The Hunger Games ..& Subsequent Reflections

The title says it all. I just finished the second book in the Hunger Games series, and am seriously taken with Peeta Meelark - his ability to be a decent human being in the worst of times is a beautiful and admirable quality - something so lacking on the world today.

The book takes you through a whirl wind of emotions. It thrills you, makes you emotional, makes you yearn for love, makes you re-think all that yearning - one helluva rollercoaster to say the least!

But that's true for all amazing books. What really got me thinking in this particular one was the painful and honest realisation that I don't really have a life skill. I'd have been skewered in the Hunger Games in the first 61st second! (For the uninitiated - nobody could make a move in the first 60 seconds).

I have always had dreams to learn about the stars, and herbs! I ignored the entire Astronomy class that I was enrolled in at Coursera because I just didn't have the energy on weekdays - and was a lazy bum on weekends. After reading this book, I solemnly swear I am going to work on some real skills rather than ones that are of no use to man or beast. I was born with so many talents - I am a classically trained singer and dancer, I draw well (and I don't mean my doodles), I can write without making English teachers cringe, I am good with languages, and as mentioned before - I have the gift of the gab... And what do I do with all of this? Well .. not much.

Here's to an exciting weekend spent in Panem with the Hunger Games!

:)

This quote by Bruce Williamson makes me immensely happy for some reason!

The ever elusive goal

Happiness. It's supposed to be a choice, isn't it? Then why does one helplessly every now and then get sucked into other people's unhappy little black holes?! It was my resolution this year to not crib, not be unhappy for the heck of it, to count my blessings .. so on and so forth. I am a MUCH better person as far as this aspect of my life is concerned - but I'm still not quite there yet. Negativity - I know what it looks and feels like, and I try to build a wall between it and my soul - but it somehow manages to sneak in. You can't avoid negative people entirely - especially at work - especially in my office, but there's got to be a way of not letting it impact you. I need to be positive enough to change the atmosphere there, rather than letting it change me. I really do!

Maybe it's because I let my meditation sessions slip every now and then. Discipline discipline discipline! Whatever it is, I need to exercise my happiness choice far more that before. The world is too beautiful, and my life is too awesome to be unnecessarily sad about stupid things that don't matter within hours, forget years.

Anyhow, that's all for today's sermon. I had to get it out somewhere.

P.S. Random Fact: Shakespeare was swinging both ways - just found out today thanks to a biography of the great playwright that I'm in the midst of. Maybe it was because of the regressive tradition of the Brits to only allow men on stage that people in that era never really knew their orientation. God knows. Apparently the Earl of Sounthampton was a very effeminate and pretty young man. UK has come a long way from killing men found to be gay to legalising gay rights. More power to love in this world!