October 9, 2008

• sweet potatoes and humble pie

  how long to you cook sweet potatoes?
  nothing comes with instructions here.
  i grew up where everything you needed to know was on the side of the box or bag.
  now it is buy it with the dirt still on it.

  so i stuck the sweet potatoes in a pot of water. the water turned green. is the water suppose to turn green? i took them out after awhile, when they were soft. sweet potatoes are purple, with white insides. but they taste the same as our orange ones. i just wish i could put marshmallows on top like my grandma used to.

  a bit of brown sugar and butter later…and they are still a little green, but yummy enough.

  this is why i cook for me. i make me happy very easily.

  i read “Tuesdays with Morrie”

  i have figured out i need “light” books to read regularly. you know…like “Anne of Green Gables”–things that make you feel happy and simple and light afterwards. like…pretty. movies like “Stardust” or “Princess Bride”…yeah. Like “Tuesdays with Morrie.”

  Morrie had lots to say before he died…because he was dying. there. i gave away the whole book. don’t you hate me now? not really.

  “…The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

  “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”

  “Death ends a life, not a relationship.”

  (When asked if he could go back–before the sickness began killing him) “No way i could go back. i am a different self now. i’m different in my attitudes. different appriciating my body, which i didn’t do fully before. i’m different in terms of trying to grapple with the big questions, the ones that won’t go away. That’s the important thing, you see. once you get your fingers on the important questions, you can’t turn away from them.” (and what are they?) “As i see it, they have to do with love, responsibility, spirituality, awareness. and if i were healthy today, those would still be my issues. they should have been all along. “

  (when asked what he would do if he were healthy, just for one day) “I’d get up in the morning, do my exercises, have a lovely breakfast of sweet rolls and tea, go for a swim, then have my friends come over for a nice lunch. i’d have them come one or two at a time so we could talk about their families, their issues, talk about how much we mean to each other. Then i’d go for a walk, in a garden with some trees, watch their colors, watch the birds, and take in the nature i haven’t seen in so long now. In the evening, we’d all go together to a restaurant with some great pasta, maybe some duck–i love duck–and then we’d dance the rest of the night. i’d dance with all the wonderful dance partners out there, until i was exhausted. and then i’d go home and have a deep, wonderful sleep.” (that’s it? it was so simple. i was actually a little disappointed. i figured he’d fly to Italy or have lunch with the president…after all these months, lying there, unable to move–how could he find perfection in such an average day? then i realized this was the whole point.)

  “In buisness, people negotiate to win. they negotiate to get what they want. maybe you’re used to that. love is different. love is when you are as concerned about someone else’s situation as you are about your own.”

  “Love each other or die.”

  Then the author closes with this: “Have you ever really had a teacher? one who saw you as a raw but precious thing, a jewel that, with wisdom, could be polished to a proud shine? if you are lucky enough to find your way to such teachers, you will always find your way back.”

  • 4:53 pm
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