Pages

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Why oh why did I agree to the days of truth? Here are days 14-17

Back on October 12, I said I was going to do the 30 days of truth. At the time I thought it was a good idea and would be fun. But each time I write one of those posts, I get my lowest comments AND I get my lowest hits for the day. Also, and more importantly, I hate writing them. I feel like any brain creativity I have goes out the window and I can't seem to hit my writing groove.

But I will carry on and sally forth and all that rot because my mama didn't raise a quitter. And because today I need a stupid blog topic because for some reason the well is running dry. It could be because it's a holiday and I think my brain turned to a candied yam.

So, without further ado:

Day 14: A hero who has let you down (letter)
I don't have a hero who has let me down. I'm not even sure I have a hero. And I'm certainly not writing a letter if I did.

Yeah, I seriously thought about stopping here but I'm dragging this out so I shall continue. (Daddy-O suggested I just jump to something I want to write about on the list but that would be nothing.)

Day 15: Something or Someone you could live without, because you've tried living without it.
AlaskaSam. See previous answer to previous question.

See, some of these are repetitive. Maybe I should write my own 30 days of truth?

Day 16: Someone of something you definitely could live without.
My ex- husband. Click here to read about him (though why you'd want to I wouldn't know because he is such a dickhead), which I answered in a previous question.

See what I mean about repeating itself?

Day 17: a book you've read that changed your views on something
Okay, I can get totally get into this one! As a matter of fact I could write about 30 books that changed my views- maybe that's a list?!

The Year of Living Biblically. The long and the short of this memoir is that author AJ Jacobs decided to spend one year living biblically, or following the rules of the Bible in a literal sense.

But this memoir was so much more than that. The cover of the book lends the reader to think it's probably pretty funny, and it is, much of the time. But there's so much more to it than that; it's following his journey to discover 'something' through religion. His quest took him to a snake handler in Tennessee, Amish country, a gay Evangelical Bible study, an Evangelical church, and into the world of the Hasidic Jews- and much, much more.

This was funny, but to me it was more fascinating and educational. I enjoyed peeping into his daily routine as he tried to live a more Biblical life. I found this to be a thoroughly fun AND an educational read.

As a person who was raised United Methodist and has become an atheist (though a very not very dedicated and rather lax one at that), I found this book gave me lots of food for thought; it's been awhile since I read a book and highlighted passages and took notes; and was reading with about 4 versions of the Bible at hand to look up stuff he mentioned. I liked the dichotomy he found within the Bible and all the different religions' interpretation of the holy word.

Maybe I'm not really a lapsed Methodist and a bad atheist. I'm something, I think, but I'm not sure what. SO, yes, the book changed my view. It didn't solve anything for me, but it made me think and some days that just has to be enough.

So Mr Jacobs, in case you're still Googling yourself and find this post, I LOVED this book and I appreciate your efforts in the year you were biblical. Thanks for providing something that stimulated my interest as well as my brain. It was so good I bought a copy to highlight rather than defacing the public library copy!

2 comments:

Mellodee said...

Hi, I wouldn't fret about the way you feel about this meme. If you could somehow change the parameters a bit into something more enjoyable, it might help you be more enthusiastic. It wouldn't be quitting, it would just be adjusting! I probably would feel the way you do. The concept is a good one, but I think the questions are not only repetitive, but extremely personal and not the thing to respond to in a public venue such as a blog! In other words, it's not you, it's the questions!

I don't feel that there is a stigma attached to quitting an activity if it turns out not to be what you expected. Sticking with something that doesn't live up to your expectations, is no disgrace. It is recognizing that there are better ways to spend your time and moving on to something more valuable!

Curley said...

Yeah, what Mellodee said. Plus it puts you into a box as far as your writing goes. It is much better when you come up with your own stories.