"The problem, of course, is that there's no way of knowing that your last good day is your Last Good Day. At the time, it is just another good day." (p. 253)-John Green
I love that quote for so many reasons. Among existentialists, it's common to say, "What if you died tomorrow? What would you do differently today?"
Well, if I knew that I was going to die tomorrow, I probably wouldn't do much of anything. I'd kiss my pets, eat some really fattening food, cry, and wait. Because I only have a day. What can you do in a day?
Thinking about today being my Last Good Day, however, puts a new spin on things. I ask myself, "What can I do today that would make today a good day?" Maybe I'll do a random act of kindness, or take time to really relish my morning cup of coffee, or let the cat snuggle for fifteen more minutes even if he makes me late. Maybe I'll try to relax and enjoy and not get so wound up. Maybe I'll be mindful.
What would you do if today was your "Last Good Day?"
Monday, January 23, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Twitter has been buzzing with enthusiasm for The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. When I read the book description, however, I saw the "C" word--cancer. Generally, I can't stand books about cancer. Let me explain why.
Life in general is pretty depressing. It has its good moments, but death and pain and depression are par for the course. As a result, I don't like to be reminded that life is suffering when I read fiction. I want to read stories with the happy ending that life so often does not provide. If I wanted to be depressed, I could read a newspaper for free.
All that being said, when I visited a brick and mortar bookstore last night and saw a "signed copy" of TFIOS sitting right at the front, curiosity got the better of me. I told myself that I would only read five pages, just to see what all the buzz was about. Needless to say, I was hooked. I left the store with it in my hands and stayed up until late reading it. At the end, I cried. I checked my body for suspicious lumps. And I marveled at the main character's ability to face adversity with grace.
Hazel Grace was diagnosed at 13 with Stage IV thyroid cancer that had spread to her lungs. Thanks to an experimental drug, she's living on borrowed time. She has to carry around an oxygen machine and lives with the constant pain of underoxygenation. Her entire world revolves around television, books and her two parents. She's an only child so when she dies, her parents will be left alone. She tries to stay isolated, to minimize the damage that her death will cause to the people who love her, but a chance meeting with a fellow cancer survivor named Augustus will change the way she thinks about herself, her life, and her illness.
Hazel is incredibly brave. She talks about how death from cancer isn't noble. It's painful and messy and the kids who are dying from it are neither particularly good nor particularly bad. They're just people. Hazel herself is special, however. She's not afraid to love, even though it hurts. She's not afraid to face her own mortality, even though she feels pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. When her illness beats her body into submission, she longs for death, but she keeps on living anyway.
At its heart, TFIOS is a love story--sweet, realistic and tragic. Hazel and Gus are like the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, but their relationship is more tender and realistic. The book will stick with me for a very long time. In some ways, I wish it wouldn't. It reminds me of my own mortality--a fact I try to avoid thinking about on a daily basis. Great art changes you, though. It makes you think about the world and life itself differently. TFIOS did that for me.
Life in general is pretty depressing. It has its good moments, but death and pain and depression are par for the course. As a result, I don't like to be reminded that life is suffering when I read fiction. I want to read stories with the happy ending that life so often does not provide. If I wanted to be depressed, I could read a newspaper for free.
All that being said, when I visited a brick and mortar bookstore last night and saw a "signed copy" of TFIOS sitting right at the front, curiosity got the better of me. I told myself that I would only read five pages, just to see what all the buzz was about. Needless to say, I was hooked. I left the store with it in my hands and stayed up until late reading it. At the end, I cried. I checked my body for suspicious lumps. And I marveled at the main character's ability to face adversity with grace.
Hazel Grace was diagnosed at 13 with Stage IV thyroid cancer that had spread to her lungs. Thanks to an experimental drug, she's living on borrowed time. She has to carry around an oxygen machine and lives with the constant pain of underoxygenation. Her entire world revolves around television, books and her two parents. She's an only child so when she dies, her parents will be left alone. She tries to stay isolated, to minimize the damage that her death will cause to the people who love her, but a chance meeting with a fellow cancer survivor named Augustus will change the way she thinks about herself, her life, and her illness.
Hazel is incredibly brave. She talks about how death from cancer isn't noble. It's painful and messy and the kids who are dying from it are neither particularly good nor particularly bad. They're just people. Hazel herself is special, however. She's not afraid to love, even though it hurts. She's not afraid to face her own mortality, even though she feels pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. When her illness beats her body into submission, she longs for death, but she keeps on living anyway.
At its heart, TFIOS is a love story--sweet, realistic and tragic. Hazel and Gus are like the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, but their relationship is more tender and realistic. The book will stick with me for a very long time. In some ways, I wish it wouldn't. It reminds me of my own mortality--a fact I try to avoid thinking about on a daily basis. Great art changes you, though. It makes you think about the world and life itself differently. TFIOS did that for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)