"Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life." ~Bertolt Brecht

I had such an awesome time with the Tibetan monks yesterday. The performance Wednesday night was amazing, with the chants and the dances and the instruments, it was so incredible. Then yesterday I had lunch with them (they came to our school) and stayed for fourth period making butter sculptures, which was very fun and I was very proud of mine. But talking with them was so cool. And it is interesting, because there is so much that they know that I know to be truth. There are discrepancies in our beliefs, but there is so much the same. Basic principles, of being kind and not having worldy attachments and giving all you have. So much that is so true about life. And I was talking to this one guy, and he was talking about how much of our lives are spent doing completely pointless things, how much of our life is spent just trying to satisfy our "needs," and how much time we waste. Before you know it, half of your life is gone and you don't have much to show for it. It really made me think about what I'm doing in my life, and if it's all really worthwhile. And their devotion fascinates me. To spend all day studying, for most of your life. You must have such a desire to learn and grow. Which I do. A lot of the times I just want to run away from school and home and life and just go around learning about the gospel and sharing it with others and learning about life through experience and not from a textbook. The monk I was talking to the whole time, we asked him what he wanted to do when he was finished with his studies, and he said that he wanted to be a vagabond. He just wants to wander around, not worry about having a job or food or clothing, but just follow the paths that are set before him. I think that that is so cool. It really makes you think about what you're doing with your life and how selfish it tends to be. We always think about me or I, when really we're not isolated in this world. There are so many other people that need our help, and those that have more have an obligation to help those that don't have. It's a simple rule that a lot of people missed in the course of life. Instant gratification. That's all we care about. And I'm not saying I'm not guilty of this as well, I know I am. But sometimes someone comes along and shows you how much happier and more content you could be with your life if you devoted yourself to helping others. It's really nice when things like that happen. A real eye-opener.

I am kind of mad at myself too, having that amazing experience and then just going back to my normal life like nothing happened. But I have a few reminders now, and I think about what I'm doing more often. I put my butter sculpture on my shelf where I can see it, and I bought a set of prayer beads that are hanging on my wall to remind me what I should be praying about. So it changed me a little, at least. I hope permanently.

On a different note, we had so much fun last night. Darcy, Jeff and Sam came over to watch Corpse Bride, even though we only ended up watching about an hour of the movie. We watched a half hour or so, and then decided to make brownies, so we ended up standing around the kitchen talking for a long time. Almost an hour, I'd say. Talking about dreams and licking batter off spoons....ah, good memories. We even have pictures, so I'll post one once Darcy develops the film. Then when we found out that everyone had to leave by 10:30, we watched twenty more minutes of the movie, ate brownies and then everyone left. Not exactly what we came to do, but a heck of a lot of fun nonetheless. I would love to do it again. And what was said and done in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen.

Dance rehearsal tonight, whoo hoo! I'm so not excited. Well, dance rehearsals are better than regular rehearsals, cause I'm actually doing stuff the whole time, instead of sitting around doing nothing. We actually work on stuff. I just get frustrated that we can't go faster, but I can live with that. I'm just going to have to take a nap before, because the only thing that got me through rehearsal on Wednesday was my nap in the library. That was nice. But I can't do that again for fear of getting in trouble. Oh well. Sleep is good.

I hope that everyone is doing hunky-dorey, I miss Liz but I'm going to see her very soon, yay! I hope that she is doing wonderfully, I hope that Jeff has fun in Ashland for the short time he'll be there (seeing his friend too), I hope that Mollie has a better day, I hope that everyone has a splendiforous and amazingly glorious day, and that life is going good for them. I may not show it all the time (in the correct manner), but I love you all and wish you all the very best in life. Shalom!