List three experiences you've had, that you wish every single person could have
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
1. Playing music on stage
2. 2 hour phone calls about nothing at all
3. Helping Someone Succeed
1. Performing on stage in front of a minimum of 100 people.
2. Finally flirting with the guy/girl who you've been staring at out of the corner of your eye for months.
3. Staying up with your best friend in the world until two in the morning. Even if you have to wake up at 7:30 the next day.
Dancing in Rain and Hail
Falling asleep under a tree
Writing your mind.
Achieve a goal that you've spent so much time working on.
Fail. Miserably. Especially when you knew you wouldn't, or couldn't.
Learn that if you want something, you have to go out and get it. It won't come to you. No one will get it for you, nor should they.
1. talk with a dear friend about nothing and everything until the break of dawn.
2. watch ducks swim on the lake. sunny spring afternoon. just as bright cumulus clouds come overhead. seems as if the birds were gliding across the sky.
3. eating mother's lamb stew. so quickly after taken out of the oven that my tongue was burnt. absolutely worth it.
1. Riding the Wonder Wheel, and the Cyclone at Coney Island with some people who make you happy. It makes you feel like your a part of some sort of history.
2. Seeing the exact place where your family came from.
3. Laughing so hard that you can't breath for no apparent reason... just because
1) Fall in love, eyes closed.
2) Have your Heart Broken. Then fix it yourself.
3) Cheat, Emotionally. It's not true love until you don't need this.
<3
1. Being told your beautiful.
2. When your gettin it one and he holds you tight!
3. When your drunk and you dont have a care in the WORLD!
1. Believing that you literally hold a key to understanding mysteries that most people haven't even realized exist.
2. Seeing your baby smile for the first time.
3. Feeling yourself utterly emptied and being filled with the power of the Creator.
holding your child for the first time and feeling the depth and power of that marvelous emotion.
as a child, feeling loved and cherished above all else.
recognizing Baha'u'llah
1. 2 venti espressos as a prelude to a night alone on the beach with someone.
2. no going back now. airplane just took off. see the world. be back in a year or two.
3. sitting on the back deck watching a lighting storm at night, with said someone.
1. Finding the courage to leave home, so that I could experience #2 and #3, and all the subsequent miracles in my life.
2. Taking a ride with some friends in a jeep to a mountaintop in the Sierras, then hiking down a trail, under a waterfall to a lake, and finding a natural amphitheater of rock and water, where invisible giant speakers on the other side of the lake were playing CSNY and Moody Blues, and we all thought we were in heaven, it was so beautiful and unreal, that walking away from that lake was the hardest thing I had ever done until then.
3. Going to college to find whatever it was that I was searching for, an education, a husband, wealth, land, horses, bliss...and finding out that it was the Return of the Messenger of God for this day, and that my future would be tied forever to the Baha'i Faith, which is one faith that assures us that we do indeed have a future, and that we are one human family with one world to stand on, with one Universal Creator, Who does not leave us unguided or alone, but has left us to sojourn on this material plane with a purpose, to carry on an ever-growing spiritual presence and an ever-advancing civilization.
1. Talking at 3am with someone about childhood crushes, old best friends, and why real mac and cheese is better, knowing you can talk about anything and he'll listen.
2. Hooking up with no strings attached, realizing then, that wasn't what you really wanted, that's not who you are, and knowing yourself better because of it.
3. Realizing your high school friends are your best friends, because they can make you laugh more than anyone else, and you never want to leave where you are when you're around them. And keeping this feeling two years (and longer) after you get out of that hell hole.
1. Getting an enema and having rocks of various sizes inserted into the rectal cavity.
2. Drinking a bottle of Everclear after having some opium, then waking up to a tube down your throat pumping the alcohol out of your belly.
3. Watching your parents get dressed every morning every day until you're 18 years old.
1 sitting on the balcony of my barcelona hotel. smoking a secret cigarette and being pleasantly surprised by a saxophonist on the roof of the building on the other side of my street. it's dark, the city sounds, the jazz, the smoke. simple beauty
2 passionate forbidden love, so deep and intense lust, love,connection. nothing wrong about it, but pure and natural. and then finally side by side, intense intense lust like never before, and complete surrender, to what is un avoidable.
3 knowing that you inspire children to learn, or you helped opening the child's mind and its eyes just light up.
1. Climbing to the top of a hills, walking past the trees towards Rocco Magorie in Assisi, Italy, turning your head to the right and seeing mountains stretch out in front of you. Crying because of nature.
2. Watching a family mourn a loss from across the street. They were trying to drown their sadness, and they started to play music. I went out into the deck to dance, and somehow I led my entire family down into the street, and we danced til we all decide to go jump in the ocean (...drunk, which is not advised).
3. Sitting on the front of a bright white sailboat in the middle of winter with a green sweater on.
1. Total, utter, complete failure.
2. Total, utter, complete victory.
3. Euphoria.
1. Give birth, watch them grow, watch them fall and pick them up.
2. Forgive someone who has wronged you and then forget the offense.
3. Find solace in your favorite music.
1. jumping off a 50 foot cliff into a now flooded quarry when i am terrified of heights, for the express purpose of picking a fear to conquer.
2. telling someone i loved them not knowing what they would say back, for the same reason.
3. finally letting myself believe that i deserve to be loved, and being with the person who convinced me.
1. Do service in south Chicago! Work in soup kitchens in Lawndale- and if you meet LL tell him Natosha says "i love you." and give coffee to day laborers in Little villiage, they'll appreciate it and you'll get to hear about thier kids, and how they got here. (knowing some spanish does help.)
2. Work with children. there is nothing more rewarding than earning the trust of a little one who will look at you and tell you you're beautiful. Children are the most amazing people on the planet, and they're soo cool arround age 3.
3. Fall in love with someone worth while. like someone who will text you while you're working silly things like " i think i lied when i told you i think about you a lot. cause i'm pretty sure i never stop thinking about you." and when you ask where that came from they continue with:
"IDK. i was talking to my mom about college and the whole time i thought about you. i worry about you a lot. even when you're at work. i wonder how people are treating you. i wonder how you're feeling. when you're watching tv, reading a book, talking with friends...as you would say i'm soo in love with you, too much for my own good. usually i go to bed talking to you now i just lay in bed and think of how nice it will be to finally just lay next to you and sleep. there are many times when i become speachless arround you. the ammount of kindness and generosity you show towards others if just astonishing. when i say my favorite thing about you is your personality, i wish i could put it in words, you always make sure others have food when we go out with them wether they want it or not. you care more about me than anyone has ever. you make sure i get off the phone just because you don't want me to get in trouble or leave your house on time. there is just something about you that makes you sparkle. wether you realize it or not. when we're out talking to different people i try to glance at you onced or twice because you almost always have a legit smile on your face maybe being locked in my room cleaning for three days has just shown me how much i'm deeply in love with you. i wish i could show you how amazing you really are. and in a way you do spoil me back by showing so much love and care. i guess that's how i know you'll make an amazing parent. i wish like the first time we cuddled could be every night with you. a night where you are able to just fall asleep in my arms. in a sense i'll finally be able to help the person who has helped me so much. i know i'm weird, but i'm one crazy weirdo that's in love with you hope you're okay with that."
wither it's all true or not, everyone deserves texts like that, everyone deserves love like that. and i'm eternally greatful for that boy, and all the love he has shown me.
@rosenkranzc Hey sorry! It's been a crazy week. I have lived in Spain, Italy, Panama, Costa Rica, and Argentina. I live for the new experiences. It has been an amazing life!
1. Getting first in a 5k race. The feeling is incredible. Knowing that all the time, pain, and anguish I went through to accomplish that ended up giving me results was overwhelming. I was aching everywhere that I could, could hardly breathe, and the feeling of just laying down to pass out was far too enticing. My time was nowhere near as good as the best world-wide but in this race, I had won.
2. Reuniting with my old high school bud. He's always been a big religious person and I'm practically a polar opposite of him, but we got along just as well as if we were back in high school.
3. Making about 7 bets on a calculus 3 test with people thinking I'd do just as bad as my last test (got a 46) that I'd make an A, and winning. The combination of money and proving people wrong was great.
1) Working through serious and legitimate doubt about the religion you were raised as. This process ultimately led to much more than just a new perspective on religion.
2) Being handed something that you don't deserve-- repeatedly. Not many people experience this. It starts out fun, but can lead to overwhelming amounts of guilt. Eventually, you will appreciate the things you earned much more than the things you were given.
3) Raising a puppy, to a dog, to a best friend. Your little puppy will love you from the moment you bring her home and continue loving you everyday, forever, unconditionally, as long as you treat her kindly. It's the best feeling in the world.
meet Jesus (i'm a Christian, its what i do)
have your heart broken (sucks in a major way, but incredible life lessons)
just cut loose on the dance floor (you just gotta)
1. Skipping arm-in-arm with your friends until you slam into a closed set of double doors, then twirling outside in slow flurries.
2. Seeing a teacher you don't like that much make a Harry Potter reference and therefore redeem herself.
3. Realizing that other people think your friends are annoying and that you don't give a crap.
dance in the pouring rain
falling in love with characters
having music that your passionate about
While I completely agree about the whole correcting an "authority figure" on what they have already dedicated their life to, I believe my three include:
1. Having roommates who you actually get along with. I mean, REALLY get along with. So much so, that you become dependent on their being around because you genuinely enjoy their company and the way they think... even if they happen to be from the dirtiest of souths.
2. To have something taken away for an incredibly long time that you owned initially, or what may feel like a long time, and then to have it returned to you triumphantly after having worked at it. Earning something back is so much more rewarding than having garnered it in the first place... half of it is the realization of your desire or need for it.
3. This one is completely egotistic, but knowing that you are better than someone else at any one thing... or several things. It could be anything, be it beatboxing, horse riding, "art", DJing, or just plain jumping jacks... being better than someone at something is an experience unmatched.
1) Finding God when you're already saved.
2) Crying yourself to sleep because you've realized that you ARE worth something.
3) Correcting you English teacher's grammar.
1. Being in New Orleans while a street peddler sings a love song to you by moonlight.
2. Realizing that you are infact not your parents despite how similiar you are. :)
3. Having the rain pour down on you while you hop up and down with someone you share everything with.
1. Going down one of the largest roller coasters in the U.S. in 97 degree weather and 100% humidity with your Dad.
2. A favorite teacher hugging you in an un-creepy way, telling saying that you're brilliant, you'll go great things.
3. The love of your life telling you that he (or she, whatever) loves you and wants you, but they're not good enough for you. And then they leave your for nine months.
So number one. It happened a few years ago, my parents were making me move to a different school and I got angry on the last day of school, when they were making me do things for the new school, and I ran away. The solution? Bring me home, and take me on a road trip to Virginia for a week. They love me, they just want what's best for me.
Number two. I'm in an Honor's English class at my school. We begin a discussion about discrimination and the cruelty that people inflict on each other for no decent reason. Case and point? Emmett Till. I teared up and started crying. The next day, my teacher, Mrs. G. bombards me with a hug.
Number three. I fell in love. I was in love with him from the moment I saw him. I've always loved him. And then he told me he loved me, but he does bad things, things he didn't want me to get involved with. I know I'm young, but I am not naive. And I believe him.
1. being broke & still making it through college. adversity & success all rolled into one (along with a strange addiction to ramen noodles).
2. being stuck in a foreign country, passport stolen, friend gets on flight home w/o you.
3. SKYDIVE! climb to altitude, no problem. guy ahead gets out there & a split second later he's gone. just vanished. oh @#$!!! what have i gotten myself into. legs out the door, 80mph wind forcing them back. hanging on the wing, look in, instructor shouts "go!" letting go is easy compared to climbing out there. ground, sky, ground, sky, ground, sky, flap of nylon as the parachute opens. engine & wind noise replace with faint whisper of breeze through the lines. near silence & 4000 feet of freedom between my feet and sweet terra firma.
as a poor nerdy white kid from the louisiana swamps, #2 & 3 got me past my fear & opened countless doors for me. when i've hit low points since, been able to reach into the "if i could do THAT, this is easy" lessons.
1. Experience the beauty and magic of fireworks. It doesn't matter where you are. You could be on a beach, in a carnival, in a field. The sky just has to be black and you have to have people around you. I don't know what it is about humans that attracts us so much to explosions of coloured light in the sky, but we love them :)
2. Drive down the highway at night, windows down, music blaring. You can be alone or with other people. As long as you have the road ahead of you and the sky above you, nothing else really matters.
3. By lying on the beach, waves at your feet and sand on our skin with your friends around you and the sun on your back. Realise that this is almost as good as it gets and that in that moment you are truly happy and grateful to be alive.
4. (I had to have a fourth) Know what it's like to feel left out. To feel like there isn't a place for you and that no wants cares about you or wants you. To have people stare and point, and laugh behind your back. To be ashamed about who you are. I know this isn't a great experience nessesarily, but I think everyone should experience this at least once in their lives because it gives you a whole new appreciation for what you have.
I haven't been in love yet but I'm sure that will be on the list!
1) Being in the center of Laguna San Ignacio in a still and silent boat, surrounded by 10,000 whales and their babies.
2) Being present at the moment of birth and death of your own child
3) Fully experiencing being part of The Eternal
1. Waking up after surviving emergency brain surgery
2. Beating the odds (at anything)
3. Learning to accept quality over quantity
1: Laying in a field in the middle of nowhere, discovering him for the first time... the stars are bright, it's freezing cold and I feel as if we are both completely infinite.
2: Driving south down the interstate through Louisiana, no idea where we're going. Smoke billowing, the sunrise is breaking through the fog... hands out the window, music blaring and singing at the top of my lungs. Freedom.
3: The lights. The sounds. The people passing by, oblivious to the fact that I'm scrutinizing their every move. "What are they feeling?" The snow starts to fall.... "I never see snow in the south." I look up and marvel at the height of the buildings, as I try to catch a frozen flake falling towards my face. I have never felt so alive and hopeful. There is so much opportunity.
1. Find peace in someone's eyes.
2. Experience another country.
3. Completely following your gut.
1.) Show them you can when they say you can't.
2.) Climb to the top of a mountain when the skies are clear.
3.) Think deeply about life with friends to discover what the meaning of life is for YOU.
1. Being allowed by Secret Service to stand on top the press box (so I could see because I'm not the tallest person in the world :P) at the Joe Biden rally during the campaign
2. Front row center at a Bad Religion concert
3. Growing up in poverty with a dad being a war vet suffering from post-traumatic stress. It makes childhood more...challenging. But you grow up with a better understanding about how real and demanding life is.
1. "I hate them because (long list of well thought out reasons)." It's still not enough somehow, it makes perfect sense, I have every right. "I hate them because..." It hit me all at once, as I said the words.
"Because as long as I hate them, I don't have to care when I know they're disappointed in me." Sudden guilt goes through my body, but with the relief of knowing that it's the real reason. "I don't really hate them at all."
2. I'm hungry. I feel feral. I want something... something that has no name yet. It's shining in the stars, crawling along the bottom of the ocean, dancing in the flecks of a lover's eye. It tastes like spring rain and feels like fingers pressed against someone else's lips. I just need to taste it and this feverish longing will go away.
3. Dizzy, the world wants to blur away but it stays there so vividly clear. I paint a picture of swirling blueish greys with the burning red embers of the lit tip. I can't stop shaking, in fact my leg has been jumping and I just noticed. Everything is satisfying. I can conquer the world, it's not as hard as everyone makes it out to be.
1. Experience poverty. I believe it teaches humility.
2. Witness death. I once held the hand of a woman I hardly know, and held eye contact with her as she took her final breath. It was beautiful, humbling, peaceful....not at all as scary as I imagined something like that to be. To watch a soul move on.
3. To experience deep, profound love. From both ends, giving and receiving.
1. Holding a stranger's hand to comfort them (Be an EMT! You get to do this all the time!)
2. The rush I get from doing an act of kindness for someone and sneaking away (pay the toll of the person behind you! Its fun!)
3. Stepping off the plane for the first time in the country your soul comes from. (Ireland, I miss you.....)
1. Work in at a fast food place. I think people would be more respectful if they knew what it was like to have to deal with rude people who think you are below them just becuase you have that job.
2. I agree with pottsab. I think everyone should have to come out of the closet to see how scary it feels, but also how freeing it can be.
3. A natural high. Whether its traveling to another country, going to the best rock concert ever, getting a tattoo, or sky diving. Put down the pipe and get a clean high.
1. Come out of the closet
2. Question everything you've come to know
3. Find your own answers, even if they mean making them up yourself
1. See the look on someone's face when you have helped them overcome a fear they have
2. See love in the eyes of someone, anyone
3. Feel God's presence
1. for one day know that you have someone you can trust and love and embrace them every chance while you have them for that day.
2. go to a concert of your favorite band and sing like you have never sung before and just breathe it all in.
3. try and mediate. see if you can forget it all and realize the beauty that exists.
1. God
2. Scuba diving
3. Eat durian (It's supposedly Singapore's "national fruit" but I hate it by the way)
DISCUSSION TOOLSET
1) tears and sweat running down my face i push forward
2) Laughing until you get in trouble for it
3) Rebelling