Perspective

So I'm developing this bad habit of starting blog posts and then not finishing. But really, it always seems to happen that they would have been missing something anyway. I started this post a few weeks ago, but when this painting was brought up in one of my classes today, I knew it needed to be included.

"La Condition Humaine" René Magritte, 1933

On my mission, my trainer would often talk about her desire to be "quick to observe," as it talks about in the scriptures. I, being the naive little greenie, was so proud of myself for having this trait down. I mean, I noticed everything. We would leave someone's house, and I'd be like, "did you notice that sign on the side of their door?" (or something equally trivial), and of course she hadn't, which only furthered my foolish pride in the matter. This scenario replayed several times, and I was content in knowing that I was, indeed, quick to observe. 

Well, naturally, as life is only too happy to teach us, I found out that I wasn't as great as I thought I was. I wasn't so much quick to observe as I was quick to judge, and that often got (gets) me in trouble. Turns out, it's something that I really struggle with! I am starting to realize that my problem here has more to do about perspective than anything. I am quick to observe, that is true, but then I am prone to making snap judgments about what I see, without pausing to consider any alternatives. So this is my 2 cents about perspective. Take it for what it's worth...

You probably know how much I love Harry Potter. You may remember in HP 7.1 when Hermione, Ron, and Harry narrowly escape a brush with the wedding-crashing death eaters,

and Hermione gets so upset that they didn't celebrate Harry's birthday. Harry reminds her that they had just avoided being killed a few minutes previous, to which Hermione responds, simply, "Right. Perspective." (Here's the scene, in case you wanted a visual:)

A few weeks ago in my random honors lecture class, this art professor was giving a presentation, and he told us about something that completely blew his mind. He was at the park playing with his kids when he realized that the shadows you see while you're on the merry-go-round are totally different from the shadows you see when you're on the ground, and it hit him: God can see everything. At the same time.

And here we are, like little kids, just hanging on to the merry-go-round, and seeing the shadows and thinking we know everything. We think that we can see everything that's going on, but we can really only see part of what's going on--even when a different perspective doesn't even seem like a possibility to us. Perspective!

Okay. On to my stories.
So while on our little weekend Boston trip, I had three experiences that, much like with this art professor, kind of blew my mind.

#1
We were on the bus coming back from church. We were sitting in the very back, and I was sitting in one of those aisle-facing seats. I noticed this old Asian man sitting a few rows up. He was laughing to himself and throwing his hands up in the air and clapping, like any good loon would do. And I just thought to myself, "I love crazy people." So that would have been the end of the story: the crazy old Asian man I saw on the bus. Until Megan nudged me. She was sitting on the back row and had a good view of the whole bus. She told me to lean forward so I could see what she was looking at. It turns out that just in front of that old man was a cute little kid in a stroller... who was in desperate need of someone to play peek-a-boo with. That old man had obliged, and they were engaged in the cutest game of peek-a-boo I've ever seen. The old man would seriously do anything to make the little boy laugh. Most adorable thing I've ever seen.

(creeper picture from Megan's phone)

#2

We were walking through this outdoor market one night just as it was closing down. There was a woman walking in front of us, and I noticed that her produce kept falling out of her little metal rolling cart. She would stop every once in a while to collect her renegade items, swiftly stooping almost without missing a step. I commented to Megan, "Man, that stuff just won't stay in her cart, will it?" To which she responded, "Those things weren't in her cart--she's stealing them from off the ground." The silence of my stupidity ensued.

#3    

Again, on the bus. As the bus came to a bus stop, the guy standing there was obviously intending to get on, but it seemed to me that he was sure taking his sweet time. I was so annoyed that he was holding up the entire bus by being slow to get on. When he finally moseyed onto the bus, I said something about it to Megan. Then she, obviously being the wiser sister, said, "didn't you see the blind man waiting at the bus stop too? That other guy was telling him which bus was arriving." There had been a pole on the sidewalk, conveniently blocking my view of the blind man.


Just like that painting, in each of these situations, something was always blocking my view of reality--even if, in some cases, it was just my own hasty assessment. When looking at that painting within a painting, you really have no idea what could be going on behind the easel. And that lack of perspective is maybe showing the real picture, or it's maybe just keeping you from seeing the real picture. Either way, these are some life lessons, folks. And here's to hoping I'll stop judging things for what they are--or are not. 

Things are sweeter in Tennessee

Remember how I used to be obsessed with this song? Well, it turns out that things are indeed sweeter in Tennessee, and I sure had a great weekend there with some great company! Here are the highlights:

Church in Memphis. Promise we paid attention, despite the warning from 2 different people that this was a "special" ward... as if we couldn't tell from the Elvis look-alike with full-on sideburns and a purple suit. We were loving the whole Southern Baptist feel of testimony meeting and were kind of disappointed not to hear any "hallelujahs" or "amens" being shouted (though Adam considered it)... oh well.

We drove past the Memphis temple (with the adjacent church building that looked much more normal than the one we attended). I think it's the smallest temple I've ever seen, but of course still beautiful.

After lunch where our waitress called me "hot pocket" and offered us her babysitting services (yeah... no idea), we drove the few hours over to Nashville on what has got to be the most beautiful freeway I've ever seen. Trees line the road, but not like the trees in Washington state or Virginia where it's just dense and green. The fall leaves were still hanging on, and the colors were just beautiful. I didn't take a picture because I knew that it wouldn't do it justice, so you're just going to have to imagine that part. 

Nashville: we hit the highlights. The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. 

Yeah, Adam likes cars. And guns. So really, this was made for him.

 Elvis's golden car...

 and his golden piano:

 watching a Jeff Foxworthy act about rednecks...

 Rascal Flatts!

 Yeah, they sell crickets. Like, to eat. Southerners...

 Nashville's Broadway

I really should wear hats more often, right?

 The CMT building!

We took a tour of the Ryman auditorium, which is a tabernacle where they used to have the Grand Ole Opry. There was this little video that they show inside, and they were talking about how awesome the acoustics are inside--"second only to the Mormon Tabernacle." Woot! 

Adam's favorite picture from the trip:

The stage. We learned all about Minnie Pearl (which I'd only ever heard of before from the movie Selena) and all the other oldie performers with the Grand Ole Opry.

Hit up the capitol building

 And then had lunch at the Loveless Cafe. 

My yummy Southern meal. Barbeque pork with sweet potatoes and fries? Yes, please. I may be Southern. Or turning it...

 Our marathon day ended at the movies... James Bond? His idea.

We took a tour of this beautiful old Southern plantation called Belle Meade.

The people who owned this house also owned the horse whose posterity includes every horse who has ever competed in the Kentucky derby... or something like that. Pretty cool.

 There was even a carriage house. Obsessed! Megan and Lisa, I know you'll know why... Gables books, anyone?

 Last stop was this park where they have a replica of the Parthenon. We didn't have time to go inside, but it was still cool to see!

 Yeah, we're cute. So then we started out on the beautiful "five hour" drive back to Little Rock... which definitely ended up being longer than five hours. Just long enough that we got to the airport late and I missed my flight! Good times. btw, if you've ever thought it would be fun and exciting to miss a flight, it's really not. It's pretty much just expensive. Haha. But maybe worth it. We went out to this Mexican restaurant and I got some fajitas--my fave, so it ended well :)

 And then we went to Walmart, because you can't go to Arkansas without going to Walmart... it's just not possible. 

So yeah... it was a great road trip! Who knew that Tennessee was so beautiful (when you ignore all its ghetto areas!)? If I go again, I'll have to bring a better camera and get a good picture of that highway. But yeah, I can guarantee: things are sweeter in Tennessee.

I love being on campus...

at 5:30 pm, when they blare the National Anthem while lowering the flag. And I know this is repetitive because I'm positive I've said it before on my blog, but I just love being able to stop and listen to that music and put my hand over my heart and feel like time stops for a few minutes as we appreciate our wonderful country. And I love the feeling of everyone being frozen and then everyone suddenly moving again once the music stops (except for those jerk people who don't have enough respect to stop for two minutes or who pretend not to hear the music over their ipod [yes, Kim, I'm talking about people like you]).  

So I took this horrible picture with my horrible phone as they were folding up the flag because I thought it was so cool. 

Isn't America the best?

Bawstun, Mass.

So remember that one time that I pretty much checked out of school for the semester? Haha. Yeah. 

Last weekend, I took Megan with me and we headed off to the city known as the Hub of the Universe, America's Walking City, The Cradle of Liberty, Athens of America, the City of a Hill... Bean Town!! Whatever you want to call it, Boston was a blast!!

It was a pretty great surprise, if I do say so myself. I managed to keep it a secret from Megan all the way up until the lady at the airport asked, "Your final destination is Boston?" and I was obligated to confirm or look suspicious. 

We had a layover in Minneapolis, so of course we had to take a detour to the Mall of America. It's even bigger than I remember it being the last time I was there on a layover about 5 years ago. The best part? The American Girl Doll store. 

Don't think I wasn't tempted:

 The Lego store! (missing our little brother Gavin part 1)

 Megan totally fit in with her cute hat, right?

We finally made it to Boston and found our way downtown to have a nice dinner. Falafels and hummus with salad. 

It was fun to be able to stay with my friend Shelby. I was excited to see her house and her cute little family. On Friday we went out and explored Salem. It was just as spooky as I could have hoped for! This is the oldest cemetery in the city, and I now understand where we got all of our stereotypical Halloween decorations from. 

 Daxton sure loves apples. That's how I knew we were going to be friends :)

 Old, fakey looking headstones.

The images on the headstones are kind of creepy, but we read somewhere that it was a symbol of the soul ascending into heaven (hence the wings). Still creepy. 

 No, we didn't have any chowdah, but we did like this sign!

 So happy about our stickers! 

 We got to take a tour of this cool old ship. The Friendship!

 Me and Daxton inside the ship.

 Shelby and Tayte. Such a cutie!

 This is the Custom House, where Nathaniel Hawthorne worked before he wrote The Scarlet Letter. Isn't history cool?

 I was inordinately infatuated by these stamps.

 Meggie!

 It's kind of a relief to know that there's a home for me somewhere.

 We are cute!

 Lunch at the Witch's Brew Café...

On Saturday, we went and walked around Harvard. It is just an incredibly beautiful campus! We loved it even more because of Gilmore Girls. If you watch it, you'll maybe understand this picture:

 (a Harvard squirrel!!)

I just never realized that there were actually so many ivy-covered buildings. It's beautiful!

"Impressive letter H." "Oh yeah, it's so hhhhh..."

 This is what Megan thinks of as snacks--beef jerky, giant cookies, Hershies... So healthy. 

 Yeah, the picture is blurry. We're still cute. 

 Megan was so excited to see the house where Edgar Allen Poe was born...

 And disappointed to find out that it's now a burrito place...

 South End Church:

 Boston Library:

 Trinity Church:

 Beacon Hill! Oh how it would be to be rich enough to live on one of these streets...

 And, of course, no trip to Boston is complete without doing the Freedom Trail. Which we spent a loooong time on. I just figured it out on a little pedometer map, and I think we walked about 6 miles all together that day. Yeah. We were tired by the end!

 Massachusetts State House

 Megan reading a poem from a guide book in front of Samuel Adams' grave. 

 Going against the donkey...

 In front of Mike's Pastry, where Megan was going to buy a canoli. We waited in line and got inside, only to see the signs plastered all over that read "cash only." We figured we saved a whole lot of money on this trip by not ever having cash on us. Woot! Maybe there will be canolis next time...

 In front of the Paul Revere Statue, in front of the Old North Church. 

DID YOU KNOW that the same guy who did this statue ALSO did the original Angel Moroni that resides atop the Salt Lake Temple? As well as that random indian statue on BYU campus. Just FYI.

 The longest part of the trail: crossing the bridge to get to the Bunker Hill Monument. 

 It was freeeezing!

We finally stumbled up to the monument, barely able to walk any farther. 

 We somehow made it back downtown, where we had a really nice meal. I never realized how much I love brussel sprouts!

 Sorry, Megan, for my photogenicness... photogenicity? photogenicosity? Somebody had to get all the good genes. 

Sunday we were thrilled by the extra hour of sleep (thank you, daylight savings time... and by extension Benjamin Franklin, who suggested the idea. See what National Treasure can teach you, Meg? I hope that's true...), and thrilled to head back into Cambridge to attend church in this picturesque building. What's the deal with New England being so dang cute?

 After church we went with Shelby to visit THIS wonderful building also--the Boston temple! It's so beautiful!

All in all, it was a pretty great weekend getaway. Thanks to Shelby and Brandon for letting us stay with them! 

Megan and I both loved loved loved Boston. It is just such a great city with so much history! We may need to brush up on our US history trivia, however, before we go back. Which we will. Preferably in the summertime. When we can spend a ridiculous amount of money going to a Red Sox game. Woot!