Finding Inner Peace
"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." I am thinking about
the time when my best friend died, and when I stopped being myself and my
life started going to hell.
It happened maybe two or three years ago. The day is very clear in
my memory. The weather was cold and nasty. The monotonous rain made
everything outside look gray. I was at home, waiting for my girlfriend to
arrive. I was sitting on the couch drinking hot tea and feeling warm and
cozy. My dog was there too, I remember. We were watching a talk show,
but I was not paying much attention to what was going on. All I cared
about was my girlfriend was coming home and that we would be able to see
each other again. She had left only four weeks earlier, but I had already
missed her greatly. We had been friends since the 9th grade. In the
beginning we were enemies; we hated each other. Oh, how we fought! One
time she accused me of taking her purse, knowing what a notorious prankster
I was, even though I had no idea what she was talking about. Later she
found her purse in her friends locker. It seems she had forgotten she had
put it there. This turned out to be the first, but not the last, accident
that would occur. What didn't we argue about? After about, four years,
we became the best friends ever. We were perfectly compatible with each
other. We began spending all our time together. We were vital to each
other. I came to know each and every detail about her life as she did
about mine. It was the most enduring friendship of my life.
I looked at the clock above my head. Six fifty. She was supposed
to arrive at five o'clock. I felt uncomfortable, some weird feeling
crawled around my heart. I did not understand it. I waited and waited.
It was dark already and I was afraid of being in solitude. I couldn't
stand it anymore. Seven o'clock.
The phone rang and it startled me. Who might it be? I wasn't
expecting a phone call from anyone. I got up from the couch and picked up
One major theme that runs through The Pearl, The Good Earth, and Silas Marner is the impact of money on the lives of the characters. All three books vividly incorporate this theme in different ways. Money can greatly alter the way of life of any individual. It can be an advantage or a disadvantage. These three authors used this theme in these novels to show the reader the impact money can have on a person.
An Analysis of Inner Conflict in A Separate Peace In 1942, a group of prep school boys take courses to allow them extra time to prepare for the armed forces. Gene, a conservative intellectual, befriends Finny, a free-spirited adventurer. The two form a club where they must dive from a high tree limb into the Devon River. He becomes anxious that his friend is taking time away from his studies.
A strong sense of self, in the words of William Shakespeare, is “To know what we are, but not what we might be.” In the book, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the main character, Gene, ¬¬struggled with having a strong sense of self. His lack of identity negatively affected his life. The major consequence of his absent sense of self was his burning envy and hatred toward his extremely athletically gifted friend Finny. Gene’s lack of identity and hatred toward Finny led him to shake a limb if a tree that Finny was climbing. Finny fell and broke his leg. He later died when the bone marrow escaped into his blood. Gene’s behavior caused Finny’s death but there is reason to believe that Finny would have died anyway. For example, Finny could have been killed in the army, Finny’s lack of caution caused him to break his leg again, and the branch would have broken since it was already weak causing Finny to fall and die.
It is more common to see men’s football or baseball games on TV rather than seeing women’s games. In fact, Desbordes explains, “in the world’s major sports such as soccer, NFL, basketball, baseball, gulf, rugby and cricket, it is men’s code that has mass exposure and indeed un many cases there are no professional leagues for women,” which is a proof that American society, in general, does not fully appreciate female athletes and underestimate their capacity (1). Also, spectatorship is more expected in male games rather than in women ones and therefore gains are expected to be higher for business when they sponsor men athletes. In “Women See Lack of Respect, Parity in Sports Coverage” Gibbons explains that the “lack of strength” as well as the prejudice of female athletes’ poor performance contribute to the idea that their events are not worthy (3). Nevertheless, women can be as capable as men of achieving great results in their sports. One of the examples are the Williams sisters, both professional tennis players who have showed an excellent condition and technique at this sport rising the standards for other players. Certainly, the belief of men superiority at sports persists in American society and it is discouraging prospective female
In “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha is put to the test to find inner enlightenment while trying to discover himself. He must work through the hardships and overcome loosing himself along the way.
Throughout all, Hermann Hesse explained how without Siddhartha’s relationships with his father, Kamala, and himself would not have changed as he sought enlightenment. He left his fathers love, never to return to it, only for the gambling chance to find a new love. He craved for Kamala’s teachings of love and their relationship turned from denial to acceptance. In his son, he saw the reflection of himself and had to set love free when it could no longer be restricted. Hesse reveled the existence to enlightenment survived through the value of love in a relationship. All in all, enlightenment could not breathe without the continuous pulse of love.
Everyone has had that one moment, or maybe a couple. The moment when their life changes forever, the moments when they know they will never be the same person they were yesterday. These moments are turning points that play a large role in a person’s identity.
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
Fulford, Robert.“Surprised by love: Chekhov and ‘The Lady with the Dog’.” Queen’s Quarterly. n.d. Web. 17 November 2013.
the years once I left home and realize that in life I will have to deal with people and have to
The purpose of this study would be to investigate the intervention of Olympic lifting into a performers training regime and observe the effect of improving performance through the use of the intervention.
When I saw Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring about five years ago at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., I felt something about the painting that I had never felt before when looking at artwork. I felt as if this girl, this young woman in the painting was real, hiding in the museum behind this canvas. She was in the flesh. Her skin was still dewy from three hundred-something years ago, the light across her face still glowing. She was in the round, her eyes followed mine, she was real. She was about to speak, she was in a moment of thought, she was in reflection. This girl was not crimson red or titanium white, she was flesh. Vermeer caught her, a butterfly in his hand. She was not just recorded on canvas, she was created on canvas. She was caught in a moment of stillness. Vermeer creates moments in his paintings. When viewing them, we step into a private, intimate setting, a story. Always, everything is quiet and calm. I realize now it is no wonder I had such a strong reaction to Vermeer the first time I saw him: he is a stillness seeker.
When the end of my 5th grade year had hit; A land mark of the most traumatizing event of my life was about to take place. My mom had left my father and took us along with her. Over the summer and a few addit...
China is one of the main viable candidates as this century’s new world power. Today, it maintains a strong economic stance within the international market, and is expanding at a rapid pace. The United States cannot maintain its position as hegemon for the rest of humanity; just as how ...
mind that moving in with her was the question with which she was going to confront me.