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If you only had one year to live...

A friend of mine recently suffered an incident that made her rethink her priorities in life. In our phone conversation, she reiterated that old saying, "you only have one life to live" (variations include: "you only live once"). Safety, security, and pre-planning fool us into thinking that we have to make money now, set up the foundation now so that we can really LIVE and ENJOY our lives later. But when I ask a few of my coworkers what they would do if they only had a year to live, they tell me "quit my job," "spend more time with family," "travel," "try out acting," etc. Those responses reveal their true passions and real desires. How would our world and our lives look if we actually took the risk to live passionately? I think there would be a significantly lower number of people in need of anti-depressants and stress reducers. Maybe our divorce rate would go down. Maybe the US would cease to be the richest nation in the world and instead gain fame as the happiest nation in the world. Wishful thinking? Definitely.

Decoupage

Decoupage: the art of decorating surfaces by applying cutouts (as of paper) and then coating with usually several layers of finish (as lacquer or varnish)
At 11 o'clock on Wednesday night, I peeled dried glue and bits of torn tissue paper from my hands. As much as it irks me that every women's get-together in church settings always HAS to involve chocolate or crafts (as if women were only capable of eating sweets and making frilly little domestic things while the men get to play basketball, go backpacking, and do the more adventurous, fun things!), this decoupage activity itself was fairly enjoyable. It brought me back to kindergarten days of macaroni skeletons and construction paper projects; looking through old issues of National Geographic for pictures of pandas and tigers to put on my collage. I tried out the little decoupaged glass candle holder that I had made, and it actually looked quite nice. Some of the glue was still a little damp underneath (because of the layers and layers of glue that I had smacked on with a thick sponge brush), but I liked the textures of the crinkled tissue paper; reminded me of handmade paper and paper mache.
Ok, next project: let's solder something, girls! Let's not conform to the prissy stereotype!

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

This word is actually in Wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
I watched Mary Poppins last night for the first time in my life. Even though I'm not a big fan of television musicals (it's completely absurd that anyone would break out in song in real life!), I actually found this one kind of fun by the middle of the movie. I even learned a new word to use when you have nothing to say: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I can think of many moments where I've been at loss at what to say, when a friend tells you they're attending two funerals this week; when a coworker tells you he's not doing anything for Thanksgiving because his kids are with their mom and other members of his family are all out of the country; when a good friend tells you he's still in love with your best friend (who you know has already moved on and does not love him); and so forth. That's the magic of Mary Poppins, it infuses life with a bit of whimsy and glee in moments of uncertainty and dire sobriety.