Food for thought...

I was thinking about the whole word thing again.  And I of course was trying to figure out a way in which I could find or discover my word...  I actually asked a random lady at work today, (note: I haven't known her very long, like two maybe three weeks, she is in her 40's though) "when you look at me... really look at me... what is the first word that comes to your mind?"
For those of you who think this is a weird question to ask basically a complete stranger, well I will agree with you.  But here is what I was thinking... Who you are... on the inside, like your core self, could it be more easily noticed or well recognized by a person who doesn't know you, a person who has no real opinion or history with you?...  You know how they say that your first impression means everything, or at least it's really really important.  Well, along those lines are what I believed might be a way of interpreting or alluding to one's word.
And her answer... was Passion.
I asked her why she chose that word and she said it was simple, "She could see a passionate soul through my eyes."  What drove that passion or what was it's source she did not know.
So how about that folks?  I personally do not think that is my word... or maybe it is, but if it was your word, don't you think that you would be able to recognize it... at least in some fashion?

Commited... Do you really know what that means?

Because it's me, as soon as I finished Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, I had to jump right into the sequel Committed - A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage.  And you know how older people warn you to look before you leap... well I didn't look, and kinda got smacked in the face by this book.  Not literally of course, but that kinda thing where it digs up old thoughts that you haven't touched in years and shakes you up now that you are looking at them kinda wack in the face.  Needless to say I was going through a sporadic range of emotions and ideas while reading this book, mostly because it was pissing me off because it was making me reflect on my families numerous marriages, but was also bringing up some really good points and ideas that I agreed with,  so instead of putting it down and not looking at it, I kept reading.  I gotta give it to ya Elizabeth, you really hit it out of the park with this one, but I doubt they are going to turn it into a movie.
Any way, I like how she has separated each chapter with a different issue in regards to marriage. So Marriage and Surprises, Expectation, History, Infatuation, Women, Autonomy, Subversion, and Ceremony.  She discusses her issues with each topic, the history of the topic, how it relates to her and Felipe's relationship, and how it relates to the part of the world they are currently staying in at that time.  So no surprises when you actually realize that this is a book of a woman thinking about the entirety of marriage on paper....
Men, this might be good reading material for when you decide to take your relationships with women seriously... but word to the wise... digest it in baby steps... we don't want you to hurt yourselves.
Though I am saying this is a good book, I will not say that she covers all the bases when it comes to marriage.  Could you really do that in one book? Well, she doesn't and she also alludes to it that she can't and that that wasn't the point of the book anyway.  This is a book where a woman has literally discussed with herself and a few recorded conversation with other people about what marriage means to her and those around her and how she thinks it will affect her the second time in the ring... or well wearing the ring I guess. 
I think that marriage has always left a bitter taste in my mouth after watching both of my parents and a few uncles and aunts get married over and over again.  I will admit that at one point I swore to myself that I never wanted to get married, because I didn't want to be continuously sad like they were.  But then I was introduced to the romance novel and I saw other families outside of my own living happy, healthy lives as one marvelously functioning unit.(unlike my own)  I knew that my brothers and I got the shit end of the stick but that didn't mean it would always be that way.  Eventually we could go to college or move out of our parents homes and make our own trouble... life's cruel that way.  Though I do believe it is better for you to learn things the hard way yourself instead of in the shadow of someone else.  What I really want to get across here is that this book will make you think, not just about your experiences when it comes to or witnessing marriage, but also about what you want out of marriage.  Being committed...

Next blog post will discuss what it means to be Committed...

What Is Your Word?

So the girls and I recently decided to read Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat Pray Love and there was a section of the book which particularly struck a cord with me.  In the book Elizabeth, while in Italy, goes through a situation where she and her companions contemplate what a city/person/country's word is.  For example, when discussing the word for the Vatican, one might think FAITH, but instead the Italians explained it was POWER... and as a non-catholic I can see how it is power over faith.  Religion is a business first you know.  When you think of New York City, the words ACHIEVE and SUCCEED tingle the mind the most.  And then the punch line for the whole thing was that Rome's word was SEX, and Elizabeth was definitely not indulging in that word just yet.
But back to my point, when you really think of someone or someplace or something there is usually that word or set of words which helps you think of or describe said person/place/thing, right?  So one thought led to another and it got me wondering what was my word?
I am a daughter, sister, friend, lover, writer, reader, scholar, giver, researcher, but those words describe only a small part of me... what I am, what I do, but not who I am.  Now if your thinking anything along the same lines I did, you be tossing the ideas of how can you really pick one word to describe you? didn't it take a long period of time before people could really give it a word? who decides that word? me? my friends and family?
It's really a brain teaser ain't it?  Well, at this point in time I can't even come close to really thinking about my word, but I just thought I would throw that idea out there.

Happy reading folks.

 This looks like it would be a great thinking spot to contemplate that word.