Friday, December 30, 2011
Resolutions
Friday, December 23, 2011
Books to Read - (free online!)
This is the beginning of a list of
books that are available for free online that I would like to read (or
reread). I also believe that this is an important part of my
education. So, here's to reading! Let's see how long it takes me to
work through this list.
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Walden by Henry David Thoreau
- Utopia by Thomas More
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
- Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
- This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare
- The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
- The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
- The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
- The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Republic by Plato
- The Odyssey by Homer
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
- The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
- The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
- The Iliad by Homer
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
- The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- The Aeneid by Virgil
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
- Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
- Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
- Silas Marner by George Eliot
- Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
- Poetics by Aristotle
- Poems by T.S. Eliot
- Paradise Lost by John Milton
- Othello by William Shakespeare
- Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles
- Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad
- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- Metamorphoses by Ovid
- Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
- Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth
- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
- Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
- King Richard II by William Shakespeare
- King Lear by William Shakespeare
- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
- Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
- Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
- Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheri
- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
- Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
- Common Sense by Thomas Paine
- Candide by Voltaire
- Beowulf
- As You Like It by William Shakespeare
- Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Reading Daily - my self-education
During this past week that I've had a break from teaching, I've been able to do more reading than I have in a while. It's been great. I'm doing reading about education and learning for my international teaching certificate and I'm also reading a couple novels. I'm actually reading three books in a digital format and another in a real -paper in your hands- format. It's great!!
The site that I discovered recently, which I'm really excited about, is called DailyLit which sends you a new chapter or part of a chapter daily of any of the books on their site. It's a great idea and I have found myself reading more because of it! Another tool similar to this is receiving parts of the Bible (if you want to read through the Bible) to an RSS feed or your email every day from the ESV site.
I think that having a "real" book will always be something I like.
Nevertheless, there are so many books that you can read for free in a
digital format it seems to me that before I purchase any new "real"
books. I should work my way through this list of books that I can get
for free and the books I already own but haven't found the time to read
yet.
Zechariah's Prophecy
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
(Luke 1:67-80 ESV)
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
(Luke 1:67-80 ESV)
Vacation
Me imagino que todos tienen aquellas actividades que los inspiran. Para mi es caminar, conversar, leer, escuchar música, cocinar, y aquellas pequeñas cosas que se pueden hacer con las manos. Después de inspirar... hay cosas que me emocionan como conocer lugares nuevos, ir a conciertos de música, apreciar arte en un museo, pero no es lo mismo que las cosas que me inspiran, es decir, me llenan por dentro y me dan ganas de vivir.
Hace exactamente una semana empezó un pequeño descanso en la mitad de nuestro año escolar. La verdad es que los primeros cuatro días se sintieron ocupadas y ajetreadas, el quinto día fué el día que estuve en casa y aparte de descansar tuvimos que limpiar todo, y no fué hasta el sexto día que pude empezar a realmente hacer algunas de las cosas que yo considero própias de descansar y de vacaciones. Tengo que hacer algo para que en el futuro no demore tanto para entrar en el estando de "descanso".
Lo que representa esto para mi, es poder levantarme --un poco temprano-- salir a caminar con Jolie, desayunar, meditar un poco en alguna lectura bíblica, ordenar la casa un poquito, leer un poco de algún tema relacionado a mis estudios, leer una novela, leer un poco más, cocinar el almuerzo mientras escucho música, salir a caminar con Jolie, leer un poco más... y por allí va mezclandose un poco de intentar tocar la guitarra, jugar algún juego con mi esposo, tal vez intentar hacer un poco de origami, pensar en sembrar algunas flores en la maceta que tenemos afuera, y sentarme en la puerta mirando el paisaje con Jolie y Opi --estas son mis vacaciones ideales.
Y lo lindo de pasar tiempo leyendo, apreciando la naturaleza, caminando con Jolie (y mi esposo), cocinando, escuchando música... es que son todas las cosas que me inspiran y me llevan a tener algo que escribirle a mis amigos o aquí en este blog. Claro, cuanto pueda me encantaría alguna caminata en las montañas o un día en la playa pero, aunque un escape así puede ser una buena manera de cambiar el enfoque, estar en casa y llenarme de ideas y sueños es la mejor manera de renovarme.
(Ariel va a sonreir cuando lea esto porque él sabe que aunque todo esto es cierto vivo con una especie de inquietud constante que convierte todas mis lecturas, actividades y pensamientos en un perpetuo deseo de ir a algún lugar nuevo y hacer algo, nunca alcanzo la paz interior que tanto anhelo.)
Hace exactamente una semana empezó un pequeño descanso en la mitad de nuestro año escolar. La verdad es que los primeros cuatro días se sintieron ocupadas y ajetreadas, el quinto día fué el día que estuve en casa y aparte de descansar tuvimos que limpiar todo, y no fué hasta el sexto día que pude empezar a realmente hacer algunas de las cosas que yo considero própias de descansar y de vacaciones. Tengo que hacer algo para que en el futuro no demore tanto para entrar en el estando de "descanso".
Lo que representa esto para mi, es poder levantarme --un poco temprano-- salir a caminar con Jolie, desayunar, meditar un poco en alguna lectura bíblica, ordenar la casa un poquito, leer un poco de algún tema relacionado a mis estudios, leer una novela, leer un poco más, cocinar el almuerzo mientras escucho música, salir a caminar con Jolie, leer un poco más... y por allí va mezclandose un poco de intentar tocar la guitarra, jugar algún juego con mi esposo, tal vez intentar hacer un poco de origami, pensar en sembrar algunas flores en la maceta que tenemos afuera, y sentarme en la puerta mirando el paisaje con Jolie y Opi --estas son mis vacaciones ideales.
Y lo lindo de pasar tiempo leyendo, apreciando la naturaleza, caminando con Jolie (y mi esposo), cocinando, escuchando música... es que son todas las cosas que me inspiran y me llevan a tener algo que escribirle a mis amigos o aquí en este blog. Claro, cuanto pueda me encantaría alguna caminata en las montañas o un día en la playa pero, aunque un escape así puede ser una buena manera de cambiar el enfoque, estar en casa y llenarme de ideas y sueños es la mejor manera de renovarme.
(Ariel va a sonreir cuando lea esto porque él sabe que aunque todo esto es cierto vivo con una especie de inquietud constante que convierte todas mis lecturas, actividades y pensamientos en un perpetuo deseo de ir a algún lugar nuevo y hacer algo, nunca alcanzo la paz interior que tanto anhelo.)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
And now I ask you,
...dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
(2 John 1:5 ESV)
(2 John 1:5 ESV)
Satisfaction
I have always wanted to be satisfied with what I have. It's ironic, I'm not even satisfied with my level of satisfaction. There are many things in my life that I would like to change, improve, even get rid of. The main thing I would like to improve in myself is my ability to be satisfied no matter what my circumstances might be. It is by far the hardest thing for me to do.
I aspire to not live based on what other people think of me or trying to live up to other people's expectations but solely based on what I believe are the essentials of life. Essentials such as peace, love, and mercy.
Not too long ago I was speaking to a friend who has developed a disciplined habit of meditating for long periods of time --seriously spending time in silence without distractions for at least an hour every day. I don't know if I could realistically do that but, I do think that there is something very valuable in that habit. I think that if I spent 30 minutes every day silently meditating, or peacefully praying, something amazing could happen. My priorities would be gently reoriented on a daily basis. That essential element of peace starts internally and I think that is probably one of the best ways to develop it.
Another habit that I believe is reorienting and helps me keep my heart and mind in a more satisfied space, is writing. It allows me to remember what I love, count all my blessings, and purge myself of so many restless thoughts. Writing here, writing on Contrapunto, writing to friends, and just writing for the sake of writing even though no one might ever read it. It cleans and focuses me on what I believe is true and good.
I've been thinking a lot about re-focusing that comes from spending time enjoying the beauty of nature and reading. Maybe even both of those things at the same time. Peaceful activity, when you live peacefully, your while life tends to calm itself down, even though everything around you might actually be rushing at an unsustainable pace. I think that more than just wishing that I were more content, I need to live in ways that inspire contentment and carefully avoid all that which inspires dissatisfaction.
The beauty of trying to reorient your life in the direction of love and mercy is that it forces you gently to take your mind off of yourself and spend your energy considering the needs of others. This is one of the main reasons that I want to try to re-order my understanding of the purpose of money. Or of my money at least. Thinking of what I have in terms of how I can help those who are in need as opposed to only helping myself. This is probably one of my most profound challenges. I want to do so many things that I cannot do because I am limited financially, but I have also been able to do SO many things because I am also blessed financially (even if it doesn't always feel like it). When I think of those who might not be able to finish elementary school because they don't have enough resources, suddenly my needs seem petty and gratitude grows where there used to be dissatisfaction. It only really remains, however, when I seek to do something about it. I think that sometimes contentment might be born out of generosity.
I think the part of my life that most inspires and confuses me is that of "work". The work that must be done to survive and sometimes done because you love to do it. It's confusing because it is the one activity in my life that I MUST do and it is the one activity that I find most draining and often least satisfying. It is not satisfying often because it seems like a rush of activity with little reflection, overwhelming expectations that I'm afraid of not living up to. This is the one area of my life that I feel like I have stated expectations from other, I am constantly being evaluated by others, it seems terribly difficult to keep up with what is expected of me and it is in this area of my life that I have not figured out how to cultivate satisfaction. Why is it that what we must do becomes exactly that which takes the life out of everything we do?
I guess what I'm saying is that I would like to spend more time meditating, more time writing, more time in nature, more time reading, more time giving, and less time worrying about what other people are going to think of who I am and what I do. This is hard, so hard but, I believe it is good, so good.
I aspire to not live based on what other people think of me or trying to live up to other people's expectations but solely based on what I believe are the essentials of life. Essentials such as peace, love, and mercy.
Not too long ago I was speaking to a friend who has developed a disciplined habit of meditating for long periods of time --seriously spending time in silence without distractions for at least an hour every day. I don't know if I could realistically do that but, I do think that there is something very valuable in that habit. I think that if I spent 30 minutes every day silently meditating, or peacefully praying, something amazing could happen. My priorities would be gently reoriented on a daily basis. That essential element of peace starts internally and I think that is probably one of the best ways to develop it.
Another habit that I believe is reorienting and helps me keep my heart and mind in a more satisfied space, is writing. It allows me to remember what I love, count all my blessings, and purge myself of so many restless thoughts. Writing here, writing on Contrapunto, writing to friends, and just writing for the sake of writing even though no one might ever read it. It cleans and focuses me on what I believe is true and good.
I've been thinking a lot about re-focusing that comes from spending time enjoying the beauty of nature and reading. Maybe even both of those things at the same time. Peaceful activity, when you live peacefully, your while life tends to calm itself down, even though everything around you might actually be rushing at an unsustainable pace. I think that more than just wishing that I were more content, I need to live in ways that inspire contentment and carefully avoid all that which inspires dissatisfaction.
The beauty of trying to reorient your life in the direction of love and mercy is that it forces you gently to take your mind off of yourself and spend your energy considering the needs of others. This is one of the main reasons that I want to try to re-order my understanding of the purpose of money. Or of my money at least. Thinking of what I have in terms of how I can help those who are in need as opposed to only helping myself. This is probably one of my most profound challenges. I want to do so many things that I cannot do because I am limited financially, but I have also been able to do SO many things because I am also blessed financially (even if it doesn't always feel like it). When I think of those who might not be able to finish elementary school because they don't have enough resources, suddenly my needs seem petty and gratitude grows where there used to be dissatisfaction. It only really remains, however, when I seek to do something about it. I think that sometimes contentment might be born out of generosity.
I think the part of my life that most inspires and confuses me is that of "work". The work that must be done to survive and sometimes done because you love to do it. It's confusing because it is the one activity in my life that I MUST do and it is the one activity that I find most draining and often least satisfying. It is not satisfying often because it seems like a rush of activity with little reflection, overwhelming expectations that I'm afraid of not living up to. This is the one area of my life that I feel like I have stated expectations from other, I am constantly being evaluated by others, it seems terribly difficult to keep up with what is expected of me and it is in this area of my life that I have not figured out how to cultivate satisfaction. Why is it that what we must do becomes exactly that which takes the life out of everything we do?
I guess what I'm saying is that I would like to spend more time meditating, more time writing, more time in nature, more time reading, more time giving, and less time worrying about what other people are going to think of who I am and what I do. This is hard, so hard but, I believe it is good, so good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)