desiderata.

Alison sent this poem, Desiderata, to me and Emily yesterday. I read it again this morning when I was drinking my coffee and it is really poignant. And turns out this poem by Max Ehrman is well known. Written in 1927 and translated to, "things that are desired". The last line was really important to set the tone of my day...."with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."

The Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrman

barred up.

Ben finished taking the Bar today! Hallelujah! I am a proud girlfriend but my bias is not relevant to the truth of how hard he has worked. Congrats to all who just finished (including of course Emmy, Friedman, Aaron and Charlie) and cheers!

(I took this photo of Ben in Ann Arbor his first semester of law school...i love it. And him....)

enya.

We got to talking about Enya at some point in January with some friends, and I finally got around to adding some of my Enya back on to my iphone last week. Remember Enya? Amazing. I forgot how much I love her!

our man in africa.

I read this piece in Foreign Policy, Our Man in Africa, a couple weeks ago and it has been in my brain ever since. It is fascinating and interesting and current. The connections with Libya, regional spillover, and policy consequences decades later are startling and yet so obvious. The focus on post-conflict reconciliaton and justice are laid out incredily well - not to mention the horrors that Habre led and the fact that Brody has made this his life's work to hold him accountable. Quite a read - highly recommend it!

shoo-fly.

Guess what I found out at the doctor's office today? First, let me remind everyone about Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore. Remember a couple years ago when I wrote about it. No? Click here for a refresher. And then a couple months later, we went to check it out and it was awesome. Still no? Click here for that refresher. We also went back again with Ben's parents since. We love it.

Now, getting to the point, today at the doctor's office, I found out about the Shoo-Fly Diner! Same owners as Woodberry Kitchen but this time it is a modern diner! Are they specifically opening up restaurants to make me come to Baltimore? Because we will be headed up there again stat to get our fill on it. From all the pictures I have seen so far it is a lot of wood and metal (kind of like Woodberry). Love it!

fortune teller.

My sister and Yuri crack me up sometimes. I love them. They add randomness into my life that I really don't get from anyone else. For my birthday, they sent me home-made fortune cookies. Dipped in chocolate! I am not sure why fortune cookies...but they wrote out the fortunes themselves. We couldn't get a lot of the fortunes out of the cookies because of the way they baked but Olivia sent me the list this morning and they made me laugh out loud.

birthday love.

I survived my 30th birthday...and just to fill you up with a bundle of love and smiles and just general happiness - here are Stella and Djuna and Hannah with the best birthday message I have watched it several times over and it melts my heart every time! (Quick clarification: I did not send Stella a present in celebration of my birthday so I am not sure what she is talking about. But note to self, that would have been a very loving thing to do as her aunt).

read up.

It's been a while. In full disclosure, I have been tiring of this blog and debating its future. For now, this just means intermittent posting, I guess that will keep all of you, my many dedicated readers on their toes...

Speaking of reading...I am about to finish The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. And, I was beyond thrilled last week to hear that one of my favorite, favorite authors, Edwidge Danticat, put out a new book. I called Kramer's bookstore five minutes later to have them hold me a copy of Claire of the Sea Light. I'll let you know how it is but in my experience, Danticat never fails to move me. And book club chose Behind the Beautiful Forevers as our next read. I started it last week as well and it is making me wonder constantly about India now...

And you? Any great recommendations?