A quote and a wish

I figure with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) almost here, it's time to get a little spiritual. So with that in mind, here's one of the most spiritual, poetic quotes I've ever read, from Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson (aka the Lubavitcher Rebbe), a person who touched countless people during his lifetime, from the devoutly religious to the completely unaffiliated, Jewish and not:

High upon her precipice, the soul is nameless, for she has no form - she will be whatever she must be.

Peering below, beneath the clouds, she perceives a faint shimmering of her light in the deep, wet earth. There she finds form, and she calls it a name, and she is called when that name is called, for she says, "This is me."

But it is not her. It is only a faint glimmering of her light within the frame of a distant world.

A very happy, healthy and sweet New Year filled with every good, beautiful thing to you all.

Isabel

Now it feels weird doing an Enchantia post after such a serious topic, but like I said, we move on. If you're curious about the title...well I won't tell you. I think you are a smart enough bunch that you can figure it out through this snippet. And if you're not sure post a comment and guess. It could be like playing hot or cold. Or 20 questions. Though honestly, it should not take you 20 questions!

Hi Isabel! Today was a bad day, but I feel okay. I hate Ryan, but I yelled enough in The Woods about him, and if I talk about him anymore I'll throw up. I wish tomorrow would be a snow day. Too bad it's summer. I don't care. I'll be fine. There are some new kids here. And they seem nice. And cool. At least I have you no matter what. But it would be nice to have some new human friends (no offense). Oh no, Mom has just called me and she wants me to do some chore. Yuck. I wish I could shrink and lock myself in you. Oh well, she's here now. Gotta go.

Thoughts on 9/11

I know I just posted a few days ago, but it feels weird to let this day pass without saying anything. Especially since I live in NY, was in Manhattan that day, and work a few short blocks from Ground Zero.

Ground Zero is hardly a smoky war zone anymore - for years now it’s been a construction site, in preparation for whatever the next step is. But there is still this gaping hole where buildings full of life once were. I think that’s an interesting parallel to how many of us feel. We’re not in the throes of shock and grief. We move on, we make the best out of life. But we walk around with a hole. It may not be so obvious as the one in Lower Manhattan, but you can’t live through such chaos and loss and not be changed.

I’ll end with this poem that I wrote during a lunchbreak back in 9/11/03. There is this giant globe that used to be in the lobby of World Trade Center as a symbol of world peace (I haven't had time to sort through my pictures so here's a link to one). Now it lives on in Battery Park, as a memorial with an eternal flame. Anyway, the poem-

Hope

Battered globe,
shattered globe,
filled with dents and scratches,
holes and rips.
Though you have been
through fire and ash,
an earthly hell,
yet here you stand-
indestructible.

With thanks

It was my birthday earlier this week. There’s a part of me that’s a little scared by this fact…I’m into the second half of my twenties now, and there’s so much I haven’t done. But there’s a much bigger part of me that is feeling so blessed, for all my wonderful family and friends.

I want to focus in on my friends and make a shout out: I’m one of those people that constantly fumbles and I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you all. One of the things I at least hope I’ve conveyed in my book is how beautiful friendship can be, and for that you’re my muses. If Enchantia gets published, I’m dedicating it to all of you. But even if that day never comes, life indeed will go on and I’ll still have your love, and that is so much more important than a book will ever be. I wasn’t expecting to get so mushy here, but this is from my heart, and really I’m so grateful to each one of you. I only hope I’m as good a friend to you as you are to me.

More Wendell

I was almost not going to post this week. Let's just say something happened that made me more inclined to silence. But then I read this beautiful poem, by the amazing Wendell Berry. For more on my connection to him, see this old post. It gives me the chills...never read it till yesterday, and yet I feel like I've read it a million times. If you're new to this blog, here's my first Enchantia post (scroll down to the actual snippet, in italics), and I'm sure you'll have some understanding of why. But it's not just that there's a cool similarity between this poem and my story. Finding solace in nature is very close to my heart, despite living in NY and having few opportunities to actually do so.