6 things that make me happy

1. leslie.
for tagging me to do this post. she knew full well i would have to do it once i saw she tagged me, so she knows that i still read her blog. ha. and because she wrote that i'm "one of her favorite people to #4 with." that just sounds weird. i love that she reminds me to spend some time thinking about things that make me happy. they've been somewhat difficult to come up with, but i've enjoyed thinking about it. and i needed it.

2. solitude.
weird, right? this weekend, i went with a couple friends up to a cabin in the middle of nowhere wisconsin (bon iver, anyone?) to relax a little and get some work done. it was a fantastic weekend. i really loved it. i loved the cabin. i want to try to go back again if i can talk anna's relatives into letting me. i got a lot done (even though i lost about two hours of work by saving it in the wrong place. ouch.), i played guitar and sang, i slept, i watched a movie, (all things i don't really do to often in the city), and i listened to a lot of music (something i do no matter where i am.) for someone that is often considered extroverted and social, i really enjoy some solitude sometimes.

3. the following artists (all come highly recommended):
seabear
bon iver
santogold
the streets
cat power
radiohead

4. journals.
since it's officially been a year since i arrived in chile and was even traveling, i've been pretty nostalgic lately. (who am i kidding, i've been continually nostalgic). so, i've been really enjoying reading my travel journal from chile and even looking through all the little momentos i saved: bus tickets, a rock from the national park, cards people sent me, etc. but more than anything i'm enjoying the journal. (thanks again to leslie for that. 1, for encouraging me to write, 2, for buying the actual journal i used.)

5. this quote by rumi:
"look carefully around you and recognize the luminosity of souls. sit beside those who draw you to that."
for discussion, see below:

6. i heart huckabees
i love this movie. it's in my all-time top 3, which makes it one of the few i can watch any time, an unlimited number of times. i watched a part of it this weekend with the commentary on. good stuff. and i put it on here because it relates really well to the previous quote by rumi. the movie deals with a philosophy explaining that everything, and especially every living thing, is connected. not only physically because there is no such thing as empty space, but spiritually in that we are all part of the same spirit. and in the movie they talk about what it's like when you "recognize the luminosity of souls" and how most people only want to do that when it's convenient, rather than all the time, because it can be exhausting. (imagine trying to recognize the luminosity of someone who just cut you off in traffic or that crazy, smelly person on the train?)
anyway, i highly recommend the film. and recognizing the luminosity of souls.