Things change in seconds...
Hello from Providence!
I love returning to places that I’ve been to before now that I’ve seen completely different cultures and cities on the other side of the world. I just spent a couple of days in New York, and it reminded me of how cool of a city it is. It’s a melting pot of cultures and interesting people (who dedicate their lives to the most random and cool things you can think of). This past year of travel has made me so grateful in a way that I’ve never been before for this side of the world.
Things can change in seconds, days, or hours, especially when you least expect it. In two days, you might be in a hospital having surgery, and right now you are completely unaware of it. Life unfolds in ways we can’t always predict or control. The best we can do is appreciate what we have right now. Don’t take things so seriously, do what’s in front of you with all your heart, and don’t fight against the current (it’ll take you to places you never imagined).
📚Books I read and recommendations
I've been wanting to read The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy for a long time, and now that I'm reading more fiction, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to do so.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a book about a man who lives a life that's very respectable on the surface. He lives without questioning anything and follows the path laid out for him because that's what everyone else is doing. And then death appears to him...
This book is great. The way the Russian novelists, in this case Leo Tolstoy, write and think is unique, providing some great insights you won’t find anywhere else.
If you're into literature, philosophy, classic novels, or short but powerful reads, this book is perfect for you.
💬 Thought-Provoking Quote
I can’t share just one quote from The Death of Ivan Ilych, so here a couple of my favorites:
“What if I really have been wrong in the way I’ve lived my whole life, my conscious life?’ It occurred to him that what had once seemed a total impossibility – that he had not lived his life as he should have done – might actually be true. It occurred to him that the slight stirrings of doubt he had experienced about what was considered good by those in the highest positions, slight stirrings that he had immediately repudiated – that these misgivings might have been true and everything else might have been wrong. His career, the ordering of his life, his family, the things that preoccupied people in society and at work – all of this might have been wrong. He made an attempt at defending these things for himself. And suddenly he sensed the feebleness of what he was defending. There was nothing to defend."
"But more dreadful than the physical pain was the suffering in spirit, his greatest agony."
"Julius Caesar is a man, men are mortal, therefore Caesar is mortal–had always seemed to him to be true only when it applied to Caesar, certainly not to him. There was Caesar the man, and man in general, and it was fair enough for them, but he wasn’t Caesar the man and he wasn’t man in general, he had always been a special being, totally different from all others" "Yes, Caesar is mortal and it’s all right for him to die, but not me, Vanya, Ivan Ilyich, with all my feelings and thoughts–it’s different for me. It can’t be me having to die. That would be too horrible."
🎥 Movie Recommendation
Dead Poets Society is a movie that I knew was good, and I had heard many people talk about it, but I never bothered to watch it. Up until a couple of days ago, when I finally watched it.
The first half of the movie was exactly what I expected: a professor completely different from the rest sparks something inside each of the kids. However, the second half of the movie was not what I expected. I thought it was great as it was, but it just took a left turn that I didn’t expect. It had great performances, most notably from Robin Williams. Overall, it’s a great movie with very few flaws. It’s one of those movies where almost everyone will enjoy it. If you haven’t watched it, then I recommend it.
see you next Sunday?
Love you!! Disfruta 🫶