Musings

First of all, it's nice to be back from my surgery induced hiatus. I'm still a little cranky around the edges, but it is getting better. And let me say, as you've probably noticed, this posting is a small novel, and it contains spirtual musings spawned in part by a television show. You are under no obligation whatsover to read any further.

Last night was the series finale of Lost. Now I know most of y'all aren't Lost fans, but thinking about the show today reminded me of some very valuable things, so I'll try to express that without losing those who haven't watched the show.

Now I don't entirely agree with Lost's moral and spiritual cosmology, but I had some cool spiritually oriented thoughts as a result of last night's show. Over the last season the show has presented two story lines, one with the characters in a good vs. evil battle for survival on a the island and the other with them leading semi-idyllic lives. In this "idyllic" otherworldly scenario the characters often had all of the things that they (and I would guess most of us) supposedly really wanted: comfort, love, luck, acceptance, success, a chance to "do-over" some of the bad choices of life etc.

While I don't know that it's what the writer's intended it felt a little like a skewed version of It's a Wonderful Life, with all of the characters living out their "If only..." scenarios; i.e. "If only I had a chance to be a cop instead of a criminal" or "If only I could have been lucky instead of unlucky" and for all of the characters on Lost, "If only I hadn't wound up on that crappy little island."

Then something happened (I'll spare you the details) and every character had the chance to remember their real lives on the island. In spite of how seemingly better their otherworldly lives were, and in spite of the fact that they all had horrible experiences on that island, all of them (save the most villainous character) reacted to remembering their island lives not with horror - but with joy. Each of the characters remembered not the terrible things, but the wonderful experiences and relationships that emerged from that period of difficulty.

So what does this have to do with me and my life? So often in my day to day life I have "if only" thoughts. "If only we had more money, or better jobs, or better weather. If only I had done a little better at this or that." Yet Lost made me think about the fact that the very best things in our lives often come from struggle or from paths we didn't expect or want to take.

In addition, I think that if we really do our best, when we look back over our lives, so much of what we remember isn't going to be the difficult things, but the amazing things, and we will see that the circumstances we thought were our "crappy little island" actually made our life the miracle that it was. Not that all that crappiness isn't difficult, but maybe thinking of it in the big picture can help us be a little more happy while we're dealing with it.

P.S. - And the sweet chubby guy, Hurley, became the master of the island universe. Chubby people of the world, unite!

Fun, Fun, Fun

This last weekend Tracy planned a really fun little mini-vacation for us and we went and did a lot of the things we've been wanting to do here in Salt Lake but hadn't ever made time for before. On Friday we went to a session at the Salt Lake Temple, which was an incredibly moving experience, and just what I needed.

On Saturday we went to Red Butte Gardens. Their trees and daffodils were in bloom and it was gorgeous. (Of course the most gorgeous thing in this picture is my husband.)

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On Saturday night we went to a play at the Desert Star Theater. They do musical parodies, this one was called Pirates of the Car-rib-bee-an and spoofed Pirates, Fiddler on the Roof, and My Fair Lady all at the same time. It was fun to laugh that much.

On Sunday we finally made it to Music and the Spoken Word at the Tabernacle. As Tracy put it, "You know it must be a Sunday approved activity when the Prophet is there." President Monson was there as well as Dallin H. Oaks. The choir and orchestra are like nothing else I've ever heard.




After Music and the Spoken Word we wandered around Temple Square taking a look at the spring flowers there as well.

It was a terrific weekend, and I'm grateful to have such an awesome husband!

Running Playlist Part II

Here's some more of my favorites:

-"Baby, I Love You" by Aretha Franklin
I have my husbands much superior music tastes to thank for this one.

-"Crazy for This Girl" Evan and Jaron
I think these very talented boys were casualties of the death of the boy band era, and any pop song featuring a cello gets extra points. Speaking of boy bands and cellos...

-"The Hardest Thing" by 98 Degrees
Anyone who's known me awhile had to expect Lachey Brothers & Co. to show up on this list eventually, and this was the song that started the madness.

Running Playlist Part 1

I officially closed my Princess Bride Quote of the Day blog today, I've been having trouble keeping up with my blogging lately so I thought I'd concentrate on this one.

So I thought I'd start a silly topic for myself, inspired by driving around in the nice spring weather with the windows down and the stereo blasting. I've noticed that there are a few songs that no matter my mood I almost never skip. And though my music taste isn't the most high-brow or cool it does give me something to blog about.

Today's entries are:

-"The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News
Cheesy yes, but fun and mushy and it reminds me of Michael J. Fox on a skateboard which is always worth a smile.

-"Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse
From the Twilight soundtrack, it's the song that's playing during the vampire baseball game. It tends to make me want to drive a little too fast, and always gives me some sort of odd confidence boost.

-"Superman Main Title" by John Williams or John Ottman, depending on the vintage. Whether it's my love of Superman or just how generally powerful and fun it is, this song always makes me happy

Hmmm...an unintended theme of movie soundtracks today.

Lost

This is not a philosophical post in any way shape or form, just another pop culture ramble.

Only four episodes of Lost to go. It's such a strangely intriguing show and I admit I'm going to miss it. It's odd, because I really do like the show, I'm always excited that it's Tuesday night, and yet once I've watched the latest episode I forget about it again until next week. For all it's fine points it seems to lack the addictive qualities of X-Files or Gilmore Girls. Or maybe I've lost some of my addicted qualities, that's a nice thought. Anyway, it gave me something to blog about for the day.

(And they better not kill off Hurley or Sawyer in these next four episodes, or I will be seriously annoyed.)

Civility

I've debated about posting a link to this, unwilling to add even a ripple to the raging political rapids that have often swirled around in my personal life, but some recent events have lead me to really value the council and perspective in this article.

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-mormon-ethic-of-civility

My favorite passage from this article is:

"So many of the habits and conventions of modern culture — ubiquitous media, anonymous and unsourced online participation, politicization of the routine, fractured community and family life — undermine the virtues and manners that make peaceful coexistence in a pluralist society possible. The fabric of civil society tears when stretched thin by its extremities. Civility, then, becomes the measure of our collective and individual character as citizens of a democracy. "

I know I need to work on this myself, but I would hope that everyone, especially those of us who strive to be disciples of Christ would remember that no matter the forum or the medium (or how high profile the person being discussed) we are always talking to and/or about our brothers and sisters.

It must be spring

I flew a kite and bought new Crocs today. Yippee!