The Cellist of Sarajevo

Good book. It tracks the lives of 4 characters and intertwines their lives. While the book starts out as an all hope is lost. There is hope regained in various ways in the end. While it probably isn't the hope we expect, it is still hope. Hope takes many different guises. We need to except it when it comes.

Self Centered

When did being self centered become a bad thing? Self centered should mean: being aware of self, assured of yourself, confidence, knowing who you are. It should not mean selfish and arrogant. Jealousy has a lot to do with the change in meaning. We can't bring ourselves to be happy for someone else. Why? They are doing better than me! That is because of their self assuredness. Why do we feel the need to bring others down? Jealousy is your answer. Acceptance of yourself is the key that unlocks the cage. While the answer is simple, practice of it might be daunting. It really is a matter of changing thought patterns.

Acceptance

I tried to hard. Why do we bend over backwards to try and kiss our own ass just to make someone like and accept us. What's worse is, we realize what's going own and try to change but end up going back to the way we were. How do you change? I know we've heard all the babble before. How about a way that doesn't make us feel guilty. First thing I learned was, leave religion out of it. I don't mean God, I mean religion. Religion has a was of twisting everything to its advantage. How else to you control people but by guilt and fear. Listen to your heart and head. Try to forget a lot of the stuff you have been taught. You will be surprise at how you grow when you give yourself permission to be yourself. If you can't remember what feeling like yourself is, it is not as lost as you have been lead to believe. You are there just under all the gunk and muck. I am not going to tell you it is an easy fix. It is a daily reminder you give yourself. What I tell myself is, if people don't like me it's not my fault. I can't control others. I gave that up. Some days it's difficult. Old habits are hard to break. The results are so worth it. I feel so much better. I have energy. I feel lighter. The point is, I am becoming me.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

What a load of garbage. The start of the book is basically an autobiography--boring. Who cares if starlets want to seduce you to be in movies. Whoopee! The story is maddening because the author interrupts it every time the story gets slightly interesting. The ending never happened. What a waste of money, time and effort. I am embarrassed that we, the public get sucked into sludge like this.