Decluttering - Day 9

Last night was a night of decluttering the already decluttered. Heehee.

Last week I managed to walk into a store that did not contain yarn and needles (although I did walk into one of those, too) and purchased a couple of portable files for the boys' school work. They each have 14 dividers, so they're perfect for everything from preschool up to Grade 12. Unless they turn out to be interested in art or architecture or drafting, at which point I will probably have to purchase a portfolio.

Anyway, those drawers I cleaned out last week? Well, those got tackled...again...and everything that was a keeper was put into the appropriate place in the file. With those drawers now empty, I was able to organize all their books and workbooks.

Which brings me to a question...do you keep all your childrens' books as they grow up? Do you sell some, pass some on, donate some? How do you decide? Do you let them help you clear them out?

I'm not sure I'm ready to get rid of any of their books yet, even though I know they've grown past some of them. The thing is...they're books. And lots of books is never a bad thing, right?

Oh yeah, and I cleaned out my inbox on my computer. Not quite the chore I thought it would be.

Books, Books, and More Books.

So, at lunch today after a conversation with a friend about cookbooks, I logged into my Chapters-Indigo wish list.

I counted the books.

I counted them again.

Fifty-four.

54.

Yep, 54 books (actually I think there's now 56, as I've just added a couple more).

And those are just the ones I don't mind admitting to people that I would like to read. And the ones I've actually remembered to include, so I don't forget I want to read them, and get to the bookstore, and flounder amongst the shelves because there's. Simply. Too. Much. Choice.

My brain shuts down.

Obviously I'm adding books faster than I can purchase/borrow and read them, since last year there was only 30 listed.

It's a varied list: historical fiction, philosophy, classics, science fiction, non-fiction, cooking, humour, biographies, financial, science, poetry, gardening, homekeeping. There's a whole world of books out there to enjoy! I'm not picky! Well, I'm not into westerns or romance. 

I think part of the problem is the reading. I've got about six books at home waiting to be read. But, between technical papers, textbooks for night school, and bedtime stories, I find myself not having a lot of time for leisure reading.

So, what kind of books are on your reading list? Any recommendations? Because I obviously don't mind adding to this list. What books are you absolutely in love with?

Flight of the Dragonfly

Recently I finished reading Flight of the Dragonfly by Melissa Hawach. It chronicles her experiences bringing her daughters home from war-torn Lebanon after they were taken there by their father, her estranged husband.

Melissa and her partner are aquaintances of my parents, so we watched and prayed from the sidelines of this ordeal, hoping for news, any news, as the weeks went on. Every night we held our children tight with teary eyes, so grateful and thankful that they were safe at home. And finally, we cried tears of joy when Melissa and her family returned home and got down to trying to obtain some semblance of normalcy.

I highly recommend it. Especially to mothers and fathers. It's quite easy to read in a literary sense, but you will laugh, cry, love and hate through all its pages.

And you will never look at a dragonfly in the same way again.

Perhaps My New Book is Timely

It hit me. I thought I was going to escape its clutches, but this morning I woke up with a stuffy nose and barely able to talk.

The boys are just getting over their colds that hit them last week. What is it about kids that allows them to keep going when they have a cold? You would never know they were sick by their energy levels. I, on the other hand, could barely get out of bed this morning. Bleh.

~~~

I just finished reading "Dish" by Barbara Moses, PhD. An interesting read about women in midlife, but I think I could not relate to a lot of it. I think because I have reached some of the viewpoints in my 30's that some women reach in their 50's and 60's, and because a lot of what I was reading seemed very self-indulgent. But, I know that if I read it again in 20 years, I would probably have a different reaction to it.

So, I have now plunged whole-heartedly into "Healthy Aging" by Dr. Andrew Weil. And so far I am loving it. It has the perfect blend of science, theory and spiritual outlook for me. He doesn't talk about how to stop aging (not possible, and not desirable, in his view), but instead how to bring our physical bodies and spiritual minds and selves through the aging process in the best condition possible to as to shorten the actual decline in the end. The idea is to live as healthily as possible as long as possible and quickly decline, as opposed to living with years of age related illnesses.

~~~

I will be spending a lot of the next week getting ready for our trip to California for Easter. Any tips on how to keep a 2 1/2 year old occupied in an airport and on a 3-hour flight? Eeep!

An Ordinary Man

I just finished the book An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina, in which he chronicles his actions during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, helping to save hundreds of people at the Hotel Mille Collines in Kigali. Some of you may recognize this as the basis for the Hotel Rwanda movie starring Don Cheadle.

As I've said earlier, my interest in Rwanda stemmed from a speech I heard given by Romeo Dallaire. I then read Shake Hands With the Devil. So, when a friend lent me An Ordinary Man I knew I had to read it.

The majority of us in North America could never imagine the horror these people witnessed, lived through, helped fight and must remember. We could never imagine how one person could do these things to another human...a child, a mother, a father, the elderly, the educated and the uneducated. All stemming from a fear of loss of power.

SHAM

I recently finished the book "SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless" by Steve Salerno. (SHAM actually stands for self-help and actualization movement). Mr. Salerno has experience both researching and working in various areas of the self-help industry.

Food for thought! The basic concept of the book is about how the SHAM industry not only pulls in unthinkable amounts of money every year (5.7 billion dollars US in 2000 and growing) but the deeper damage that is has done to North American society. Lawsuits and divorces that are the result of the change in thinking by those who hold tight to the teachings of Victimization, Empowerment, and Recovery. Declines in educational performance. The real story behind people like Dr. Phil, Marianne Williamson and Tony Robbins and other 'thinly credentialed "experts"'.

Don't get me wrong...I'm all for positive outlooks, believing in yourself, yada, yada. However, in an industry that claims to want to solve a problem, you would think people's lives would get better. If it worked, people would not need further help from these authors and gurus. But studies show that the effect is quite the opposite. In fact, people are more likely to buy a book about a certain self-help topic (love, money, relationships, etc.) if they'd bought a similarly themed book in the past 18 months. WHAT???!!!

I don't get it.

One of my theories is that deep down, people essentially do not want to take responsibility for themselves. They want to turn themselves over to the power of the universe. A common theme in self-help is that if you believe deeply enough in something, then it will happen. Will it? Really? The quote at the beginning of the book could not be more perfect:

"Compared to the possibilities in life, the impossibilities are vastly more numerous. What I don't like to hear adults tell people your age is that you can be president or anything else you want to be. That's not even remotely true. The truth is that you can run for president, and that's all...In our wonderfully free society, you can try to be just about anything, but your chances of success are another thing entirely." Marilyn vos Savant (who, by the way, was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for Highest IQ).

I would love to tell my boys that they can be anything they want to be. I think though, that the message will more likely by something along the lines of "If you are honest with yourself and make your contributions to society, all else will fall into place."

Or perhaps people want to place the blame for their shortcomings on someone or something else. Everything is a disease these days...shoplifting, acoholism, drug abuse. And more and more often companies, fellow employees, communities, etc. are being forced to see them as such and make allowances for it (whether they like it or not).

I don't know what to think...it's obviously not black and white, is it? I just have seen so many of my friends start on this mindset that they need someone to lead them down a path to their personal greatness. And most of that leadership is laced with fluff and vague statements ("The thing you notice about losers is, they don't win" Seriously.)

I'm not perfect, nor would I ever think to be. In my mind perfection means done and I am never done. I am always growing and learning. I have many moments of self-doubt. Am I capable of raising 2 boys into wonderful, loving, contributing adults? Am I the wife my husband thought he was marrying? Am I good at my job? But, I go on. I buckle down and I work harder at those things and I excel where I can and make no excuses when I don't. And the accolades are that much more enjoyed when they're not expected, and are hard-won. Really. If you just expect everyone to realize you are brilliant, you will be disappointed many times. You have to earn the recognition.

~~~

And now, on to my next book, "An Ordinary Man" by Paul Rusesabagina. This book inspired the movie "Hotel Rwanda". After hearing Romeo Dallaire speak about his experience in Rwanda and then reading "Shake Hands with the Devil" I've been fascinated by the events leading up to and during the 1994 genocide. I am considering becoming a "sister" to a woman in Rwanda through the Women For Women International. I would become a support for her financially and emotionally for 1 year through donations and correspondence.

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Last, a late "Happy Thanksgiving" to my American neighbors. I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as ours was in October. And now on to the excess of the Christmas season! Eeep!