Graf #3

Graf #3

Inventory of my bedside stand:

5 books -
The Energy of Prayer written by a Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh
Fire to Fire, a book of poetry written by Mark Doty
Ethics for the New Millenium written by the Dalai Lama
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Holy Scriptures

These books precariously rest on top of 4 magazines -
Ode, magazine for intelligent optimists, the Laughing issue
Women's Health, emphasizing a total body workout in 60 minutes
Bitch!, dedicated to feminists,
Fitness Rx, this one touting a fine routine for the "rear view"

Next to the stack of magazines and books -

a sage green bowl found at an antique store, once housed floating candles, now housing -
cell phone charger
cell phone, plugged in
Carmex chapstick
pomegranate nail polish
Well-Being cards
Lavender hand and foot cream
a bar of oatmeal soap, unused
remote control, lost and found several times a night
Clif energy bar

Next to bowl -

a small, cylindrical bamboo lamp
a digital voice recorder for random ideas that pop in my head and keep me from sleeping
receipts with illegible writing on the back
a petite, 100% recycled, notebook to jot down dreams
an old, torn copy of Roget's Thesaurus
a bottle of tap water in an old Fuji bottle
a copper and leather bookmark with the engraving "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -Anais Nin


Well, the books have interesting titles, but, what twenty-four year old honestly reads that crap? The Bible next to a book written by a monk? Now, this is confusing. Is she confused? Searching for herself? Maybe she's found the balance between two beautiful traditions and has incorporated both of them into her life. Does that make her a hypocrite? No, perhaps not, it just makes her complex, and maybe she'll be a searcher all her life.

The magazines give quite a clue. Fitness, feminism, spiritualism and intelligence. We must be getting closer to her core. But, an energy bar, oatmeal soap and wool socks? Wool socks are understandable. Maybe she likes to keep her feet warm while she sleeps. But food and soap? Must be a quirky little thing, in love with scents and textures, with thoughts that wander all through the day she must write them down to empty her head.