Always in Vogue

One of my favorite novels and most intriguing and respected authors has reached a silver anniversary today, and I couldn’t let it go unnoticed on the blog.  Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is celebrating fifty years since being released in 1960, earning three Academy Awards for the film starring Gregory Peck in 1963 and having earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1961.

(Nelle Harper Lee in the balcony of the courtroom in Monroeville, Alabama, where her father, A.C. Lee, regularly tried his cases.)

Many people wonder why she hasn’t written a second novel, and while there is wide speculations (in fact, she did begin one and worked diligently to produce it), her sister Alice said simply that Nelle (Harper is her middle name) knew with her next work she would only go down with regards to success.  Maybe she’s right, who’s to say.  The production of her most successful novel took over ten years – rewritten three different times - each in a different point of view (the published version is in two points of view – first and third) and was said to be a tribute to her father who wasn’t too keen on her moving to New York City and abandoning her education of become a lawyer, as a way to show respect and proof that her idea to move to New York was not in vain.

I find myself coming across more and more people who have either named their child or their dog Scout due to their appreciation of the novel, many of them teachers, but not all. All of this focus on a novel that has provoked me to read subsequent books to further understand the theme and the author (Charles J. Shields’ Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee), as well as literary critiques caused me to come to the conclusion (one I have always been aware of, but maybe never truly expressed) - that being well-read will never go out of style. Consider this quality the little black dress of life if you will.

“Fashion fades, only style remains,” is one of the many timeless and true aphorisms uttered by Coco Chanel, and it is applicable beyond the confines of the fashion industry. A woman (or a man) will continue to be intriguing far beyond their beautiful facade if they continue to fill their mind with voluptuous amounts of the written word.  Whether it be a classic here and there, followed by a quick beach read, and don’t forget the articles in numerous well-respected magazines and journals, newspapers, worthwhile internet articles, the list could go on and on.

Needless to say, read. Carry a book in your purse at all times for those moments when you are waiting in the doctor’s office, or stuck in traffic.  Read, learn, soak up all sorts of varying perspectives so that when you do come to a conclusion, you’ve done so with an open mind.

And of course, your cocktail party chit chat will never be lacking.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

 

Images: (1) Source (2) Source  (3) Source (4) Source (5) We Heart It (6) Source

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

Uniquely Perfect

 

“You have to choose your

combination carefully. 

The right choices

will enhance your quilt. 

The wrong choices

will dull the colors,

hide their original beauty. 

There are no rules you can follow. 

You have to go by instinct,

and you have to be brave.”

 (How to Make an American Quilt movie – 1995)

Every day, each one of us steps out into the world with the intention to create a better life for ourselves, to contribute to the world.  How each one of us does this, however, is unique.  How much easier would it be if we only had to follow in someone else’s footsteps, similar to a connect-the-dots instruction manual, and viola, the perfect life would be laid out in front of us?  I have no doubt that the perfect life would be laid out for us if we followed such a path, but it wouldn’t be our definition of perfect; it wouldn’t be perfect for us.

There have been so many times when I just wanted to look up to somebody, to pattern my life after someone else who I admired so I wouldn’t have to worry about making mistakes, being made a fool, being laughed at, but what I’ve come to realize, as I remind myself to snap out of it, is that I wouldn’t want to follow someone else, I don’t want to be somebody else.  The word I want to bring your attention to is the word follow.

It is always easier to follow than to lead or venture out on your own, but no one by the name of Amelia Earhart, Nelle Harper Lee, Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Will Smith, Bill Gates or Audrey Hepburn ever wished to be just like someone else because if they had, we wouldn’t recognize their names as people of respectable talent, courage, style or innovation.

Our lives are indeed similar to assembling a quilt.  Many pieces will be considered, but not all will be included in the final product. You will know sometimes immediately when someone or something(a job, a home, a town) doesn’t quite fit in your quilt, and sometimes it will take time for this piece to stick out like a sore thumb and reveal that it is not something that will strengthen the final product and, therefore, must be removed.  And guaranteed, it will take courage to remove it if it has been there for a while, but the extraction must happen.

It is up to the quilter to be continually adjusting, searching and demanding that those certain pieces must be found that will make their quilt the highest of quality.  Take, for example, the image of the sophisticated bathroom above. A theme was determined, but the pieces didn’t come in a kit, the designer had to seek out the exact items.  It is not to say that some other lovely furniture and lighting fixtures existed, they just didn’t fit as well in this particular room.

Good luck on your journey this week to build your quilt.  You have the talent, and there will be times that you are discouraged, but you will find what you are looking for if you venture out on your own.

Have a wonderful week!

Image: Things That Inspire