2 Movies, 2 Books & 1 New Mantra

February 5, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

As part of my attempt to live a more balanced life in 2013, I have given myself the assignment to watch 2 movies and to read 2 books each month. This is more difficult for me to do than you might imagine, but I’m giving it my best shot. Here is my January report.

2 Movies

Hachi, A Dog’s Tale – Delightful. The story of a college professor, the stray dog he found on a train platform and loyalty that goes on forever. Highly recommended if you like Richard Gere, fables and house porn. {have tissues nearby}

The Queen of Versailles – Compelling & whacked. This is a documentary about a ditzy woman and her billionaire husband who set out to build the largest residence in USA. Can you say conspicuous consumption? Can you say bad judgement? Can you say slobs? Highly recommended because, well– Whiskey Tango Foxtrot— you’ve never seen anything like this.

2 Books

13, rue Thérèse – Fascinating. On the surface, this is a novel about a college professor who finds a box filled with letter, photos and personal objects. He decides to document each item and to research the timeframe from which the objects came. What makes this novel so unique is that the author, Elena Maui Shapiro, who lived in an apartment building in Paris when she was a girl, inherited the objects when an older woman in the building died. Using these objects as a starting point, the author wrote this novel. Recommended if you like history and the idea that nothing is quite as it seems.

The Buddha Walks Into A Bar – Informative. It’s been a long time since I read a book about religion. This one, written by Lodro Rinzler, is quietly funny, well-researched and difficult to put down. I hesitate to call it personal development, but I suppose that’s the genre it fits in. I read it more as a refresher course on Buddhism than a how-to guide. Recommended if you’re feeling the need to think about life from a different point of view and be mindful.

1 New Mantra

A friend’s second grade daughter came home from school with a long, involved story about playground intrigue. My friend, who was making dinner as she listened to the story, said that she wasn’t absorbing the details. Instead, she was listening to the tone-of-voice. Eventually her daughter stopped talking and my friend realized that she needed to say something Mom-like. So she asked her daughter what she thought about all that had happened and her daughter, with a sigh, summed it up with: “People are silly.”

No truer words, my little one. And a perfect mantra about relationships, if you ask me.

In Which I Decide On A Word Of The Year. Finally.

January 5, 2013February 11, 2016 / Ally Bean / 18 Comments

I’ve been a laggard about choosing my one word of the year. This is because I’ve found myself caught up in the hype of picking the perfect word. A word that has a large overarching theme. A word that is unique, yet applicable to all facets of my life. A word that will make me kick ass in 2013.

I don’t know why it is that this year I got thinking like this, but I did. Even talking about it here I have to laugh at myself. I guess all I can tell you is that the gods of external validation invaded my brain and brought various forms of doubt with them. Hence, my inability to pick a word.

However, that is all behind me now. You see, I had a serious chat with myself and managed to decide on a word that I think will satisfy both my pragmatic thinking side and my holistic feeling side. The conversation, which may or may not have been out loud, went something like this:

Pragmatic Ally: It’s just a word, Ms. Bean. Get over yourself and pick one.

Holistic Ally: But I don’t know, for sure, if I’ll pick the best one. I need a sign of some sort so I’ll know that it is the. right. word.

Pragmatic Ally: Just do it. There’s your sign. Nike said so.

Holistic Ally: Okay, fine. Balance. I pick BALANCE. Like in New Balance. Which I like much better than Nike with their stupid swoosh.

Pragmatic Ally: Great choice. Well done. Now get out there and kick some ass!

Holistic Ally: But I don’t know how. How do ‘ya do that?

Pragmatic Ally: *sigh* Do I have to do everything for you? You start where you are right now, do your best and see where it goes. That’s how you do it.

Holistic Ally: Oh yeah. That’d work. Good idea. Thanks.

Pragmatic Ally: No problem.

… And so it came to be that my one word for 2013 will be BALANCE.

Realizing My Vision Without Flinging A Cow

November 30, 2012 / Ally Bean / 14 Comments

I loved Northern Exposure when it was on TV. One episode in particular, Burning Down The House, made a big impression on me. I still think about it.

In it, Chris decides to “create a pure moment” by: 1) building a trebuchet, & 2) choosing the perfect cow to fling from it.

But his plan stalls when he realizes that: 1) there is “a certain wrongness” to the cow he has picked out, & 2) he cannot, in good conscience, fling a cow because it has been done before. Which would make his cow flinging merely repetitive. And not the perfect artistic experience that he longs for.

• • •

At first Chris is bummed that he won’t be able to create his pure moment but comes to realize that: “I had to let go of that cow so I could see all the other possibilities.”

I still reflect on the idea of a certain wrongness to things. And on how you often have to let go of any preconceived ideas in order for a new, better idea to manifest.

All this comes to mind as I write this last NaBloPoMo post. I had a different idea of how this challenge was going to play out, so when I sensed a certain “wrongness” to it I almost gave up. However, I hung around posting something every day– letting go of “that cow so I could see all the other possibilities.”

And as a result, I managed to complete NaBloPoMo. And make a decision or two about how I’ll pursue my dreams in the future.

So with that last NaBloPoMo thought, I’ll leave you, my gentle readers, to watch what might be the best– the most absurd– the most unexpected three minutes in all of Northern Exposure. And that’s saying something.

Enjoy!