A God of order — and then there’s me

I desperately need order in my life. I carry around a notebook called “Carol’s Time Management” that contains articles about just that, as if I can learn it by osmosis, and continue to careen through life. And now I’ve come to see that my busyness, my frantic trying to keep up, also serves to help me avoid working through grief. It’s a layer of insulation, and not always a healthy one. “It’s good to be busy,” well-intentioned friends tell me. No, it’s not. Not to this extent. I don’t intend to be any kind of  ‘holic, but as with other addictions, sometimes the thing takes on a life of its own. After all, no one starts drinking with the thought, “You know, I think I’ll become an alcoholic.” So I need to turn from my chaos and overwork, look it square in the face, and then find the quiet place, God helping me.

A fellow blogger and friend (Hi, Lisa) writes about her dream journalling. I’ve done that, too. I keep a quote journal as well, and just now I was looking back through mine for a quote from Anne Lamott on grief, and instead I opened to this one, from W.H. Auden.  Seems fitting.

“We would rather be ruined than changed; We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die.”

Part of what I have to grieve is the death of illusions. But, dear Lord, I fear the lack of change more than the ruin, so let’s have at the truth.

 

Lesser known movie lines

Lesser known movie lines that still communicate plenty:

These all come from old movies. I’d say classic, but that’s debatable among People Who Know More Than We Do for at least one of them. I may not have the quotes word-perfect, but they’re close enough to be recognizable. Who said each, and in what circumstances?

1. “What, this old thing? I only wear it when I don’t care how I look.”
2. “Aw, Diz, don’t say it’s a nice name. Say it’s the prettiest name you ever heard.”
3. “Gray, Ryan. The world is gray.”
4. “I didn’t want you to be this miserable. A little bit’s all I asked for.”
5. “Dear Lord, help him to be agittin’ his land.”
6. “That’s one of my problems–I’m an anorexic spender.”
7. “Be careful. You’re playing in the big leagues now.”
8. “Nevertheless.”