Report: Sherlock Holmes

As the summer naturally concludes in the beginning of school and the cooling of the air an urge just as natural pushes to the surface, the need to look back on those happy times of blissful un-responsibility.  Summarizing is not at all satisfying.  One must actually wallow in the feelings that were once an everyday occurrence and daydream of that which was only recently a reality.
In short, I miss those months of June, July, and August, but only because of the half-fish and half-bookworm existence.  When I wasn't being a tree-monkey (better known as working on tree crew) I was swimming with my family and filling all the little holes of free time with reading.  The Library was a great friend and my goal of reading the complete Sherlock Holmes very nearly came true.  Still working on finishing up the stories has been very enjoyable as school has stolen my half-fish part and I believe that before this month ends I will have read all the easily accessible Sherlock Holmes works written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
This is what I wish to draw the reader's attention to, especially so since Sherlock Holmes has become my new favorite book character.  The stories are exceptionally entertaining when the witty and blunt Holmes comes in and reveals the seemingly magical solution to a seemingly impossible mystery.  But the most enchanting part of Mr. Holmes's character is his caring nature.  He is John Watson's friend to the end of the Earth and back again.  Wouldn't you love to have someone compliment you so much as to invite you, and even need you, on the most dangerous and active of adventures when you know that they have the most brilliant thinking mind ever to exist?  And to know that this super intelligence is wholly on your side and loyal to the highest degree is more meaningful than anything else.
Some of the best moments in reading Sherlock Holmes's cases recorded by Dr. Watson were the times that I had to burst out laughing, or keep myself from crying.  Holmes's humour came out at unexpected times, but it always surprised someone, that person usually being me.  And each of his witty remarks or teasing pranks, or flawless fooleries brought a smile to my face, because it brought out his human nature and, as Watson says many times in different ways, turns him into a real person and not just a thinking brain machine.
One moment of brilliance that Sherlock Holmes shares is actually inspiring, though he obviously puts the facts straight as they are in his such prideful way.  Quoting him, I wish to share one of the most striking points Holmes makes:
I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues.  To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one's own powers.
And so I conclude my raving on the admirable Dr. John Watson and the estimable Mr. Sherlock Holmes, both of whom have entertained me wholeheartedly and dearly and will forever live on in my mind as an example of great friendship, extreme bravery and fairness, and of those who wish for adventure for the sake of adventure.  Farewell for the time, and don't forget to check out a certain book from the library sometime soon.  You will never be able to put it down!

Spiritual Thought #some-odd

Legolas said, in The Two Towers, "Few can foresee whither their road will lead them, till they come to its end."

Lately many people around me have been realizing, or rather recognizing, that the Lord has charge of their life.  They cannot always see which way it is going in the moment, but our Heavenly Father knows.  He answers our prayers when the time is right for his plan.  Our timing doesn't matter.  It doesn't matter when we want it if that is contrary to what God knows is best for us.  Of course, our Father in Heaven loves us so very much and so he always has our best interest on his mind.  This means that what we want right now may not be what he has planned, and so we must be patient and trust in the Lord.  We need to know that the Lord is right, but we need not necessarily how things will work out or exactly what is going to happen.  Have faith and believe, have courage, and keep going.

Book Review: Fablehaven

I found some more wisdom from a book, but though this isn't Lord of The Rings it is just as awesome.

"Smart people learn from their mistakes.  But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others."

-Dale, Fablehaven pg. 152

I love the book Fablehaven.  It is such a wonderful adventure!  But don't ever stop at the first book, you have to read the whole series.

I was introduced to this book through my mom.  She related a lesson from it without telling us any of the story.  This is the lesson:  do as you are told by those with more knowledge than you and you won't get into trouble.  If you break the rules, you will cause harm more than you know.  You won't just be in trouble for breaking the rules, you'll get the consequences of your actions as well.  The rules are there to protect you from getting hurt, not to inhibit your freedom.

Just to let you know, this is only one thing you can pull from the basic plot of the book.  Otherwise, it is totally cool and not even as sappy as it sounds!

Enjoy reading Fablehaven!!

Lighthouse

I love lighthouses.  They are so super-duper cool!  Not only are they gorgeous but they have a great view of the ocean.  And lighthouses can be related to us in many ways.

Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego CA

"I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse.  They were built only to serve.  They weren't built for any other purpose..."

-George Bernard Shaw

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Portland OR
Panoramio.com

Altruistic means being unselfish and thinking about others.  We can all be like a lighthouse and let our light shine for the world to see our good example.

Matthew 5:14-16

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Leuchtturm
Marieke Jeromin

A lighthouse takes a lot of work and dedication and even some isolation from the world to watch over.  All who sacrifice this for a lighthouse are serving others with every minute of their lives.  We can serve others and be a good example to let our light shine for all to see.  We can be awesome just like a lighthouse!

Un-Digression

Looking back on my blog I realize that the beginning of my blog was A LOT more formal than recent posts have been leaning towards.  Here is my Un-Digression, a new commitment to meaningful and thoughtful blog posts.  Not to say that silliness isn't needed.  I will continue with random and perhaps spontaneous posts, but mixed in with it you can be sure to find something useful to you in your life, perhaps.  I am looking for equipoise.

Gordon B. Hinckley once said:

Cynics do not contribute

Skeptics do not create

Doubters do not achieve

This means we should be people who have optimism and hope, and we should always believe so we can contribute, create, and achieve beautiful and virtuous things.

Wisdom From Lord Of The Rings

Yesterday I posted thoughts on some quotes from Lord of the Rings, a fabulous book indeed.  Gandalf the Wizard, Frodo the Hobbit, and Gildor the Elf.  A good array of people who have wise things to say.
The first time I read the book I perceived these quite life-applicable quotes and loved them and wished to record them somewhere, but was engrossed in the reading and finishing of the book and so quickly lost the location of the wisdom.  As I am reading it again, I decided to actually do what I had planned to three years ago and record the quotes and how I find them applicable to our life.
Please join with me in enjoying the Awesomeness of Lord of the Rings as you take in these thoughts.

The Wide World

"And I warn you that peril is now both before you and behind you, and upon either side...
The wide world is all about you:  you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out."

-Gildor

To be of the world is wrong.  It's true, but hard to do because of how hard the world is pushing.  We are told to be in the world but not to partake of it.  Be the example that is there, shining in the darkness.  So as you feel like keeping the world out of your fence, know that you can live in the world and with it, just remember not to live in harmony with its evil.

The Road

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

He used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river:  its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary.  "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say.  "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

-Frodo

Each of us has a path we can follow.  We must choose the right path and keep on going, no matter how afraid or discouraged or weary we may be.  It will be hard, and we may not know the right way at first, but we can make it.  There is one Correct Road, then there is the wrong road, the one you don't want to follow because it doesn't take you anywhere.  Make sure you're on the right road when you walk out your door and then all that risking the dangers of the world will be worth it.

Our Time

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf,  "and so do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

What is more important than this:  deciding what to do with the time given to us?  Living in the past, wishing we didn't have to do what we need to do, all this is time wasting.  Embrace what you have been given and the trials you have been challenged with and you will be stronger and get the better part in the end.  How have you spent your time?  Will you answer that question with regret?

An Argument For Star Wars

Recently we all celebrated Star Wars day:  May the Fourth be with you!  I hope you all spent the day wondering who you could share that wonderful phrase with (and simultaneously share the fact that you are a complete Star Wars fan!).
So, do you think that Star Wars is applicable to life?  Maybe not, but my little sisters do!  And I would have to agree with them.  Dark Vader is a play character, and not a good guy (can you believe it!).  And you know the theme for the Sith Lord?  Yes, my sisters made sure that they were dun-dun-dun-ing that while playing with this Dark Vader.  Not only does George Lucas have in impact on little children but John Williams creates such awesome music that 3- and 5-year-olds know and remember it!  What awesomeness is Star Wars!?!

"Do or do not, there is no try" -Yoda

Words

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words all being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.”

– Vladimir Nabokov, Lectures on Literature, 1980

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”

– George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946

“For there is no doubt that I have lots of words inside me; but at moments, like rush-hour traffic at the mouth of a tunnel, they jam.”

– John Updike, Self-Consciousness, 1989

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

– Mark Twain, 1888

“'Well,' said Owl, 'the customary procedure in such cases is as follows.'

'What does Crustimoney Proseedcake mean?'
said Pooh. 'For I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother me.'

'It means the Thing to Do.'

'As long as it means that, I don’t mind,' said Pooh humbly.'”

– A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh, 1926

I found these wonderful quotes on Merriam-Webster.com. They are part of the Top 10 Favorite Quotations About Words list. I really enjoyed these quotes.

Only a Quote

Work is not measured by how hard it is, but by what the outcome is.

Sometimes outcomes are hard to see when you're in the middle of something, and sometimes they are less material and more internal.

My Title

I was just reading the title of my blog. I know, lame. You'd think I would pay more attention because it IS my blog, right? Well, I was thinking about the reason I named it that. I'll tell you. It is because I wanted to have a cool quote that planted seeds of hope into people's thoughts when they read it. But I realize that this certain quote can have so much more meaning, especially pertaining to a blog.

Dreams inspire, Reality makes it happen.

I'll elaborate
So, you write stuff on a blog, right? You write all about all your hopes, dreams, and even what happens to you. You may even make goals, talk to people, express yourself, complain, show off, learn. But all it is is digital stuff that is stuck in the hardware of your computer; ones and zeroes that display something black, white, red, green, blue on a computer monitor. In the end it actually isn't anything at all. But ideas, thoughts, words, writing...they all inspire something. Your thoughts turn into actions and as you think more about doing something, you think about a way to do it. Your actions can turn your dreams into reality. It may seem too good to be true, but you are a human, meaning you have agency, and that is a power that can turn hopes, wishes, and dreams into living, loving, and wonderfully real things. Another quote: if you can believe it, you can achieve it. Go, live your dream. And when you've accomplished it, find a new one, and live that one too. Today is the first day of a new month, what better time to set a goal with plenty of time to achieve it. And always smile and be happy. When you pretend to be happy, even when you're frustrated, it is hard to remember that you're pretending.

Eleven

only 11 days

"Of course there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future."

-Thomas S. Monson

Wait

Waiting has got to be the worst thing ever invented.
Patience is a virtue, don't forget to remind me about that. Because I seem to be forgetting a lot lately.

"Tough times never last, but tough people do."

-Robert H. Schuller

YAAAY!!!

I talked to my roommate today! On Skype. It was fantastically relieving. I've been sorta stressed with having to adjust moving home and that just made me feel a little bit better to see her. Besides it totally messing up my afternoon plans and my family's, but hey! It wasn't that bad. AND it was worth it.

With it being the season of Spring and all I've gone outside so many times to take tons of pictures. There are some decent ones that you can see under my pictures tab.

Alright, now for a quote to make you happy, smiley, and hopeful:

"There will come a moment when you realize that virtually anything is possible. Nothing is too good to be true."

-Kobi Yamada

HIIIIIII!

Never mind.....
I'm going to write in my journal.

:)

OK, i'll give you a quote:

life may give you lemons, and you may feel like squeezing them, but let me warn you-lemonade doesn't taste that great without sugar!

Spiritual Thought #5

"That spirit-the Holy Ghost-is our comforter, our direction finder, our communicator, our interpreter, our witness, and our purifier-our infallible guide and sanctifier for our moral journey toward eternal life."

-Elder Dallin H. Oaks

This is for everybody who doesn't read my blog:

Hi, how are you?
I love you!
(Okay I'll admit that that is pretty weird, but so what? I love everyone!)
Make yourself a great day, and keep in that way!

Thought:

Plan for the Day:
get up
brush teeth
Be Awesome!

Just a Quote

“Courage can be found in unlikely places”

~Gildor~

(Lord of the Rings)