When I interviewed Cameron Crowe late last year, he told me that "life is in the in-between moments."
He was talking about the moments, as depicted in many of his films, where characters will simply look at one another without saying anything. Where there are no distractions, nothing to get in the way of simple human existence. The in-between moments are the moments where nothing seems to happen.
Modern life has become a constant, unending stream of information and activity. PDAs, cell phones, laptops, text messages, GPS, MP3 players, wifi, RSS news aggregators... Industry has perfected the art of finding ever-quickening means of gathering new information. Do we ever slow down enough to absorb any of it?
Life blurs past us because we take on too many responsibilities or try to be too many things to too many different people, and each day must be filled with more activities than the last. That's not living. That's running.
When was the last time you sat with a friend or family member in pure silence, and just absorbed their presence? When was the last time an embrace substituted for an entire conversation? When was the last time you ate a meal and took the time to savor it? When was the last time you sat still long enough to hear God's voice?
Don't miss those in-between moments. Seek them out. Life will find you there.
- Robin Parrish
Friday, March 24, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
random chaos
I'm in a random mood so here comes some junk you probably could have lived your life without, but maybe it'll help you pick the winning lottery numbers... and then I only request 10%...
1. Candace Parker dunked twice in a game today. Fourth woman to dunk in a college game, first woman to dunk in a NCAA tournament game, and first woman to dunk twice in a game. I have mixed feelings about the dunk. It drives me insane when some people write off women's basketball because there isn't dunking... I don't think the sport needs it to be entertaining or competitive... I love that CP shocked everyone winning the McDonalds high school dunk competition two years ago and I love that people can stop bugging her about when she's going to dunk... she did it... twice... and it was sweet!
2. I was easily irritated this weekend... and I knew it. Who slows down at a green light just waiting for it to turn yellow... of course it does... and then slams on their brakes to stop for the yellow light even when they had plenty of time to keep going? Who opens their window a mile before the bridge toll only to freeze the rest of us out? Who says they're trying to see what something is and when I tell them they get mad? Who questions if a dvd will work in a dvd player because it has a hole in the middle (ok that one's not irritating as much as it is just funny)?
3. My computer has a bug in it. I don't know a lot about spyware/malware or whatever you're supposed to call it, but I think I've run every free software possible and have submitted myself to the techie gods of some forum to tell me how to remove the stupid thing. On the bright side my computer still works and I haven't lost any files so I should be grateful I only have to deal with security warnings and porn pop-ups right?
4. There are a bunch of first graders in viriginia who think I played basketball at the University of Tennessee... haha ok that one just makes my day!
5. I am currently tied for third in my office's tournament bracket challenge, however my future does not look bright as only 5 of my predicted elite 8 are remaining with plenty of opportunities for upsets between now and then. Go Zags!
6. I read a bulletin about this kid that was in love with his best friend and never told her because he thought she didn't think of him like that. She got married and then passed away... at her funeral he found out she had written a journal in high school or something about how she loved him but didn't think he felt the same way. I suppose it's trying to tell you to lay it all out there... and in that case it's pretty obvious to see they should have done that... but where's the bulletin about the kid that told his/her best friend and then their friendship was all weirded out or they tried to date and everything ended in a mess. I think it's a good story... but I don't think we can forget the alternate endings.
7. I have barely more than a month to get in shape for that highly anticipated alumni game at methco. Before Chris threatens my life... yes I'm running... is it pretty... no... but I think I needed an excuse to get moving. (Thank goodness the girl scout cookies have finally been eaten and removed from storefronts across America!)
8. I was going to try to go to 12 because I like that number and it felt like an even dozen... but I'm getting lengthy and running out of wit... if I even had any to start with. I hope you have a great week...
1. Candace Parker dunked twice in a game today. Fourth woman to dunk in a college game, first woman to dunk in a NCAA tournament game, and first woman to dunk twice in a game. I have mixed feelings about the dunk. It drives me insane when some people write off women's basketball because there isn't dunking... I don't think the sport needs it to be entertaining or competitive... I love that CP shocked everyone winning the McDonalds high school dunk competition two years ago and I love that people can stop bugging her about when she's going to dunk... she did it... twice... and it was sweet!
2. I was easily irritated this weekend... and I knew it. Who slows down at a green light just waiting for it to turn yellow... of course it does... and then slams on their brakes to stop for the yellow light even when they had plenty of time to keep going? Who opens their window a mile before the bridge toll only to freeze the rest of us out? Who says they're trying to see what something is and when I tell them they get mad? Who questions if a dvd will work in a dvd player because it has a hole in the middle (ok that one's not irritating as much as it is just funny)?
3. My computer has a bug in it. I don't know a lot about spyware/malware or whatever you're supposed to call it, but I think I've run every free software possible and have submitted myself to the techie gods of some forum to tell me how to remove the stupid thing. On the bright side my computer still works and I haven't lost any files so I should be grateful I only have to deal with security warnings and porn pop-ups right?
4. There are a bunch of first graders in viriginia who think I played basketball at the University of Tennessee... haha ok that one just makes my day!
5. I am currently tied for third in my office's tournament bracket challenge, however my future does not look bright as only 5 of my predicted elite 8 are remaining with plenty of opportunities for upsets between now and then. Go Zags!
6. I read a bulletin about this kid that was in love with his best friend and never told her because he thought she didn't think of him like that. She got married and then passed away... at her funeral he found out she had written a journal in high school or something about how she loved him but didn't think he felt the same way. I suppose it's trying to tell you to lay it all out there... and in that case it's pretty obvious to see they should have done that... but where's the bulletin about the kid that told his/her best friend and then their friendship was all weirded out or they tried to date and everything ended in a mess. I think it's a good story... but I don't think we can forget the alternate endings.
7. I have barely more than a month to get in shape for that highly anticipated alumni game at methco. Before Chris threatens my life... yes I'm running... is it pretty... no... but I think I needed an excuse to get moving. (Thank goodness the girl scout cookies have finally been eaten and removed from storefronts across America!)
8. I was going to try to go to 12 because I like that number and it felt like an even dozen... but I'm getting lengthy and running out of wit... if I even had any to start with. I hope you have a great week...
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
friends
Random babble begins... now... We have different kinds of friends... some are probably more like acquaintances and others are probably more like familiy. Some we've known since childhood and the friendship changes over time and others we just met but feel like we've known forever. There are some friends who you only talk to a couple of times a year, maybe less, but every time you do it's like nothing has changed and there are the others where everything seems to have changed in a few short months. We have friends we see every day but don't really "know" them and the others are what keep us going through the week because they know our soul.
My cell phone contacts, my e-mail address book have both grown longer over the years, but that inner circle of trust just grows closer. I know who will be there in the middle of the night when I'm stressing. I know who would drive hours to see me even if it was inconvenient. I know who writes the best e-mails for a good pick-me-up. I know who understands me even when I don't. I also know who would be the first to volunteer to give me a place to stay if I drive through their town. I know who would be the first to rehash high school memories and remember every detail about every embarassing thing I did. I know that with all of my friends I have some connection whether it be a school we went to, a place we worked, a mutual friend or just that perfectly timed meeting that was anything but a coincidence.
Myspace "friends" are weird because it combines all of the above. Some are people we haven't even met. Others are people we never thought we'd hear from again. Sometimes we do the quick catch up and others we add them to our friend bank and don't even plan to talk to other than stalking their page (that picture is hideous... they still talk to her... they're married... they said what on his page...). Some people are ones we are thankful myspace has given us a new place to reconvene and myspace will probably be the only form of communication. Others are friends that we don't need myspace to keep in touch but they add another element to your "space" (basically to comment).
Who knew that we used to be able to communicate without myspace, IM, e-mail or cell phones? How did friendships survive?
My cell phone contacts, my e-mail address book have both grown longer over the years, but that inner circle of trust just grows closer. I know who will be there in the middle of the night when I'm stressing. I know who would drive hours to see me even if it was inconvenient. I know who writes the best e-mails for a good pick-me-up. I know who understands me even when I don't. I also know who would be the first to volunteer to give me a place to stay if I drive through their town. I know who would be the first to rehash high school memories and remember every detail about every embarassing thing I did. I know that with all of my friends I have some connection whether it be a school we went to, a place we worked, a mutual friend or just that perfectly timed meeting that was anything but a coincidence.
Myspace "friends" are weird because it combines all of the above. Some are people we haven't even met. Others are people we never thought we'd hear from again. Sometimes we do the quick catch up and others we add them to our friend bank and don't even plan to talk to other than stalking their page (that picture is hideous... they still talk to her... they're married... they said what on his page...). Some people are ones we are thankful myspace has given us a new place to reconvene and myspace will probably be the only form of communication. Others are friends that we don't need myspace to keep in touch but they add another element to your "space" (basically to comment).
Who knew that we used to be able to communicate without myspace, IM, e-mail or cell phones? How did friendships survive?
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