"Poshlust, Nabokov explains, 'is not only the obviously trashy but mainly the falsely important, the falsely beautiful, the falsely clever, the falsely attractive.'"
I am reading a fascinating book called Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. It is the account of an Iranian woman and a small group of female students who gather in her small apartment to unveil themselves and dive into the world of literature. I have only read a few chapters and I am entranced by these brave women and the lessons they are learning and the trials they face. The whole first section is based around the novels of Nabokov, especially Lolita. I have never read Lolita, or any Nabakov, but I am finding his themes and characters quite intriguing. As someone who has never experienced life under a totalitarian society, these stories seem so removed, yet so real. I can see the truth in the midst of his fiction. And it applies not only to totalitarian societies, but to all.
The above quote is perhaps the one that has stood out the most to me so far. When I look at myself, and at many other Americans, I can't help but see how much of our lives we have filled with "the falsely important, the falsely beautiful, the falsely clever, the falsely attractive." And it is a reality check.
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of the God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
"in the end, all we own is our story...
...i'm just trying to live a good one." ~australia
as a lover of stories, i've often imagined what life would be like if i were a part of one of my favorites. an orphan alongside anne of green gables, a friend of elizabeth bennet, one of the march sisters, one of the railway children, a heroine.
however, as we get dragged down in the day to day, it is so easy to forget that we are part of a story. our own unique story. and every choice we make decides what kind of story we are living. over the last four years, i have found myself a part of many adventures that make great stories: white-water rafting through the andes mountains, a 60 hour bus ride across the hellish chaco of paraguay, sitting among the ancient ruins of machu picchu, backpacking an ancient incan trail, sailing across the lake titicaca, driving across the awe inspiring salt flats, riding a boat under the iguazu falls, watching the calving of the perrito moreno glacier, and many, many more.
even this past weekend, a simple camping trip turned into an adventure when the 1978 land cruiser we were driving in decided that it had had enough of the altitude and just stopped running. we ended up just pushing it to the side of the road and hiking down into the valley below to set up camp for the night. it wasn't how we had planned our weekend, but it still turned into a wonderful adventure. and really, in bolivia, there doesn't seem to be any lack of amazing campsites. the random valley was gorgeous and that night we sat under one of the most amazing star-studded skies i have ever seen.
as a lover of stories, i've often imagined what life would be like if i were a part of one of my favorites. an orphan alongside anne of green gables, a friend of elizabeth bennet, one of the march sisters, one of the railway children, a heroine.
however, as we get dragged down in the day to day, it is so easy to forget that we are part of a story. our own unique story. and every choice we make decides what kind of story we are living. over the last four years, i have found myself a part of many adventures that make great stories: white-water rafting through the andes mountains, a 60 hour bus ride across the hellish chaco of paraguay, sitting among the ancient ruins of machu picchu, backpacking an ancient incan trail, sailing across the lake titicaca, driving across the awe inspiring salt flats, riding a boat under the iguazu falls, watching the calving of the perrito moreno glacier, and many, many more.
even this past weekend, a simple camping trip turned into an adventure when the 1978 land cruiser we were driving in decided that it had had enough of the altitude and just stopped running. we ended up just pushing it to the side of the road and hiking down into the valley below to set up camp for the night. it wasn't how we had planned our weekend, but it still turned into a wonderful adventure. and really, in bolivia, there doesn't seem to be any lack of amazing campsites. the random valley was gorgeous and that night we sat under one of the most amazing star-studded skies i have ever seen.
an exciting story seems easy to live when you live overseas. but as i prepare to leave this life of easy adventures, i am trying to remember that i can live an exciting story anywhere. it just takes living life with open eyes and a ready spirit, the willingness to choose the harder path and the desire to make your story count. and the result will be a story that is far better than any found in literature.
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