A Kayak and Chicken Soup.

Today is one of those good "sick days."  I woke up fighting a swollen throat and limp body and decided to officially declare this day "off."  I'm off from worrying about being productive or writing with purpose or even knowing what I will be doing when the sun goes down.  To be honest, I'm relishing the quiet rest of body and mind.

I've found myself devouring a book my friend sent me in the mail on Friday called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.  Reading is not my usual activity of choice when I feel sick and yet somehow, today, it's warming me inside like chicken soup.

I've mentioned Donald Miller before in this blog and my very mixed feelings about him.  And yet I must admit, I find few authors in the world who make me laugh out loud while reading his stuff, with no one in the room to hear me.  His books ramble for sure (something he and I have in common).  He writes as he thinks and doesn't edit much of his pride or his weaknesses or failures. If nothing else, the man is extremely real-- something I hope to become.

In one of my favorite scenes, Donald is entertaining two movie executives, interested in making a film based on his life.  When the arrive at his house in Portland, the three of them find themselves standing outside his house in a snow storm.  Just when you think he is going to say they asked to get started on the script, the executives ask: "Do you have a sled?"  (For some reason, this struck me as so funny.)  Ashamed that he is not coming off more outdoorsy, Donald shrugs his shoulders and says he does not.  Without skipping a beat, he adds "I have kayaks."  Without filling in the blanks, the very next scene, the movie execs and Donald are sliding down the icy streets of Portland, holding on for dear life!

I love this.  I love that grown men can be silly and do stupid things.  I love that the movie execs asked about the sleds in the first place.  I love that he didn't regret the experience (even though they crashed it!)
It's quite refreshing.

On a slightly deeper note, I find myself nearing the end of the book (after only starting it this morning).  It's always hard to summarize what I'm learning from Miller's books because he is so incredibly sporadic. But I guess if I had a gun to my head and asked to summarize, I would say:

Your life is your story and you are both the protagonist and the writer of your story.  Make it interesting.

In one section, he speaks of expectation and how movies raise our expectation for love and life in a way that can't be attained.  This tension, he believes, is the source of many of our problems.

"When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.  And when you stop expecting material possessions to complete you, you'd be surprised at how much pleasure you get in material possessions." - p206

Some good thoughts, Donald.  Maybe you are not so bad after all.