2016 Reading Challenge

My reading challenge of 2015 was one of my favorite adventures of the year and as I approached the end I knew that I had to find another one this year.  I decided pretty quick to read the 'Best Novels Ever Written', but soon found that there are A LOT of book list that do not agree.  There were common denominators on every list, and then I stumbled upon a website called 'The Greatest Books'. It takes 107 different lists and crunched the numbers and came up with a compilation of the Top Books list.  You can even break it down by decades if you choose.  Below is a link if you are curious and want to check it out....

http://thegreatestbooks.org

Now, onto my challenge, I decided that if I had read the book in the last 5 years, I did not need to read it again.  My challenge of last year added to the list of the book I do not need to read now.  :)  I'm going to continue my 'book reports' of last year as well....

#1.  In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust  COMPLETED 6/25

#2.  Ulysses by James Joyce     COMPLETED
 
        Since I finished my challenge early last year, I started in on this list and chose this to start me out, and realized something really quick, it's a LONG book, but not that hard to read.  I ended up describing it this way, it's the Seinfeld of books.  There are episodes you love and quote and think are hilarious, there are some that are ok and you think it could of been better, and then there are the episodes that you just slog through.  I probably won't ever read it again, but it was a mostly enjoyable 900 plus page read.

#3.  Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes COMPLETED 1/26

#4.  Moby Dick by Herman Melville  COMPLETE 8/27

      I read 'In the Heart of the Sea' last year that was the true story that inspired Melville to write Moby Dick, so it's a nice continuation this year.

#5.  Hamlet by William Shakespeare       COMPLETED

       I read Hamlet periodically, for reasons I don't really understand, so I am counting it read.  I can quote parts of Hamlet's speech that I learned in high school, so needless to say this play has impacted my life.

#6.  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy  COMPLETED 6/7

#7.  The Odyssey by Homer    COMPLETED 2/21

#8.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  COMPLETED 2/14
     
        I can't believe it's been over 5 years since I read this book!!!  I put it on the list happily.

#9.  The Divine Comedy by Dante Alleghieri  COMPLETED 7/20

#10.  Madame Bovery by Gustave Flaubert      COMPLETED

        Read during my challenge last year.  :)

#11. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky  COMPLETED 10/30

#12 . One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez COMPLETED 1/11

#13 . The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain  COMPLETED

         I might reread this for the challenge if I have time.  I love this book...

#14 . The Iliad by Homer  COMPLETED 2/13

#15 . Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov DID NOT FINISH, NOR WILL I EVER attempted 6/10

#16 . Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy     COMPLETED

         Read during the 2015 challenge

#17 . Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky  COMPLETED 3/17

#18 . Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll  COMPLETED 4/16

#19 . The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner   COMPLETED

          My first Faulkner read that made me a fan of his.  I just read this again two years ago..

#20 . Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen     COMPLETED

         Love the book, Love the adaptation with Kiera Knightley, Love Jane Austen....

#21 . The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger  COMPLETED 5/3

#22 . Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë   COMPLETED

          I unaffectionately call this book, 'Moping Thru the Moors' and tried it again a couple of years ago to see if my opinion had changed, it hadn't....  This book is the reason behind the 5 year rule, I couldn't bear the thought of having to read it again.  The only acceptable version of this book is by Monty Python and is done with nautical flags (trust me, it's hilarious)....

#23 . Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell  COMPLETED 5/4

#24 . Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad  COMPLETED 1/17

#25 . To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf  COMPLETED 5/17

#26 . Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner  COMPLETED 9/14

       Wait a Faulkner book I haven't read?  This is the reason I do these things...

#27 . Middlemarch by George Eliot     COMPLETED

         Another 2015 Challenge book.

#28 . The Trial by Franz Kafka  COMPLETED 6/8

#29 . One Thousand and One Nights by India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt  COMPLETED 6/26

#30 . The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov  COMPLETED 7/23

#31 . The Red and the Black by Stendhal  COMPLETED 9/29

#32 . Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift  COMPLETED 4/23

#33 . Catch-22 by Joseph Heller  COMPLETED 4/29

#34 . The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck      COMPLETED

        The first paragraph of this book is one of the best, in my opinion, descriptive paragraph in literature.  You can feel the dryness and hopelessness of an area destroyed by drought.

#35 . Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison  COMPLETED 4/17

#36 . The Stranger by Albert Camus  COMPLETED 5/30

#37 . Great Expectations by Charles Dickens  COMPLETED 3/31

#38 . The Aeneid by Virgil  COMPLETED 10/10

#39 . David Copperfield by Charles Dickens  COMPLETED 12/23

#40 . Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf  COMPLETED 8/5

#41 . Beloved by Toni Morrison          COMPLETED

         Oprah either gets the blame or credit, depending on how you look at, for my reading this already.  Before I found challenges, I tried to read all of the Oprah Book Club books.  I am strangely ambivalent about this book...

#42 . The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer COMPLETE 11/10

#43 . Collected Fiction by Jorge Luis Borges  COMPLETED  8/16

#44 . Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman  COMPLETED 3/31

#45 . Candide by Voltaire  COMPLETED 4/2

#46 . Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë  COMPLETED 10/18

         I read this a long time ago, so it's on the list to read....

#47 . As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner     COMPLETED

         A third Faulkner book and an incredible read...  If I have time, I'll read this again.

#48 . The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway      COMPLETED

         When I visited Key West in January of 2014, my first priority was to go to Sloppy Joe's and then to the Hemingway House, so yes, I've read this book and yes, multiple times.

#49 . The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka  COMPLETED 11/21

#50 . Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne  COMPLETED 12/26



If you did the math and subtracted the completed books, you know that I have 37 books on the list to read.  I will be reading other books this year as well, since I should have the time, with H is for Hawk leading that to read list.  I thought I would put them in the book reports as well...

It's an intriguing list to me.  There are some books that are long, but others are pretty short...  I have a feeling I will discover some new loves and put others on my why is this a classic list, but that's the whole point of reading, to me, to discover what you love.....

Well,  I'm off to read....
see you at the end of the first quarter!

Melissa

Here We Go Again...

Hi.

New Year's Resolutions get such a bad rap and a significant number of eye rolls, but I like them, so I am sticking with them and I ask that you don't throw anything at the computer/phone as you read what is coming up in this post....

Here we go for 2016!  (ok, I guess my first one should be to type 2016 within 4 tries....)

#1.  See a movie in a theater once a month.

        I managed to see 3 movies in the theater this year.  THREE!!!  It's not like I didn't have opportunities because I did, I just never seem to make it.  This also seems like a fun resolution to do.

Update:  I saw 15!!!!!!!  It was such a fun thing to do and I found out that I like going to the movies on my own.  I never thought I would say that...

#2.  Daily walk.

       As I went outside today and froze, I was questioning this a bit, but here is the thing, being outside is so dang good for me and an added little boost of exercise is never a bad thing either.  I'm not setting any conditions on this but, trusting that each day, I will make the right choice for me.

Update:  I missed on average 3 days a month but this was a sanity saver this year!

#3.  Celebrate a Weird/non traditional  Holiday a Month

        Why you ask?  Why not?  I found a great website that I made my selections from and have a plan.  I plan on writing about most of the adventures, so it will help keep me writing on here as well.
The link for the website is Here

Update:  I had so much fun with this!  I tried new things, ate new foods, and realized that there is an opportunity to celebrate everyday!

#4.  Validate the People in my life more.

        How often do you tell the people in your life they are loved? doing a good job? or that you appreciate how much they do for you?  I realized I could do a lot better in this.  I'm going to take different forms on how I do this, but I believe this is a good focus for the year.

Update: I did well with texts and phone calls, and I definitely told people what they meant to me, but I realized something this year that I really value the written word.  Sometimes you just need to put it on paper, so I will be incorporating that into my 2017 resolutions...

#5.  Classic Book Challenge

       Yep, the reading challenge is back.....  I LOVED doing this in 2015 and as I was finding my books, I realized one thing, I had not read a ton of the 'Top Books to Read' and in noticing this, I found that there are A LOT of Top 50, Top 100 book lists out there, and was wondering what list to do and then I found it.  This WEBSITE solved my conundrum, due to the fact, the person behind the website crunched all of the data from all of the booklists they could find and statistically ranked the books.  I am going to read the top 50 this year, which seems like a lot, but as you'll see due to last year and a little rule I put in, it's really quite doable.

Update:  I am not going to lie, this was rough....although I found some books that I loved, I also read some books that I never want to read again.

#6.  Don't Relapse on Things I have been Working on

       There is nothing more frustrating that having to start over once again.  My intention in setting this resolution is that I keep moving forward and not stall or slide back on any of the things that I have worked through or have found that keep me in the present.

Update:  I maintained in some areas and considering what I dealt with this year, I am a-ok with this.  Other areas, I moved WAY forward....

#7.  Break a Bad Habit

       I have a couple of bad habits that I want to break, but I am going to focus on one and then see where I'm at.  I may or may not keep you updated on here depending on which one I chose, but know that I am working on improving my life.  :)

Update:  Made progress on one, and completely eliminated one.  WAHOOOOOO!

#8.  Do a Food Challenge

      I found a Food Challenge from the same group that did my Reading Challenge last year and I decided to tackle it.   Here is a LINK to it.  I'm going to tweak it a bit, so there will be more information to come....

Update:  I have 6 items left to do, but this was a fun thing to attempt.

#9.  A Perfect Form Push Up

      Are you ready for a confession?  I struggle (and by struggle, I mean I am unable to do them correctly) with push ups, even the so-called and somewhat insulting (yet, appropriate for me) girl push ups.  It affects my yoga practice; it puts me at risk for injury due to weakness; and at the end of the day just ticks me off!!!  I have been doing research for a bit and have found a program that starts at a very beginner level and builds from there....  Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

Update:  I can do 1 really well!!  This was rough, especially with the health adventure I went on this year..

#10.  Bucket List stuff

       Were you getting worried that the item that has been on my Resolution list for the past 4 years wasn't going to make it?  Never fear, here it is....

Update:  Once again, I did ones I did not expect and didn't do ones I thought I would, but I still love this being a resolution, because it keeps it on my radar.

My list seems to get longer each year, but this one has a number of light hearted items, and I went with what felt right.

Here's to another year!
Melissa

Time to Review....

It's that time of year when I let you know how I did on my New Year's Resolutions for 2015...
and here is something that is very important for you to understand before we start that even if I do not totally achieve a specific Resolution, I do not in any way consider it a failure.

There is learning in the journey, not just in reaching the destination, and sometimes the errors and mistakes and missteps teach you more than the easy achievement.

I consider my life one that is always in progress.  I always want to learn, push myself and just keep trying.

Since I made these a year ago, here is a recap if you want to read it...  2015 Resolutions

#1.  Celebrate more...

       This started out good and well intentioned.  I joined an art group that I now can not imagine not being a part of.  I found my rowing club.  I attended things that I probably would not of attended, but then it sort of twisted on me...
       Sometimes you need to say no...  Saying yes when you are overbooked and overwhelmed is not a good thing.  This resolution reminded me once again that BALANCE is the key to life.  Saying yes to things that enrich and bring joy to your life is a very good thing, but don't say yes because you feel you should.

#2.  Exercise with the intention of Love, not Fear.

       I maintained my weight this year, and if you are reading this blog and are in my life, you know that there have been some major upheavals, grief, accident for another family member, and health issues this year.  I listened to my body and some activities that I used to do, I no longer do and some activities that I had never done before are now joys in my life.  I am not perfect with this, but I do feel there has been a MAJOR shift in my thinking.

#3.  Twice a month get my camera out.

      Total hit and miss with this.....  I did well some months and not so well others.  I did come up with plans of taking the pictures, but sometimes did not make it out to do it.  Need to keep going on this....

#4.  Do a Money Savings Challenge.

      I had to completely redo my plan on this one.  I laid it out here, and revamped it here, and in the end did not do a spectacular job on this one.  I had a lot of unexpected expenses this year, travel and medical, that made this VERY hard to do, but on the other hand I did not add to my debt in this year and paid some others off.  I have this set up to continue in 2016, so I believe I am on the right track.

#5.  Get the piano tuned and find a piano teacher.

       See above, but I have an appointment during January and have found a teacher.  My piano is in such bad shape that it is going to take more money than I initially planned.  I am now very excited to get this done, and play once again.

#6.  Do a Reading Challenge.

       LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this resolution!  I finished as documented in my 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarter book reports.  I will be doing another reading challenge in 2016.

#7.  Cross more items off my Bucket List.

       I didn't do the ones I thought, but still made progress.  I learned to row and still do it!  I visited a psychic (weird but cool).  I finished watching the top 100 movies, some of which I will never see again.  I did some personal ones that I never mentioned on here.  Life is a journey and this year's journey kept me close to home, but hopefully travel will come back in 2016.

#8.  Don't let things sit.

     I dealt with things I had no clue I was going to have to deal with and I did.  It wasn't easy, but it was easier than letting it build and explode.  This will always be a work in progress thing for me as I still seem to struggle when expressing myself when I am really emotional to get the right words out.

#9.  Journal consistently

    My journaling changed dramatically this year by introducing Art Journaling into the mix.  I could tell what was really going on emotionally by the type of art I was doing.  I still wrote periodically, both here and on paper, but art took the stage this year.  My one regret is that I let my Gratitude Journal get out of practice, but I am currently getting that back on track.

Here's to another year of trying new things and working on myself...
and yes, 2016 resolutions are on their way.

Melissa

A Change in Stitches

In October, an era ended for me....

I delivered my last batch of quilts to Primary Children's Hospital.

For the past 15 or so years, I have made at least 10 quilts a year, but normally 15,  and donated them.  It was a labor of love, but the time has come to change my focus.

So I thought in honor of the end of this era, I would do a post about my adventures in quilting....

my trusty sewing machine

I did a simple pattern found in a Woman's Day magazine many years ago.  You simply cut 7 inch squares, then sewed them into strips of 7 and then sewed nine strips together.  It ended up being about  a crib size quilt.

I did holiday themes, sports, animals and many others...

getting its batting on...

I loved searching out fun fabric to use...

Pirate Rubber Duckies, too cute!

They weren't always perfect and in alignments, but they were made with love...

A girly pink poodle quilt

They were a bit of work, but I enjoyed working on them...

Animals playing sports!

I decided to end the quilt donations due to one simple reason, the cost of making each one has SKY ROCKETED in the last two years..  :(  

Never fear, however, I still will be giving of my time, but just in a different form.. 

Instead of sewing with a machine, my stitches will be knitted.   I have been knittin' for kittens and have a few other knitting projects to donate in mind.

Still stitching....

Melissa

4th Quarter Book Report...

I am in the home stretch of this challenge and it is going to be interesting to see when I finish, because I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be done before the end of the year...

As the 4th quarter starts on October 1st, it seems appropriate that I start with:

#22.  A book that scares you.

         Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The monster in the book did not scare me....

The creator of the monster, however, did.

I had to let go of my preconceived notions of what this book was about due to the movies that have been named after it.  The book begins with a series of letters from a sea captain to his sister about his adventures and a man his crew rescues.  The man, Frankenstein, begins to tell his story to the captain and we are drawn into a story in which what scared me the most the idea of just because we can, does it mean we should....

#39.  A book with magic.

        The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

I continued the October theme and finished another trilogy with this book with magic in it by reading 'The Book of Life'.  The series combines witches, vampires, daemons, oh my!, which means magic is a major plot line.  I enjoyed this series, but here's a bit of a tip, if you do take this trilogy on, read them back to back to back, as the third book brings back EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER ever mentioned...it got a bit confusing until I remember them and placed them in the context of the story.  

#23.  A book more than 100 years old.

         A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

On the surface, it is a light and funny read, but go a little deeper and you quickly realize this is a book written by a MASTER of satire and then it gets even better!  I love Mark Twain, but had never read this and now I am lamenting this fact.  A single line singes a entire problem as seen by Twain and it is perfection.

#33.  A book from your childhood.

          Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Sometimes you just need to read about a sweet, somewhat high strung, pig and a wise and kind spider, and if it takes you back to your childhood and the remembrance of your beginning of a lifelong love of reading, it's all the better.  I love this book!  I love this book!  Have I mentioned that I love this book.  Reread it if you have a chance and fall in love all over again....

#20.  A book at the bottom of your to-read list

         Middlemarch by George Eliot

You are dropped into Middlemarch, a quaint English countryside village, and I have to be honest for the first 100 or so pages, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue.  It dragged for me and I really did not like it, but then something happened, it flew!  I don't know if it was the colloquial english that threw me for a loop or the set up of the story, but I struggled in the beginning.  At its heart, this book is about change.. how we deal with unexpected change, how we deal with change we wanted but does not turn out how we thought, how we deal with technological changes, and any other possible type of change.  It is an interesting character study of people and yes even the town they inhabit.

#2.  A classic romance.

       Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Ok, I am officially questioning how this is a romance.... I actually double checked while reading, because as far as I can tell this book is not about romance.  I googled classic romances and it popped up on every list.  For me, this is not about a book about romance, in the true sense, but the superficial chase of it.  Madame Bovary marries a dull country doctor and is somewhat content until she attends a party and sees how others live and then embarks on two very immature affairs that leave not only her life in ruin, but her husband's and the most heart breaking of all, her daughter's.  It's an interesting book, because it never once condemns or condones the character's behaviors but simply states what they are, which was very controversial at the time the book was written.

#24.  A book based entirely on its cover.

        The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele

This is not a book to speed thru, but one to absorb into your life over time.  It is an excellent introduction and explanation of the 8 Limbs of Yoga.  No it is not just about the physical practice, in fact, that is a very small part of what Yoga truly is.  This was very informative and personal for me.... multiple people that I love had told be about this book and as I read it, my connection to them was brought to the forefront for me.  I will be reading this book again, slowly and doing the work recommended in it in 2016.  If you are curious at all about yoga in its true state, please consider reading this book.

#45.  A book set during Christmas.

        Pelican Road by Howard Bahr

Two trains, one heading north and the other heading south, are on a collision course on Christmas Eve in Louisiana.  There are multiple characters, which at times got a little confusing, but in the end creates a rich, yet sad, story.  Howard Bahr has a gift of story telling and the selection of the right word to enrich the tapestry of the story.  It is not a happy, spirit of Christmas book, so do not read it if you are looking for happy happy joy joy....


With that, I conclude my reading challenge, officially on December 14th...
I loved this challenge and the books that it brought into my life.
I loved the suggestions that you gave me...
I loved the questions that came throughout the year as I was asked how the books were...

I will be doing another Reading Challenge in 2016 and will be revealing it soon...

Still with my nose in a book,
Melissa

Parliament Perspective....

I have been meaning to write this post for quite a while now but just could not find the words or even process what I had been a part of....

Sometimes, events just need some time to sink in and for me, The Parliament of the World's Religions held here in Salt Lake City back in October needed some time.

I had heard about the Parliament way back in February when I saw an ad that the H.H.H. Dalai Lama was going to be attending and since hearing him speak is a life goal, I did some research and put my name on a list to volunteer.  My logic being that it was good 'karma' to volunteer to hear him speak.

Months went by, and I do mean months......

In July, a friend of mine called me and told me he had been hired by the Parliament and needed some help.  This phone call started an adventure that I could not of predicted, and I'm not sure now that if I had known what was to come if I would chose to do it again, but I know this, it was a life changing event.

Me, Geoff and Christine....last day of the Parliament

Geoff, Christine and I started calling from a database to fill over 3000 volunteer shifts over 7 days of the Parliament and set up and take down.  I made calls all over the country, emailed all over the world, and by the end more people had my cell phone number that I was really comfortable with.....Diane joined the motley crew and helped keep the spreadsheets sane.  We worked long hours, weekends, and had trouble shutting it down, because as the work really got going, the reason behind it got in our heads.  The Parliament had the potential of being amazing and we just wanted to see it happen.

By the time the dates of the Parliament rolled around in October, I had lost track of the hours I had put in and was quite frankly already exhausted, but on the morning of October 15th, I arrived at the Salt Palace Convention center at 4:30 am, yes am and the actual event started.

Thursday was insane.  Just INSANE!  The good news is that the attendees really did not see the chaos behind the scenes, but it was exhausting.  The Salt Palace is a LARGE facility and by the time I left, later that I intended, I had logged over 13 miles.  During the chaos, I was helping the Sikh community get Langar ready and I met an amazing man,  Dr. Balwant Singh Hansra..  He is an emeritus board member of the Parliament and was the main coordinator of Langar.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off and he took my hands in his and just had me breathe for a moment and told me it was all going to work out.  I didn't get the opportunity to see him again until Sunday and could not miss the opportunity to take a picture with him...

He was the calm in the storm of Thursday

Friday, thank goodness, was sooooo much calmer and I had moments of seeing the benefits of all of the work.  I was able to sneak out of work for a few minutes and attend a Plenary session, which was a main session of the Parliament, and hear Marianne Williamson speak and a few others.  I was renewed, rejuenivated, and excited once again.  I still worked long hours but it was doable.

Saturday had a slightly later start time, 5 am, and we seemed to of hit our groove.  Most of the volunteers had already done a shift, so they knew what to do, Langar was running smoothly, and the attendees were understanding the layout of the facility.  We were still busy, but it was enjoyable....so by the time my shift was done, I went home and changed and went back to attend the evening Plenary session.  My reason was

Jane Goodall...the legend

I could not believe I was in the same room, not 15 feet away from her, hearing her speak.  It was a goal of mine to hear her speak, but here is the most amazing part of the Parliament, the other speakers  that also spoke that evening also blew me away.....It was more than I could of ever hoped.

There is not enough time or space for me to accurately describe, praise, or promote the others, so I am going to just list them and hope that a name might catch your eye and you find a book of theirs, search for them on google, or ask someone about them...

                    Karen Armstrong

                    Dr. Tariq Ramadan

                    Mairead Maguire

                    Robert Pape

                    Medea Benjamin

It was an incredible, yet very long evening, that I am so glad I went back and attended.....

Before I go any further, I guess I better explain Langar, since I have mentioned it a couple of times.  Langar is a free meal that is put on by the Sikh community.  It became the most popular event of the Parliament.  I don't know if I will be able to explain why, but the energy in the hall where it was held was AMAZING.  When you went in, you first took off your shoes, a scarf was placed on your head by members of the Sikh community (a very beautiful experience), and then the people you were with were led to your place.  You sat on the floor in a community style, not knowing who you would be next to and were served.  The food was delicious, but it fed you on a deeper level....a community belonging level.  Everything was donated, all help volunteered and I can not thank the generous Sikh community enough for doing it.

The beautiful women who put scarves on at Langar

Sunday was my day off during the Parliament and it did not go as I had planned.  When the Dalai Lama was announced to speak at the Parliament, they also announced that there would also be a talk at the University of Utah as a gift to the community.  I managed to get tickets to it and was very excited.  However, as many of you know, H.H.H. the Dalai Lama was advised in late September to cut back on his schedule and return home to Dharmsala to rest, which meant he would not be attending the Parliament or the speech on Sunday.  I never thought I would ever say this, but this is my truth...I am grateful that he did not make it.  It allowed me to attend the Parliament all day on Sunday as a participant, not in my volunteer shirt, and soak it in.

I enjoyed a leisurely Langar, I wandered thru exhibits, and attended a full Plenary session not in an exhausted state.  It was incredible!  While wandering an area, I saw a keynote speaker from Saturday night sitting on a couch and went over to tell him how much I appreciated how much I enjoyed his talk and ended up chatting with him for over 20 minutes.  Unexpected connections happened all over the event and added to the experience.

Tibetan Monks working on a Sand Mandala

an interactive exhibit where you wrote on a heart your wish or statement for the world

a gathering of angels....they walked in silent meditation, weird but cool

The Plenary session on Sunday had the focus of Climate Change and had amazing speakers once again....the list of speakers amazing and long, but I have to mention Chief Arvol Lookinghorse.  His passion and direct connection to the earth was heartbreaking and an immediate call to action.

Monday was a bittersweet day as we were glad the work was done, but sad that the energy and experience were coming to an end.  I can not tell you how many times people came up to me and the other volunteers to give their sincere Thanks for the work we had done.  I was brought to tears many times.  Throughout the 5 days, I had met people from 26 different countries, many many US states, and a multitude of different religions and we had gathered in peace, understanding and learning.

I just realized that I really never explained what the Parliament is and what it hopes to accomplish. I think the best way to do that is to give you a link to the Parliament of the World's Relgions...

                             http://www.parliamentofreligions.org

However, for me, this quote from the website sums what they are trying to accomplish..

The Parliament of the World's Religions seeks to promote interreligious harmony, rather than unity. The problem with seeking unity among religions is the risk of loss of the unique and precious character of each individual religious and spiritual tradition; this understanding is key to our framework.

Interreligious harmony, on the other hand, is an attainable and highly desirable goal. Such an approach respects, and is enriched by, the particularities of each tradition. Moreover, within each tradition are the resources (philosophical, theological and spiritual teachings and perspectives) that enable each to enter into respectful, appreciative and cooperative relationships with persons and communities of other traditions.

If you go on the website, you can also see more of the amazing speakers who were in Salt Lake City and the opportunities to get involved, no matter where you live or what you believe.  They are planning another Parliament in the next couple of years, and I plan on attending wherever it is....

Still absorbing an amazing, exhausting experience....

Melissa

K.I.S.S.

(I just realize I never posted this after I wrote this in May...oops)


In the 9th grade, my science teacher was Mr. Browning.  On the first day of class, as we walked in, we all noticed something written on the board....

 Keep

 It

 Simple

 Stupid

Not the greatest confidence builder since it implied we were stupid, but it has proven time and time again to be worth while life motto and reminder.

Why am I bringing it up now?  Well, it has to do with a New Year's Resolution I set up.  Ironically, it was the repeat of last year.....the Savings Challenge, written about here...

It has proven to be a very time consuming and obnoxious process, and too complicated for success.

So, I am revamping and making it simple.

$25 a week.....

Lesson Learned.
Melissa