Songs!

Here are a few songs that help get your energy up/ concentrate all that nervous energy into something that projects a semblance of control:

"Blackout", by Breathe Carolina
"Breakaway", by Kelly Clarkson
"A Thousand Miles", by Vanessa Carlton
"Homeless", by Ed Sheeran
"Imaginary", by Evanescence
"Hopeless Wanderer", by Mumford and Sons
"Sister, Mother", by Sixpence None the Richer
"Feel Again", by OneRepublic

Enjoy!

Why X-Ray Vision is Overrated

Superpowers come in all shapes and sizes. We have X-ray vision, telekinesis, telepathy, and immortality. Some of us can fly, some of us have bendable arms and invisible powers, and some of us (including yours truly) have the infallible, uncanny ability to always discover new knots in our hair. I know that you have a superpower, too. I do not have a problem with that; in fact, I commend you for it! I do have a problem with our fascination with having the superpower dubbed "X-Ray Vision". 

Problem 1: X-Ray Vision, contrary to popular belief, would not be as interesting as everyone thinks. It's a misnomer. Do you want to see in X-Rays? Most likely, you do not; you want what should be called The Power to See Through Things/Long Distances. 

Problem 2: We all say that we want to see through things. Perhaps this is due to the societal value that we place on being able to "see through the BS" or the lies or someone's demeanor to understand what they are really communicating. And don't get me wrong; being able to cut through the crap is possibly one of the most valuable skills in the world. But ask yourself this question: do you want to see through things, or do you want to see past them? 

When we skim through pages, breeze through life, and rush through the motions of perfunctory tasks, we get things done--at the cost of not noticing so many important things out there. When we look through things, or people, or ideas, or obstacles, we sacrifice the knowledge, experience, and awareness that we would have gained by taking the time to actually see what was going on. If you are merciless with a peer who is getting on your nerves--if you decide to see through him or her--in the hopes of driving home the fact that, to you, he or she does not exist, any potential for improvement in your relationship vanishes along with the original "problem".

How powerful would it be if we had the superpower to see past obstacles, into the future of potential and realization and aspiration? If we focused on seeing everything--including the things farthest away? How many things would we do differently? How many changes would we be encouraged to make? 

I believe in having not X-Ray Vision but in having Vision. In many religions--and even in everyday idioms--seeing is associated with believing and understanding (ie "You see?"= "You understand?"). If we can see possibilities and possible outcomes, then we immediately enable ourselves to believe that those outcomes can exist--or will exist. All that's left, then, is to make it happen.

So maybe try out ditching the X-Ray Vision for real Vision. Who knows what you will find!

My Life Philosophy

Shatter Me Passage

This is one of the most beautiful passages in a book that I have read in a long time. It's an excerpt from a book called Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I have not yet finished the novel, but I highly recommend it, especially if you like the following passage. 

In my English class, we are in the middle of reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf--and in my opinion, the quality of description is equally interesting, engaging, and unique. The narrator is describing rain. Enjoy.

[I] Feel my breath fog up the glass. Close my eyes to the sound of a soft pitter-patter rushing through the wind. Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.

I always wonder about raindrops.

I wonder about how they’re always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble right out of the sky toward an uncertain end. It’s like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn’t seem to care where the contents fall, doesn’t seem to care that the raindrops burst when they hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors.

I am a raindrop.

My parents emptied their pockets of me and left me to evaporate on a concrete slab.

--Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi

A Little Riddle For You

Can you decipher the meaning of these letters?

I  C  D  B.  D  B  S  A  B  Z  Y.   U  C  D  B  Z  B  2 ?