"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Towanda


Yesterday I received some nice responses to my blog. I believe this Towanda syndrome is a HUGE thing for women - (I don't know so much about men to be quite honest).

I think it might be because women do tend to sacrifice more for their families - personally - themselves and who they are - that is. Men too sacrifice too and work hard to support their families so I'm not saying that - it's just different.

All I know as for living my own life - I've sacrificed greatly. I can remember some 'major untowanda' moments in my life. I can remember certain unpleasant situations in my life that changed the course of my life forever -do you?

To Penniwig - she's right. There are so many facets to people. We have so many sides to ourselves. Who are we? Do we even know? How do we find out?
I love her message:

"From Lord of the Rings, the Lady Eowyn to Aragorn: "May I not now spend my life as I will?"

Aragorn: "Few may do that with honor."

I think that it's hard to spend your own life as you will because it would be so 'selfish' - wouldn't it? As women we are taught from early on to self sacrifice - to defer. I don't mean to speak for other women - I just believe that as true because I've seen it so much. Then when we get older we question what and why we did it - maybe it is our midlife crisis.

But I'm wondering if there is one defining moment - a Towanda moment - that changes you forever. The one moment that unlocks you and sets you free.

The one act that frees you for all the rest to come.

It may be a simple message to yourself as you are one damn strong woman or it could be life altering. I don't know.

In Fried Green Apples, after Kathy Bates suffers and sacrifices in her own (movie) life, she listens and learns from an old chatty crone (lol), and when she internalizes it, grasps the meaning, she goes out to her Towanda moment, and after she hits that car - her life is never the same again. She gained strength and self confidence - on in the inside - and she would always retain it.

Something pretty I read-

Leo Buscaglia....

"To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk being called sentimental. To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. But the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. Only the person who risks is truly free."

Life is not always about being happy....one of the hard lessons that I seem to take a little longer than others to learn! But the art of living, I think, lies in the ability to find the beauty in the midst of sadness...to seek the simple joys found in the trail of a tear down a cheek....or the flash of white in a smile...or the comfort in the arms of a friend when you least expect it.

An art that's found in choosing the snowy mountain road over the road well traveled.....and looking for the joy to be found in the scenery that unfolds before you. An art that means stepping up, speaking out, sharing the smile, letting the tears flow....sharing your dreams. No matter how steep the mountain road....or how hard the choice to speak up....the art of living...the beauty in life...is found in taking that risk! "

Thank you Changes In The Wind - I think you know of what I speak.

And Corgi Dog Mama - I was reading the paper yesterday and it had a little fact in it I thought went along with your bombing - it was about frogs. Maybe you'll get his maybe I nuts (lol).

If you drop a frog into hot water - it'll jump right out - if you put the frog in cool water and turn on the heat - it'll never even know what hit him. He'll die. So keep jumping out of the pot until you find out where you need to go.

Always thinking, wondering, and jumping in myself never really sure of what I'm doing, but it's still fun none the less.

Chatty Crone

3 comments:

JeanMac said...

Wow, great words. I have to think about this a bit.

^..^Corgidogmama said...

Good God...the marbles were really rolling inside your head this morning. What a thought provoking post. Great words, and like JeanMac, I'm going to cipher over this a little bit.

Anonymous said...

Dear Chatty,
What Leo B. wrote and shared by you today is so timely for me. "Life is not always about being happy....." I could go on but it's late. I want to read and re-read what you wrote today. What book are the Leo B. quotes taken from. Thank you for the wonderful share AND the Towando moments in our life, as well, AngelGirl.
Love, JAS