These people run hundreds of miles (sometimes in a stretch of time, not days apart..and when do they work when they are running miles and miles and miles and miles..ok you get the point!)
First the book I enjoyed that I don't remember the author....Silver Sparrow. I will get her other books at some point in time. This was a book about her father, a bigamist, and how she was always "a secret." I wonder is she will write another book from the dad's perspective? That could be interesting also.
Eve Iris Johansen...a book of suspense. I have read many of her books already. Am looking forward to the next two Quinn and Bonnie.
It's Not that I am Bitter Gina Barreca This was interesting but don't know that I would read it again. The best part of the book was the 52 things learned by 51! There were some hilarious ones and then some that made me think!
It's Only a Flat Tire in the Rain Max Davis, M.A. Ok this is going to be a long post! This was an amazing book and one that I really needed to read at this time in my life!!
3 principles....1. Understand that life is a struggle. Scott Peck "Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult." 2. Embrace the struggle. 3. Trust God..He can be trusted, not always to keep adversity from entering our lives, but to guide us through it.
3 soul killers...1. too much diversion (we let urgent things take priority over the important!) 2. too much amusement (we don't know how to be quiet and alone. We are afraid of silence and boredom.)
3. too much stuff....Having stuff is not bad. But the pursuit of stuff, for stuff's sake, kills the soul.
3 soul nourishers....1. feeding on soul food...choice is the most powerful gift God has bestowed on humans. Nourishing our soul and becoming centered on God, begin with choice. Choice always begins in the mind, not the emotions. 2. Heeding the moment.....Don't miss life by living in the past or in the future. 3. Seeding others....a solid, life transforming principle is "you can't out-give God!!!"
The last book I just finished reading last night at midnight!! (I know I know....work in the morning...this is a very good book THANKS EMILY!!)
Born to Run Christopher McDougall This book actually makes you WANT to learn to run!! Unfortunately I am sure I am/would be again, like the writer says "In my mind's eye, I am light and quick as a Navajo on the hunt. In reality, I look like Frankenstein's monster trying to tango." SO to ask the question, "what is the right way to run??!" Would some one please tell me!! I did thoroughly enjoy this book, just wish I had the time/energy to run...I know I know I have 24 hours in my day just like everyone. These people run hundreds of miles (sometimes in a stretch of time, not days apart..and when do they work when they are running miles and miles and miles and miles..ok you get the point!)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Not reading???? What is WRONG?
I can hardly believe this myself!! I haven't picked up a book in a couple days....and I am not comatose!! My daughter told me about pinterest.com and I am so hooked! The only thing I can say in defense of myself, it is "better" than playing bejeweled on FB for hours on end! So books, my friends, I will be back just don't know for sure when!!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Why do I read?
Hmm, good question! I read because books can take you to places you can never go physically. I read because books take you away from yourself and your own world for a while. Books can be very good friends, reading them over and over is like talking to an old friend- you know- the friend you haven't seen for years and the conversation picks up like there was no break in it! Books give you a different point of view. Books can be educational, some are even meant to be!! :) You can meet people in books that you will never have the chance to personally meet due to life circumstances. History books can be amazing in a lot of different ways. I read because my parents taught me the joy of reading, by seeing them read themselves, and by them reading to us. Some of my best memories are of my Father reading a chapter a night to us, Rascal by Sterling North. Mom would take us to the library and we had a librarian who would let us take numerous books out a time. She told Mom that we took such good care of the books we borrowed and we read them so very quickly that she couldn't hold us to the "limit" (which was 3! a person! ) I still come out of the library with my arms full and usually have to go back for more before the time limit of 3 weeks is up. Yes, I am a fast reader and I read instead of watching TV. (Did not grow up with tv in the house, thank you Mom and Dad!!)
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Books from Last Week
A Novel Bookstore
Laurence Cosse'
A French novel translated to English. This was a very interesting book, makes me want to read some of the literature mentioned in the story. It was a slower read, about 2-3 days to complete. (don't know page number, perhaps I won't keep track of that?) I enjoyed this book but probably wouldn't re-read it.
A Dog's Purpose
W. Bruce Cameron
What can I say....this was definitely different and not what I expected. A preview stated "made me laugh and made me cry" and that is not a statement I can relate to. Not a re-read.
While My Sister Sleeps
Barbara Delinsky
Definitely will read this again, have already checked it back out of the library! Sisters and their relationships, a very good book.
Night Fall
Nelson DeMille
Brought this home and then realized I have already read it! So, back on the shelf! I do enjoy his books but am not in the mood to repeat.
Chasing Fire
Nora Roberts
A good read. Hers usually are...
Southern Comfort
Fern Michaels
This was a disappointment...
The Walk
Richard Paul Evans
I am definitely purchasing these books, a series of three. Write faster please!!
The Good-bye Quilt
Susan Wiggs
Another one I am going to purchase! This is MY story! Mother and daughter....hopes and fears..holding close and letting go! Not just my story, any Mother's. An amazing book and a definite re-read!!
I know now that I may be ridiculous with this! Oh well, if you don't want to read it all, move on! Or use it as a sleeping potion!!
Laurence Cosse'
A French novel translated to English. This was a very interesting book, makes me want to read some of the literature mentioned in the story. It was a slower read, about 2-3 days to complete. (don't know page number, perhaps I won't keep track of that?) I enjoyed this book but probably wouldn't re-read it.
A Dog's Purpose
W. Bruce Cameron
What can I say....this was definitely different and not what I expected. A preview stated "made me laugh and made me cry" and that is not a statement I can relate to. Not a re-read.
While My Sister Sleeps
Barbara Delinsky
Definitely will read this again, have already checked it back out of the library! Sisters and their relationships, a very good book.
Night Fall
Nelson DeMille
Brought this home and then realized I have already read it! So, back on the shelf! I do enjoy his books but am not in the mood to repeat.
Chasing Fire
Nora Roberts
A good read. Hers usually are...
Southern Comfort
Fern Michaels
This was a disappointment...
The Walk
Richard Paul Evans
I am definitely purchasing these books, a series of three. Write faster please!!
The Good-bye Quilt
Susan Wiggs
Another one I am going to purchase! This is MY story! Mother and daughter....hopes and fears..holding close and letting go! Not just my story, any Mother's. An amazing book and a definite re-read!!
I know now that I may be ridiculous with this! Oh well, if you don't want to read it all, move on! Or use it as a sleeping potion!!
Just Beginning
This is a very important day in my life! I have just begun a blog...me, a technotard!!! I am so amazed at myself.
Ok I will get on with it. With the encouragement of my daughter I am going to "review" books that I read. And trust me on this one, I read a lot of books!! Also with the encouragement of my daughter and my mother, I have begun to read a much broader variety of book. Never too late to change or broaden your horizons!
To begin....I have a book that I refer to as my "vacation" book. This book I take on all my vacations and have for many many years, I have no idea just how many times I have read this book. Of course, as we haven't taken a vacation in 4 years, I haven't read it in awhile...perhaps it is time just to read it again. It is by M.M. Kaye and is titled The Far Pavilions. It has 1189 pages. (That used to be my criteria for choosing books...I wanted them to last as long as possible!)
Today I went to the library and brought home the following books....(have already finished the first one, took about 6 hours) The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. only 271 pages :)..recommended by Rev. Stayton
Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home by Rupert Sheldrake 317 pages.. will be reading that one next.
It's Only A Flat Tire In The Rain by Max Davis, MA 161 pages (in the back of the book in 'notes' there is mentioned my favorite hymn, It is Well with My Soul by Horatio Spafford)
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones 340 pages a new author to me
It's Not That I 'm Bitter by Gina Barreca 218 pages
While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky 319 pages (this is a second read for me, just read it last week!)
Eve by Iris Johansen 378 pages have read a lot of her books already.
Then I guess I should talk about the books I returned to the library today??!!
Or should that be for another time??!! Don't know for sure how to do this so it flows...guess I will stop here and check out my daughter's blog....
Ok I will get on with it. With the encouragement of my daughter I am going to "review" books that I read. And trust me on this one, I read a lot of books!! Also with the encouragement of my daughter and my mother, I have begun to read a much broader variety of book. Never too late to change or broaden your horizons!
To begin....I have a book that I refer to as my "vacation" book. This book I take on all my vacations and have for many many years, I have no idea just how many times I have read this book. Of course, as we haven't taken a vacation in 4 years, I haven't read it in awhile...perhaps it is time just to read it again. It is by M.M. Kaye and is titled The Far Pavilions. It has 1189 pages. (That used to be my criteria for choosing books...I wanted them to last as long as possible!)
Today I went to the library and brought home the following books....(have already finished the first one, took about 6 hours) The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. only 271 pages :)..recommended by Rev. Stayton
Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home by Rupert Sheldrake 317 pages.. will be reading that one next.
It's Only A Flat Tire In The Rain by Max Davis, MA 161 pages (in the back of the book in 'notes' there is mentioned my favorite hymn, It is Well with My Soul by Horatio Spafford)
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones 340 pages a new author to me
It's Not That I 'm Bitter by Gina Barreca 218 pages
While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky 319 pages (this is a second read for me, just read it last week!)
Eve by Iris Johansen 378 pages have read a lot of her books already.
Then I guess I should talk about the books I returned to the library today??!!
Or should that be for another time??!! Don't know for sure how to do this so it flows...guess I will stop here and check out my daughter's blog....
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