Yet

"...believe that the sort of

life you wish to live is,

at this very moment,

just waiting for you

to summon it up.

And when you wish for it,

you begin moving toward it,

and it, in turn,

begins moving toward you."

-Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright)commencement address at Mount Holyoke  in South Hadley, Massachusetts, May 27, 2001

(Click here for the entire speech)

During this past weekend, I attended a graduation in our community. One student of the graduating class gave a short, but truthful speech regarding the need to hold applause and celebration because they’ve only just crossed the threshold to begin their journey toward what they have yet to accomplish, thus the term commencement.

I found great enlightenment in her words, and while I’m well aware that students have only been given the skills that they must now apply to attain their dreams, a simple three letter word – yet – summed it up quite nicely.  This reminder could be observed by anyone of any age.

*You haven’t reached your dreams . . . yet.

*You haven’t found your purpose . . . yet.

*You haven’t found contentment . . . yet.

With just one word, the implication is that we still have time if we choose to continue to strive for our goal.  The quote I chose for this week’s inspiration ties in nicely I feel with the concept of the word “yet”.  A dream doesn’t arrive at our doorstep; we aren’t presented dreams simply because we have dreamt them.  We have to work, and work hard, very hard, for what we want to achieve.  We have to persevere through many moments where it seems we have reached a obstacle that is too formidable to conquer.  We have to gather up all of our pride after it has been ripped from us at times and continue to press forward.  It is not too late.  We simply haven’t reached our goal . . . yet.

Three women come to my mind immediately that didn’t achieve great success immediately, but as a result of trying new things, never being deterred and following their passions, found great success and have three of the most recognized names today in the world of literature and cooking – Jane Austen, Nelle Harper Lee and Julia Child.

Jane Austen, after her first unsuccessful attempt to be published at the age of 22, finally published her first book, Sense and Sensibility at the age of 36.  Nelle Harper Lee, the famous author of To Kill A Mockingbird, went to New York to become a writer against her father’s wishes and spent ten years writing and rewriting what is now an American classic, publishing it at the age of 34. And the beloved Julia Child didn’t even enter cooking school until she was 36, and the cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking wasn’t published until 1966 when Julia was 54.  

So . . . go . . . don’t delay . . . because those dreams of yours will be achieved . . . but first you must put in the effort and have the undying passion to achieve them.

 "You must knock on doors

until your knuckles bleed.

Doors will slam in your face.

You must pick yourself up,

dust yourself off, and knock again.

It’s the only way

to achieve your goals in life."

-Michael Uslan (Movie Producer)commencement address at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana,  May 06, 2006

Click here for the entire speech

Images: (1)  Fab Sugar

The Nourishment of Books

Books for me are akin to a bank account overflowing with wealth. There is a genuine comfort in knowing that I have, within my reach, a book to get lost in or to learn from or even to simply gaze within all dependent on my mood. Whether it be a classic such as Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird or a tearful, but at the same time uplifting memoir like Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, there is tranquility in knowing I can always take my thoughts somewhere else.

During my days in graduate school, I came to realize that having a solitary book upon my bed stand was equal to having not one. I remember vividly my mentor's description of the many books beside her bed stand. "A book of every genre because I'm never quite sure what my mood will be at the end of the day. All I know for certain is that I will need a book to end it." I envisioned two or three stacks, or should I say piles, of books alongside her bed. Although I never saw it, her description was motivation enough for me to slowly begin to relinquish the least bit of guilt for having my own mini-library beside my bed.

Photo: Elle Decor

As the years have passed, my own pile has grown, shrunk and grown again, depending upon how quickly I keep up. Currently I have Muriel Barbery's Gourmet Rhapsody, Mireille Guiliano's French Women for All Seasons, Peter Mayle's Toujours Provence, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (the first cookbook I have ever read in bed!) and three other books from the library that looked interesting (I already know I'm going to have to exhaust all of my renewals).

Regardless of how many books I have or how many times I have read my favorites, the beauty of books is that there is always a plethora of new ones to explore. Maybe that's why books are such a comfort, because it is understood that they will always be there, dependable like a loyal pup. There is one new release in particular that I am anxious to get my hands on that becomes available tomorrow, and while it is sitting on my Amazon Wish List, I hope to have it sometime soon delivered to my door. For women who struggle, strive and hopefully succeed in having it all, I am curious to see how exactly she does it, Mika Brzezinski's All Things At Once. If anyone has read it and has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Here's to happy reading, and may you find exactly what you need at the end of your day sitting upon your bed stand tonight!