splendid, friday wishes to you m’loves.
i am still so bewildered and sad over the death of the great writer, screenwriter, director, journalist and mother, nora ephron. she was in a talent league of her own, and taken away much too soon.
do you have a favorite nora ephron movie? i never tire of when harry met sally. just typing it out puts a smile on my face.
although her movies and books have filled my life with much laughter, tears {hello heartburn?}, and conversation, ms. ephron’s biggest influence on my life has been from something she said in her 1996 commencement address to the graduates of wellesley college:
be the heroine of your own life, not the victim.
ever since those ten words flew through my eardrums and up into my cerebral cortex, i think of them multiple times a day.
typically it’s the non-victim slice of the quote i choose to savor, luxuriate in like a crispy baked black bass or a lisa gerrard serenade; i personally think the word victim is one of the dirtiest words in the dictionary.
but lately, i’ve been more interested in heroism.
a hero conjures so many different images to people.
to me a hero is kind, forgiving, patient, and humble.
i feel i am my most heroic when i am on my knees, in the wrong, which is often, and can admit it to the world for all their judgement and scorn.
i also feel quite brave and valiant when i am able to love unconditionally on someone who has hurt me. it may not be a face to face embrace, or a written word acquittal, but softening my heart on an attacker feels better than if the wound never existed at all. and people say i have some ugly scars.
every night, as i give thanks for the gifts in my life, people i love, beasts i’d walk in front of a car for, i also send love and affection out to those who aren’t in my cabinet of trust. i try to have my final awakened thoughts as i drift into dreamland, ones of peace and compassion so that i can sleep with both eyes shut, not on the lookout for enemies.
what about you? what do you find heroic?
wishing you a heroic weekend m’loves.
see you on the other side of sunday.
Wow, Katie…the words hit home today. Your blogs usually do, but today especially. Thank you. Today you are my heroine.
lisa,
my fellow lover of all things canine….
thank you so much. i am anything but heroic, but just hearing from you makes me feel special. thank you beautiful lady.
i never see you, but i always feel a deep love for you.
A woman who knows her limits is a hero to me 🙂
oh….this is a good one…motherhood is heroic too.
heroine ^ 😉
RIP to her, the quote she gave was inspiring, it really gives me a new perspective on life..you write so well dear, I love this post 🙂 so personal
-Che
style-che.blogspot.com