0 commentsNow that I'm feeling myself again, I'm eager to get back on track in terms of doing the things I love to do. I thought I'd write down several realistic goals here, and then work to ensure that I actually achieve them. 1) Fitness Ever since the weather turned cold here in Providence I've been, let's say, lax about cycling and running. Granted, I have continued to ride my bike for transportation purposes, and I walk everywhere else, but I have ceased going on leisurely bike rides and runs. I would like to change that. Especially given the fact that I only have class twice a week, it doesn't seem unreasonable for me to find the time to do an hour to an hour and a half of cycling or running more fairly frequently. Therefore, I'd like to set the goal for myself of at least an hour of physical activity (not including walking) 5 days a week. That should include at least three bike rides a week. The aim is not to transform myself into some kind of behemoth with bulging muscles; rather, I want to get outside, feel the beating of my heart and the rush of cool air against my skin. I also need to balance my intellectual interests with an activity that allows me to release the tension that builds up in my body when I think about changing the way we generate power, get from place to place, and grow our food.
0 commentsI have been in a funk since mid-November. The scary thing is that, in many ways, I didn't realize how out of it I've felt until today. That's because today, after 5 months, my best friend, Eva, finally signed online and spoke to me again. Eva is from Spain, and since we met three years ago while I was studying abroad in Granada, she has been a source of stability and friendship for me. Suddenly, in late October, she stopped answering my calls, and so began a long period of time during which I always felt slightly unhappy and off-center.
0 commentsThere are two things I believe in so passionately that they drive the direction and course of my very existence. The first is the power of an impassioned, energetic individual with a vision to alter the course of history. This transformative power (or is it a responsibility?) is what Buckminster Fuller referred to as a 'trimtab solution.' A trimtab is "a tiny rudder on the trailing edge of the main rudder that causes an initial momentum to allow the main rudder to turn with less effort." In other words, these great individuals make it easier for society to turn in a new direction, by giving their surroundings a push.
0 commentsThe Lover
Snow piled on the ground whilst I slept,
Pure white specks of water cascading
From the darkest corners of the sky,
And unbeknownst to me my heart lept
Like the tongue of a forest insect,
Snatching at air and not knowing why.
Morning made the world as bright
And tempting as empty paper,
And at the border of vision and sight
I saw an endless expanse, upon which
Doubt, hope, fear, bliss, and pain,
Were imprinted by the footsteps of light.
With aching brain, locked inside my house,
Thoughts of time overcame timeless thoughts.
Yet even the winter months could not douse
The flame that compels the world to grow.
And so, asleep or awake, joyous or sad,
My heart begs the world to be its spouse.
0 comments"A sack of sugar must be sliced open that the sweetness may spill forth."At times I feel as though the very fabric of space were tearing open, and all the stellar energy of the cosmos rushing through my body, my thoughts, my existence, my being. It is a fierce, frenetic, agonizing sensation, one of tremendous bliss, agony and tenderness spun together like the colors of a dancer's dress, violently blending into one as she whirls. I imagine myself a whirling dervish, only still, more still than "the still point of the turning world" that T.S. Eliot described.
Click here to download a PDF of my complete thesis. Questions and comments are much appreciated!
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