Just because it 'is,' doesn't mean it should be

Tyler and I were able to go see the movie "Australia" Wednesday night when it opened. In the movie, Nicole Kidman's character says the line: "Just because something 'is,' doesn't mean it should be." I loved that line.

I'm an idealist and so I know the exact sentiment she was expressing. If something could be so wonderful, why would we be happy with anything less? Of course this sentiment can lead to a lot of disappointment for me when I'm not willing to just be happy with the way things are. And it can often be confused with a negative attitude instead of one that aspires for better.

But I think there is a strength and tenacity to someone who insists on becoming whom they want to be or making what they want out of their life, despite the obstacles. That's why the movie Gattaca is one of my all-time favorites. Vincent has a dream and will not give it up for anything.

Another movie I love, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" deals with an opposite theme, the theme of not trying to be something that you're not. The Pumpkin King does Halloween best and clearly ruins Christmas when he attempts to do that.

So, although contradictory, I think it's possible for people to do what they do best and not try to be something that they're not while also striving with all of their might to fulfill their dreams.

Silly as it sounds, and I may regret this later, I believe that's why I'm like the John Locke character on LOST. You know the episode where as a child he's asked which items represent him in a pile? And he keeps choosing the knife, but it's clearly not him. But he wants the knife to be him. He wants to be a hunter.

I know that feeling. I know what it's like to want to be something that is most likely out of the realm of possibilities for me. But who can tell me that I shouldn't try? Who can make that call that it's just not for me, when I am still a believer that anything is possible?

Aren't all things changeable? Aren't all things possible if it means enough to you to make it that way? Just because things are a certain way doesn't mean that's the way they should be or that we should accept that. After all "Don't go placidly among the apathy and lethargy" is another line I live by. (See the whole poem 'Desiderata Too' in this post).

Scouts and Navy Seals

Recently I was named Den Leader in my local cub scouts organization. I don't know much about scouts except that all my brothers had to do it. At some points my sister and I were jealous of the things they got to do, learn to waterski, earn a merit badge. Sounds like a lot of fun, especially when you compare it to the LDS Young Womanhood award we had to get.

I remember feeling jipped that I never got to do a 50 mile hike and in fact I still haven't. I plan out long backpacking trips in my mind all the time, something like the "Wine to Waves" trip (Napa to San Fran), or "Rim to Rim", or something in the 4 corners area allowing me to see Hovenweep, Mesa Verde, and Canyon de Chelly.

So anyway, I started out with a requirement that included discussing 2 great Americans that had served their country. One of my choices was Michael Durant, the blackhawk pilot that was held in Somalia for 11 days by enemy forces. I loved reading his book "In the Company of Heroes" and hearing how his friends would fly by blaring his favorite AC/DC songs so he'd know they were out looking for him and wouldn't give up. I also loved the background he provides about Delta Force and Navy Seals. He says the following quotes about the organizations:

"They were the kind of professionals who could pick off a rabbit from a roller coaster with a BB gun."

"They will accept any challenge, professional or personal. They fight like panthers on speed, and when they're done, they party as if they've been pent up all day in a cage."

I love how easy to visualize those descriptions are and the admiration for him that his compliment reveals. I think it impressed the group of 9-year-old boys I had too. Hopefully I can keep scouts exciting for them.

Bodyworlds and athleticism

I went to see the Bodyworlds exhibit last Friday with April and my mother-in-law Valerie. I was really looking forward to it because I remember reading "The Agony and the Ecstasy" and learning how Michelangelo had broken into morgues so that he could dissect bodies to learn how to more accurately draw them.

Being kind of a health freak myself despite the amount of sweets I eat, I love learning about my body. I've always felt that our bodies are so incredibly capable that we should make the most use of them that we can. What a shame to waste the ability we have to walk, run, dance, etc. And what a shame that most of us don't have the freedom to be out hiking around all day.

Anyway, I absolutely loved the exhibit. Three things really stuck out the most for me. I loved seeing the development of babies and the reproductive organs of adults. Having recently had a baby I am still in awe as to how it is that their bodies grow first inside the womb and then outside. It is truly amazing.

I also loved seeing the IT band, a bundle of fibers running down the outside length of your leg. My IT band occasionally gets sore from working out and I'm forced to roll it on a hard cylindrical foam-type roller at the gym. My former yoga teacher taught me how to do this properly and I assure you it hurts like a mofo, but it gets the job done.

Most of all I was impressed by the heart, the star of the whole exhibit. What I was surprised to learn was that all hearts are not proportionately sized to the person. While most people's hearts are the size of their fist, some have abnormally large hearts (such as Lance Armstrong) and the heart can also grow with exercise. Some of the hearts shown in the exhibit were so huge I could never imagine room for them in someone's chest. It was inspiring to see how powerful the heart is and how hard it works, and also to consider what more I can do with my body.

I never did sports growing up and am not really cut out for them to be honest, my coordination is not the best, nor my strength or speed. Being an "athlete" was never something I really aspired to, I think other learning is more important. But, the more I do with my body, the more I realize how connected it is to my mind, and how disciplining one strengthens the other also. And I love the way athletes can show their excitement through their whole body!

In a history class at BYU my professor assigned a book called "Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism." I don't think Michael Jordan is the most iconic athlete of our time or the most admirable, but I love this quote of Harry Edwards' that is referenced in the book: "If I were charged with introducing an alien life form to the epitome of human potential, creativity, perseverance, and spirit, I would introduce that alien life form to Michael Jordan.”

To me, it just says that there is much more to athleticism than physical ability, and it inspires me to strive to reach my potential.

(I also noted that considering that the majority of the bodies donated to the Bodyworlds exhibit were those of old scientists, I think it quite generous of the artistic team to pose them as such incredible athletes.)

Bailey's got skills

If you don't read Tyler's blog, I've posted the same video he has of Bailey reading. I've been reading to Bailey almost everyday since she was born because even though she can't understand, I heard it would help her learn words in her future. She seems to have picked up the skill, because now when I open a book she talks away.



I was also surprised to see her roll over from her tummy to her back for the first time by herself on Friday, just shy of 3 months old! She is just determined to be grown up.

I Drink Your Milkshake

Tyler and I love all movies done by PT Anderson, especially last year's "There Will Be Blood." Well a parody was done of a scene from the movie where Day-Lewis' character is talking about how his drill gets oil from land that isn't even his. I've embedded the video, which is hilarious. (If you're using an RSS feed, you'll have to visit the actual blog to see the video)

I was reminded of it tonight when we were sitting eating some pizza watching the game and I said out loud that I wanted a milkshake. Tyler went into the kitchen and came back with a milkshake he had bought for me and one for him and one for Caiden too. He had picked them up when he got the pizza, before I had even mentioned wanting a milkshake. He must have seriously read my mind.

Bailey's first snow

Well she seems to have liked it, but we weren't out there for long.

Michael Crichton is dead

I read a few of Michael Crichton's science fiction novels, but my favorite book was an autobiographical one called "Travels." My boyfriend teased me for liking it so much but it was fascinating. Crichton's undergrad degree was anthropology and then he went to medical school. He began writing then and it helped pay for his way through, but eventually became his profession.

In the book "Travels" he tells of various experiences in medical school, a little about some of his 5 marriages, and about travel around the globe doing research for his novels. It includes adventures like shark encounters and visits to pyramids, but is far more an introspective book than a recounting of things he's done. He questions why people do things the way they do or think the way they do. I loved his discussion of western medicine's limitations by sticking to rational explanations only. He seemed ready to embrace any concept he was introduced to, viewing it as information not in contradiction of other information, but merely just another set of information.

Though I consider myself pretty open-minded, the book truly helped me recognize the narrow scope through which I see the world and how to further expand it. Clifford Geertz is actually my hero in this field, but Crichton seems a bit more approachable and I enjoyed his non-academic perspective.

I may not be ready to go around fluffing up other people's auras (as he had done to him once), but I'd happily explore the psychology behind illnesses or alternative medicine and hopefully not discount the explanations given by people of other cultures.

Happy Halloween

Bailey was happy her Grandma Speer got her the pink leopard outfit that her mom wanted because it was perfect for the last East high varsity playoff game. Their mascot is a leopard and the school colors and red and white so pink was a close match. Unfortunately, she slept through most of the game so she didn't get on TV like I thought she surely would have if the cameraman had got a glimpse.

Caiden went as an astronaut and for the first time I enjoyed being able to come to his Halloween class parade since I've always been at work before. He was a little too cool for the helmet, though I can't blame him since the extra stuffing in the top elongated his head, giving it a shape more like a knight's helmet.