Expect miracles.
If you carry your restlessness in your heart, then you are alive
If you carry the flames of your dreams in your eyes, then you are alive
Learn to live free like the gusts of wind
Learn to flow like the waves in a stream
Embrace every moment in life with open arms
Each moment your eyes see is a new season
If you carry wonder in your eyes, then you are alive
If you carry your restlessness in your heart, then you are alive
[From Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara]
By: Gabriela Yareliz
She is back– and with her own line of lipstick. Monica Bellucci, out of hiding and back. I felt like I hadn’t seen her forever until I opened this month’s Vogue. Fantastic! It is terribly shallow but there is something awesome about red lipstick and curling your hair…
The New Yoker had a fantastic article by Steve Coll, about why he is “Leaving Facebookistan.”
“It takes a while to find it, but if you are a Facebook user, there is a small settings button entitled “deactivate account.” If you click, Facebook displays the faces of people “who will miss you.” If you are determined nonetheless to depart, and scroll further down, you are required to choose a “reason for leaving” before you are permitted to go. Unfortunately, “inadequate citizen rule” or “doubts about corporate governance” are not among the choices. From the available list, I went with “I don’t feel safe on Facebook.”
Farewell, Facebook friends. May you enjoy everywhere the full rights of free citizens.”
[Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/05/leaving-facebookistan.html#ixzz1wHofLmF3]
By: Gabriela Yareliz
We meet again… it is hot outside. Let me rephrase: HOT. The best thing about a car with no AC is the fact that the open window suffices to blow you away. I look like some random gypsy today with a scarf around my head–I think I scared the Subway guy. Poor fellow. I have terrible allergies; my eyes are numb after I put in the allergy drops.
Today is a day for random flow–so it begins here:
Abuela
My days have consisted of taking shopping trips with my Abuela. I think we have managed to make it to the store every day. I hate the store, but I like being with Abuela. She obviously likes the store; we seemingly need something from it every day. This is a record. This reminds me of Europe where people go to markets every day. When you live in the middle of no where with cows in the U.S., this daily shopping experience is less than ideal, however. I have also been reading and chilling with friends. I miss the routine and social aspect of school, not the work, though.
I sit on the counter and watch her cook. She is gracious enough to watch Bollywood films with me, though I am sure she finds the subtitles annoying. She and I read on opposite couches and discuss our readings.
Reading
I keep eyeing the Civil Procedure text book Suffolk U College of Law was so gracious to send me. Maybe I should flip through it before I am officially welcomed to the craziness of New York and law school. The closer it gets the more real it becomes. Naturally.
As far as books are concerned, I read some Shashi Tharoor. Excellent reads on politics, the UN and India. I think I am done reading books on the failures of the U.S. It gets depressing after a while. You can only take so much about how stupid we have become as a culture and our imperialism which oppresses people around the world. Most people who read these books already know these things; the preaching-to-the-choir thing always proves true. Those who the book talks about are too busy stealing from people, manipulating governments and watching E!
Cricket
What else is new? Shah Rukh Khan was banned from the Mumbai cricket stadium. Wow. Which reminds me, I need to pick a pro cricket team to follow… That has been on my to do list. I really love this sport and I watch it for non-shallow reasons. This is impressive. It joins my sports seriousness with hockey and futbol.
Age and romance
I found a funny article on Bollywood movie matches (“He is old enough to be her father”), and how the guy tends to be way older than the girl. I noticed this in Saawaryia between Sonam Kapoor and Salman Khan. I can write a whole blog on this age difference stuff.
Felicia and I were talking about this last night. The whole whether “your love for men transcends all ages” or if you have “daddy issues.” I used to be more accepting of age differences (I am talking like 8-29 years of difference), now I am more wary of it….
I found out the other day that my great grandmother was like 30 years younger than my great grandfather… no wonder she was widowed so soon. But see there is also a cultural element that goes into this. I am not talking about the movies anymore. They pick people for roles based on hotness, and how young they can make them look; I am talking real life now.
I once liked a guy that was older than me, not by 10 or 20 years mind you, and he turned out to be a selfish, egotistical flake. Bad experience. I think mentally though he was younger than me… now that I am reaching the age he had when I knew him back in the day I wonder what the heck was running through his head.
Or take men and women who have yet to figure out themselves and they spend time speed dating girls or old men who could be their daughters or fathers–yeah. It is gross.
I guess it all depends on the people, where they are in life and the motive? And as Felicia would add, whether they have “daddy issues.” This is open to discussion.
The sisterhood
More in my random flow goes to: I read the fifth book to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, which I had read throughout middle school and high school. The sisterhood, 10 years later.
It was terribly sad. [SPOILER ALERT]
Sisterhood Everlasting was a great read, for those familiar with the characters you’ll probably cry or bite your nails through half of this one.
Problems I had with this book (yes, I had problems with it…)
-Tibby dies. Yes, rebellious, sarcastic Tibby dies. She was one of my favorite characters. It sucked.
-Carmen is engaged to Jones (guy with shaved head who could care less about her family and culture and cares only about money and show biz) “DUMP HIM!!!” I was screaming in my head throughout the book.
-Lena is boring. She puts her life on hold for the Greek guy, Kostos, she fell in love with while in high school when he went and slept with half the world; OBVIOUSLY not caring about her one bit. Why put your life on hold for someone who doesn’t care and hurt you?
-Bridget is still reckless. Nothing new.
The things I loved about the book (It was an awesome book despite its character’s life crisises):
-Motherhood is praised throughout the book. I think this is rare, and so many young women could care less about being a mother these days, or the value of a tiny human life inside of them.
-Carmen does not marry Jones. As she said, “Not now, not ever.” YES. He didn’t care anyway.
-Tibby has a little girl named Bailey. Smile.
-Bridget starts a family with Eric. She allows herself to be loved. YAY.
-Lena ends up with Kostos. I am not going to lie. I wanted this from book one. But at this point I don’t know… He was an idiot and she was like a slave, waiting for him to come around. They deserve each other, but this relationship was in no way healthy.
Anyone else a fan? It was a great book.
Unknown
My last thought was something I was meditating on recently… have you ever had those epiphanies in life; it can be about love, reality, yourself…. when something completely unknown comes and hits you in the face. It feels like a pile of bricks fell on you. Something clicks. It can be in a moment, with a glance, some weird eye locking moment, a moment where all the noise fades into the background and all you are left with is yourself?
The unknown can be frightening, overwhelming, hard to point out even, like a grammatical or editing mistake…
By: Gabriela Gonzalez
Why is it that things like pleasure, beauty and art end up leaving us empty and guilty? I found a fascinating book/play on the topic. It is a short play, a fictional conversation between Oscar Wilde, known for his if it feels good, do it philosophy; Blaise Pascal, the brilliant mathematician, and Jesus. The words are taken from their actual writings or real accounts of them or words implied by their writings or words spoken. The conversation takes place in Paris, as a syphilis-suffering Wilde contemplates his death. Below are some of my favorite excerpts and quotes from their conversation.
[From: Sense and Sensuality: Jesus talks with Oscar Wilde on the pursuit of pleasure, by Ravi Zacharias, Multnomah books, 2002.]
Let us begin with Jesus, who speaks of King Solomon, who at the end of his life had pretty much tried it all:
Jesus quoting Solomon: “I thought in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.’ I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under the sun… I undertook great projects: I built many houses, planted numerous vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted fruit trees. I owned more flocks than anyone before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired a harem… the delight of the heart of man. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (62)
Jesus then explains to a processing Wilde that pleasure is always temporary if it is apart from God or if it profanes what God intended. “All pleasure, however good, is locked into the sensation of the moment.” (63)
Following this, Wilde asks Jesus some interesting questions: “Why did you make us thus? Why does this body crave pleasure to such a painful limit? We seduce ourselves by what You made us desire. We play with things You wanted us to treat as sacred. We run from things You wanted us to cling to. We make companions of those You never told us to embrace. We clutch in our hands what You wanted us to throw away. We throw away what You wanted us to hold fast to. We dream of things that make life a nightmare. Why this disorder in the way we are made?” (65)
Jesus then responds that every power man has, comes as a double edge sword. It can be used properly or it can be abused. It is the abused distorted desire that appeals to our souls. Wilde describes the book he wrote, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
It is about a very attractive young man, Dorian, who asks an artist to make a portrait of him. The young man knew he was incredibly good looking, and he wanted something that would last as a reminder of his amazing looks. He also wanted his “riotous and sensual living” to only affect the picture. So he could sleep with whomever he wanted, drink whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, and it would only affect the portrait. Dorian’s wish came true. His life or promiscuity and “pleasure” left him untouched, but UNKNOWN to him, because the portrait was in his attic, every act tarnished the portrait.
Later on, the artist pays a visit to Dorian, and the artist is in shock when the he sees the portrait. The artist says to him, “Doesn’t it say somewhere, ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as wool’?” Suddenly, Dorian grabs a knife and stabs the artist to death (Gruesome, I know, but Wilde wrote it not me). Then he noticed that blood was dripping down the portrait. Dorian then grabs the knife and stabs the picture, and he falls lifeless to the ground. Then the story says that the portrait returns to its perfect state, but Dorian died with every scar of every deed, deformed, bearing witness to the life he led. (43-47)
When Wilde finishes the summary of his book, Jesus tells him, “When art and beauty are not governed by rules, they, in turn, break down.” (47)
Jesus continues saying that we are a generation that flirts with the idea of a dream. Something seems attractive or good, and we go for it. The young man or woman looks attractive and so we pursue him or her only to use him or her, and dispose of him or her. We use others; we hurt others; we manipulate others.
We suppose drug usage is enchanting and the idea of losing reality even if but for a moment is exciting, yet we come crashing back into life. “They’ll awaken one day to find that their dream has left them still empty. You see, this is the danger. First art imitates life. Then life imitates art. Finally, art becomes the very reason for life, and that’s when life breaks down, because life is not fiction… it is plain, hard fact.” (48)
It is interesting how much we sacrifice for that which is not real or lasting. We go for the feeling of the moment, and then sit guilty, hurt and empty. Strangely, we often go back for more, knowing we return to that which hurt us in the first place.
This leaves us in a “crux,” or cross… Jesus: “The cross is the ultimate expression of sorrow and pain combined. It’s because the price was paid at the cross that the law is affirmed…It was at that place that your ultimate worth was upheld. It’s because My heart was broken that I am able to heal yours. Blaise was right—all truths are governed by laws. This one is the way of life and death. I reach out to you through the price I paid for you. I am the artist that humanity sacrificed because I pointed out the defacement of sin.” (79)
Wilde ends his “vision” of the conversation saying: “And there, till Christ call forth the dead, In silence let me lie: No need to waste the foolish tear, For I have killed the thing I loved And so I have to die. Only the Blood of Christ can cleanse A sinner such as I.” (89)
I found the piece to be interesting, and it is impacting. Whether you believe everything that is said by Wilde, Pascal or Jesus, one thing is true: The pleasures we seek, the vice we often succumb to, leave us all with a certain feeling and bad aftertaste; dissatisfaction. This is as true for all of humanity as death is—it knows no color or discrimination.
It is a battle in each one of our souls. Pride; pleasure; sensuality; indulgence; emptiness; purpose; reality; hope.
By: Gabriela Yareliz
“We meet no ordinary people in our lives.” -C.S. Lewis
By: Gabriela Yareliz
By God’s grace, I am now a graduate. Yes. I have a degree and I can go work if I wanted to. I am so thrilled 🙂 I will be heading off to law school in the fall… reading and working in the summer.
I am so grateful for every person who is a part of my life. Who supported me through these years, and also those who celebrated with my on my birthday and also on graduation weekend 🙂 I think I was beaming the whole weekend from Friday to Monday.
I am also so proud of all my friends who graduated, and for those searching for jobs, you are in my prayers.
God is so good. He blesses us so much with many blessings and the best blessings are the people He places in our lives!
I am reading a book by Ravi Zacharias, he is oe of my favorite speakers and thinkers of this time. His book is called The Grand Weaver, and he is of course from India. Those who know me know that I have a special place in my heart for this country, its people and its language. After all Romain Rolland, the French scholar, said:
“If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.”
Zacharias writes about a father and son who make saris and I wanted to share what he writes. This excerpt comes directly from his personal website.
Written by Ravi Zacharias:
“Some years ago, I was visiting a place known for making the best wedding saris in the world—saris rich in gold and silver threads, resplendent with an array of colors. I expected to see some elaborate system of machines that would boggle the mind. Not so! Each sari was made individually by a father and son team. The father sat above the son on a platform, surrounded by several spools of thread that he would gather into his fingers. The son did just one thing. At a nod from his father, he would move the shuttle from one side to the other and back again. This would be repeated for hundreds of hours, till a magnificent pattern began to emerge.The son had the easy task—just to move at the father’s nod. All along, the father had the design in his mind and brought the right threads together. The more I reflect on my own life and study the lives of others, I am fascinated to see the design God has for each one of us, individually, if we would only respond. Little reminders show the threads He has woven into our lives.Allow me to share from my own experience. As one searching for meaning and in the throes of a turbulent adolescence, I found myself on a hospital bed from an attempted suicide. It was there that I was read the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. My attention was captured by the part where Jesus says to his disciples, “Because I live, you shall live also.” I turned my life over to Christ that day, committing my pains, struggles and pursuits into His hands.
Almost thirty years to the day after this decision, my wife and I were visiting India and decided to visit my grandmother’s grave. With the help of a gardener we walked through the accumulated weeds and rubble until we found the stone marking her grave. With his bucket of water and a small brush, the gardener cleared off the caked-on dirt. To our utter surprise, under her name, a verse gradually appeared. My wife clasped my hand and said, “Look at the verse!” It read, “Because I live, you shall live also.”
A purposeful design emerges when God weaves a pattern from what, to us, may often seem disparate threads. Even today, if you will stop and attend to it dear friend, you will see that He is seeking to weave a beautiful tapestry in your life as well, if only you will respond.”
He writes in The Grand Weaver that the son who is moving the shuttle moves it repetitively, and sometimes he may get bored or his back may hurt, but the father is the one who has the design in his mind and the threads in his hand. The son can only emulate and try to follow the father the best he can so he will become skilled and some day learn the business well enough to take over it some day.
Isn’t this like God and us? He is the father with all of the design in His mind for us. Our role is to be a team with Him, and to follow Him as best we can even if the design has not been fully revealed to us. Yet with the passage of time, we begin to see the gorgeous pattern emerge- the pattern of God’s design for our life.
I really liked this illustration by Zacharias, because it serves to remind us that each one of us is special just as each Sari is a work of art. Each one has been treated with great care, and He has a plan.
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Based on Pastor Alejandro Bullon’s message at the Spanish Florida Campmeeting 2012.
When looking at other people, we will often point out… hmm that person is a thief or a murderer. This is how we scale evil and wrong in society. It is all by actions that we can point out wrongs.
Now if someone is full of pride we say… Oh they are just a bit prideful or stuck up, but its okay. For some reason, pride is something that is passble in small doses-yet God does not see pride as something insignificant. In fact, it seems that pride is the father of all sins.
God can never accept sin. Why? Because He cannot accept anything that destroys us because He loves us.
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Cristianity
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Official news: See that? The jungle of buildings, trees and water- THAT is going to be my home starting in the fall. Is that scary or what? Hey- I’m adaptable… it’ll just take a little time…
Law school in New York- here we go! Every law student’s dream, right?
I haven’t been yet, but I will be going this summer. I have preconceived notions of NY. As a kid, this is how I learned about the big apple… Friends. HAHAHA, probably not entirely accurate, but funny nonetheless.
I can’t wait to actually go, and check out the city. And eventually, make friends.
By: Gabriela Yareliz
“I feel socially pressured to know about pool.” -Priscilla to me as we sat after getting our cap and gowns in the game room; as we watched Changmin duke it out with the nice guy with brown hair. She read my mind exactly.
After this social pressure, Bhargava was gracious enough to enlighten me on the art. I was not a very good student, but I have faith that I can improve.
Also noteworthy is that it’s a perfect day for framboise ice cream…..(when is it not?)
So… I watched Mere Brother Ki Dulhan… it was so cute and very funny!
The girl’s name is Dimple for crying out loud. She is insane.
She reminded me of what I was like when I was 12-13 years old. Those who met me when I first arrived to Florida can testify that I was just as obnoxious, outspoken (maybe that hasn’t changed) and crazy.
Thank God for maturity I guess.. Sometimes maybe things that happen in life kill certain aspects of our identity (that sounded depressing, but it wasn’t meant to), but maybe there is a wild side to all of us that remains locked up (wink).
The key is to not let it out– hahaha.
I totally recommend the film. One of my “cheesy” Bollywood picks? Maybe… but the guy (Kush) is GORGEOUS.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 