This book.... whew... it's one of those "Oh my goodness... oh my goodness... this stuff is going to change my life" sort of reads. Incredible. The book focuses a lot on the idea of "story" and what makes a good story and what makes OUR lives good stories and why good stories are worth pursuing.
Anyways.... I may just be hosting a book club this summer (and maybe beyond that, who knows) and this book will no doubt be the first book we read (I'm the founder of the club, I get to make these sorts of decisions, you see).
Today I'll share just a few of my favorite passages from the book with you, my friends.
"I've said before, the main way we learn story is not through movies or books; it's through each other. Your become like the people you interact with. And if your friends are living boring stories, you probably will too. We teach our children good or bad stories, what is worth living for and what is worth dying for, what is worth pursuing, and the dignity with which a character engages his own narrative." p.160
"I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don't want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgment. We don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable, then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants." p. 59
"The ambitions we have will become the stories we live. If you want to know what a person's story is about, just ask them what they want. If we don't want anything, we are living boring stories, and if we want a Roomba vacuum cleaner, we are living stupid stories. If it won't work in a story, it won't work in life." p. 125
"... I realized how much of our lives are spent trying to avoid conflict. Half the commercials on television are selling us something that will make life easier. Part of me wonders if our stories aren't being stolen by the easy life." p.186
"People love to have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it happen. But joy costs pain." p.100
Until next time...
I really would have preferred to get the white version of this bed, but it cost an extra $80! Nothing a little paint can't fix at some point down the road.
