That's What's Up

I miss my sisters.

I have three of them and they're the best.

They're some of my very best friends.

Just thought you ought to know.

Also, here's a song that reminds me of them.

Hey Can I Tell You a Secret?

So, way back when it wasn't the summer yet and I felt a little stressed about my school load and finals and adult life and stuff I did that thing that you're not supposed to do where you're like, "once this thing happens I will be happier and not as stressed and whatever."

Comeuppance stinks. Because that thing that was going to make my life better was the start of summer. And while this summer has been pretty great, it's also been fairly stressful and just plain hard at times. 

I want to make myself clear. I have a great life. But even great lives have hard things. 

For an example, yesterday was not the best of days. My fire alarm went off (not that that's huge, it just really sucked and seemed like a big deal at the time and maybe that's weird, but it was kind of icing on the cake of crappy days, which I would imagine tastes nasty). 

And then yesterday I went swimming with some friends and it was really great! Also, my sister comes back from her LDS mission at the end of July and that's awesome because she is one of my very best friends and also because it looks like I get to spend about a week, maybe longer with my family who I haven't seen in a while. 

And I think I just really need a vacation from adult life for a bit. Maybe that sounds trivial and stupid, but whatever. 

Also, I really want to just sit on my mom's bed and play cards with my family. It's kind of our thing.

Ramadan

Hey. So do you remember way back in early April when I wrote a blog post about gratitude that also talked about religion just a bit? Cool. Do you remember how I was like 'religion, no matter the specific type, can be a good thing' (except that's paraphrased a bit)? Cool.

So today starts the Muslim month of Ramadan, which I think is pretty cool. I have some Muslim friends, so I know the basics of Ramadan - the fasting during the day part and such. But I recently saw this article on Facebook and I think it's really cool. It's cool because it teaches. A lot of what it says is really interesting stuff that I didn't know before and it's always better to understand different cultures and belief systems and ideologies, etc. despite what one personally believes. But a lot of the stuff talked about are things that I believe, too (yes, even though I'm a Christian). And I just think it's cool that different religions can have similar teachings, albeit different ways of practicing them.

I could just sum up some of those things, but instead I think I'll just copy and paste from the article.

"Dr. Mansur [a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Center for the Study of Islam in the UK at Cardiff University] added: 'Ramadan is known as the month of empathy. And it's that time of the year where Muslims put themselves in the shoes of people who don't have enough food or water to drink and [experience] a little of their situation. So it is supposed to [evoke] empathy in people.'"

Well I think that is a great thing to try to do. 

Also, "...Ramadan is not just about avoiding food or drink, but also working on who we are as a person. Dr. Mansur added that as well as Ramadan being a month of empathy it is also about patience. 'For 30 consecutive days you are put into this situation where you are going to be hungry, your sugar levels are low, and the chances are that you are going to get a bit edgy and agitated, so either you have a very foul mood for the month of Ramadan or you deal with it for 30 days. It is the best anger management course.'"

So even though I don't agree with the theology behind Ramadan, I really appreciate what it does for people and I want to ensure that I am incorporating these same ideas -empathy and patience - into my own personal religious practices. 

PS ~ I don't really know if this blog post makes any sense, I'm writing this when I'm really tired... 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all dads out there, but especially to my papa! One thing I will always remember is you asking us over and over again "You know I love you, right?" As a kid I thought it was ridiculous, but now I am so thankful that you always made sure your kids knew how much you care for us. You're always there for me! I love you Papa!

I would also like to say Happy Father's Day to my Heavenly Father, who is always so great at reminding me just when I need it most how much He loves me, too.

I Love You Mother Nature

I've been posting lots of music lately...