holds upon happiness

“What beautiful hyacinths! I have just learnt to love a hyacinth.”

“And how might you learn? By accident or argument?”

“Your sister taught me; I cannot tell how. Mrs. Allen used to take pains, year after year, to make me like them; but I never could, till I saw them the other day in Milsom Street; I am naturally indifferent about flowers.”

“But now you love a hyacinth. So much the better. You have gained a new source of enjoyment, and it is well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible."

--Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

Some things that I love doing are . . .

Having tea time with my roommate Michelle and anyone else who decides to join us.

Cleaning a room.

Eating chocolate. Or ice cream. Or guacamole with lime chips. Or salsa with lime chips. Or Thai food. Food brings me lots and lots of happiness.

Teaching at BYU.

Meeting with students to discuss their concerns about class and life.

Reading. I've long loved reading novels, but recent years have taught me to love reading poetry, compositional and rheotrical theory, nonfiction, and the news (especially opinion pieces).

Listening to NPR, the Mormon Channel, and other podcasts.

Sitting outside in the hour before sunset.

Being awake in the still of the early morning.

Talking with my family.

Sitting in the Celestial Room of any temple.

Emailing and receiving emails from my family (oh those delightful family email chains . . . ).

Visiting cemeteries. (I learned this one over the summer while visiting cemeteries in Massachusetts, Europe, and small Utah towns. Thanks, Sam.)

Writing journal entries, lists, thank you notes, blog posts, and, yes, even assignment sheets.

Getting absorbed in a meaningful conversation.

Laughing with good friends.

Listening in on strangers' conversations.

Browsing through books in a bookstore, touching the spines and feeling the pages, hmmming and smiling over the excerpts I read.

To me, each of these things is about an experience of calm. All of them cause me to slow down and reflect on how rich and good my life actually is and how kind and wonderful the people are around me really are and how numerous and personal my gifts from God have been. And maybe that's what happiness is? The experience of stopping to see the reality of the good God has woven into your life?

This e. e. cummings' poem captures my gratitude for these experiences well:

i thank You God for most this amazing 

day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees 

and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything 

which is natural which is infinite which is yes 

Yes.

Made with love

"Craftsmanship to be artistic in the final sense must be 'loving'; it must care deeply for the subject matter upon which skill is exercised."

--John Dewey, Art as Experience, p. 69

This is why, then, my Thai curry is art, and my thesis is not. Today I do the work of writing the thesis and tomorrow I practice the art of making curry. (Yum!)

Thai food and family dinners

I went to SpicyThai on Saturday with my four sisters, one of my brothers, and my adorable niece, Audrey. Audrey pretty much threw a fit the whole time we were in the restaurant, but it wasn't an angry fit. It was more of a "I think I am talking and communicating with all y'all, but I am actually screaming" kind of fit. She likes to shriek loudly in order to make her wishes known. The noise level was not all, however. She did a pretty good job of making a mess of her dinner. The amount of food she managed to get all over the table and floor was impressive, particularly consdiering her rather miniscule size. After take big mouthfuls of food, she spit out what she didn't want, or shook it on the floor. She soon began to refuse water from her little bottle and insisted on drinking from her mother's huge cup of ice water. Finally, she was given a tootsie pop to calm her down. She sucked on the wrapper for a little while before insisting that it be opened for her, but actually soon discarded the tootsie pop (throwing it unceremoniously on the ground) as soon as something more interesting (i.e., fortune cookies) appeared. In the middle of dinner, a glass of water was spilt as well (this however was not the baby's fault). It is pretty much a family tradition that a glass of water will be spilt each time we eat together. Family dinner wouldn't be family dinner without it. When we left, there was food all over the ground, a wet floor, but very clean dishes. Every scrap of Thai food was eaten and enjoyed. I am not sure that the waiter enjoyed our presence as much as we enjoyed our stay though.

The interesting thing about all of this is that everything Audrey did was cooed over by her four aunts and one uncle who were present. It's amazing how absolutely everything a one year old does is cute--that is, when you are related to her.