How's THAT for living?

One hundred thirty.

That's how many minutes I spent on the phone with my mom last night. Part of the wonder at that is the fact that I placed the call at 10:34pm.

I called my mom to inform her that I was investing in a hammock to sleep in during the summer while I live with her. While I thought I should let her know, part of the reason I called was because I figured she would have a good laugh over the idea. The words out of her mouth: "Oh, that's SO cool! Sonny (my step-dad) and I have been discussing getting an air mattress so we can sleep on our balcony during the summer!"

I should have known at this point that we would spend a couple hours catching up and pouring out of hearts, ideas, burdens, questions, dreams, etc.

Most of our heart to heart could be summed up in one word: "Why?"

I have just been pondering life and the meaning of it and thought..."Why do I have to get a career after I graduate?" If I'm lucky, I could live to be 80 years old. That means I have already lived over a quarter of my life.

In Jon Krakauer's 1996 novel "Into The Wild," the main character is quoted, "Mr. Franz I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one." We discussed how much of what the character did in this story was running aware from reality and trying to prove something to those around him. But he had such a good point in this line. WHY? Even if I graduate with my degree and don't get a career, I will still have seen my time here as important and very valuable. In his semi-autobiographical novel, "Through Painted Deserts," Donald Miller writes, "Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons." And that is what I have done. I left and I am ready to go back for the summer to work and love my home for all new reasons.

I just finished one of Donald Miller's newer books, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years."
VERY intriguing idea: "The thing I never realized while I was studying marketing was the process of advertising products is, in many ways, a manipulation of the elements of story (life). It's like I was telling you about an inciting incident disrupting the stability of a character's life, throwing him or her into a story. Advertising does exactly this. We watch a commerical with a new Volvo, and suddently we feel our life isn't as content as it once was. Our life doesn't have the new Vovlo. And we begin the story of buying it, only to repeat the story with a new weed eater and then a new home stereo. And it goes on for a lifetime. When the credits roll, we wonder what we did with our lives, and what was the meaning. The ambitions we will become the stories we live. If you want to know what a person's story is about, just ask them what they want. If we don't want anything, we are living boring stories, and if we want a Roomba vacuum cleaner, we are living stupid stories. If it won't work in a story, it won't work in life."

I have made the decision to stop listening to the commercials. I don't need to be a size 3, or even a size 7 for that matter. I don't need to be unnaturally dark skinned. I don't need fake contacts or highlights. I don't need a new teapot because it has a nice floral print and would look good on my shelf.

My life is NOT the things I have, it is the things I do/experience/enjoy.

I have more thoughts on this...but I am going to walk away from the computer and experience some more life.

Today's experience: Sitting in a local independent bookstore reading and conversing with two retired men about life and good music. Ate chopped BBQ sandwiches with them. 7 holes of golf. Laid in a hammock.

How's that for living life?

"Well, its almost 1am. I'm going to go to bed..."