WINNER!

I responded to this post in Stacy Julian's blog a day or so ago, with a comment. The post is a giveaway for a book, but really I replied because I was inspired by the video posted and the book idea.

Imagine my surprise to check out her blog again and discover I WON!!!

I have won other blog giveaways but those are generally random number winners, meaning you are not chosen to win due to the content of what you write, winners are chosen randomly from all comments. And that is nice too of course.

But it really touched me that Stacy read all the comments and actually chose mine as the one to win.

So hooray for good news!



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I've had some other LOM things in mind to post, but shortly after my last post I realized something and that led to something which lead to something, and all of it is unremittingly HORRIBLE. It is not in me to put on a false front of how wonderful life is when it really is not. Neither do I feel like pouring out my woes here for the world to see. I have sought help and support from my family and from my spiritual community and I am trying to keep going.

Life is just very very very hard right now and it's not getting any better any time soon. This was a lovely bright spot in my week. I have had a couple of them so far and they really are precious. I wanted to highlight that.

If anyone reading this now or in the future should find themselves in a truly horrible situation with no choices but BAD ONES and no outcomes but BAD ONES and is desperate for hope or help, I will offer a small suggestion.

Watch the movie "Little Miss Sunshine." Warning -- although the main character is a 7 year old girl going to compete in a beauty pageant -- it is NOT for children. It deals with adult issues like suicide, drug use, homosexuality and so forth.

This is one of my favorite movies and it is very inspiring when one is going through a hard time. Horrible things happen in the movie both immediate (the clutch goes out in the van in the middle of an 800 mile road trip across the desert) and immense (I won't spoil it). There is death and failure and despair and humiliation for everyone. No matter how bad it gets, it always gets worse. Every single character is a failure in a big way. "Divorce! Suicide! Bankrupt!!!" screams Dwayne at his family (in a really great scene). "I HATE ALL YOU PEOPLE!!!"

Yet it is not a sad movie. It is a happy movie. It is about people loving each other and small moments of inspiration found in the depths of despair. There are no easy answers and nothing is resolved. The character Frank makes a speech at the end of the movie about suffering and the meaning of it that I find inspiring.

And it is very funny, especially the end. No matter how sad you may be you will be rolling on the floor howling with laughter during the beauty pageant part of it.

"Little Miss Sunshine" has the same theme that runs through my very favorite movie of all time (actually a TV mini series) -- "The Thorn Birds." Which is that in the midst of great suffering is great beauty. And sometimes the suffering is necessary for the beauty to happen as well.