Thursday, August 30, 2007

jasmine and other things right with the world

I've only recently discovered that I like jasminey things. I fear you will not believe me. I endeavor to convince you:
  • jasmine is my favorite tea. I'm not even sure that I'm dippy about the about the taste, but the smell when you're cuddling a nice hot cuppa is either bliss or his very cute younger brother)
  • jasmine rice is tip-top. I only know that from this week: I tried it by itself (i.e. not smothered in something else saucy and strongly flavored) in my rice cooker and was quite carried away with enchantment. I hope the leftovers do not stay in my fridge long enough to take on a life of their own and start issuing commands - I'm quite sure I'd be powerless to disobey.
  • my cousin is named Jasmine. Of course - I only met her when she was very very small, but (circularity aside) with a name like that, how could she be anything but charming?
  • isn't the word itself, jasmine, evocative of rare and exotic things?!
I rest my case!

Speaking of fridges... I've been wondering lately why they're called refrigerators. Why not just frigerators? Where did we get this big "re" idea? Most things that go in there seem to start out hot, including cow's milk and eggs!

OK, here's a quote from a book I'm reading.
"there is something terribly wrong with life. I don't mean that it's hard or cruel or painful. That much is obvious. There's something about life that doesn't make sense, something that's wrong with the whole picture. And this idea that life is skewed in some way is very much tied to the whole problem of human suffering.
... Anyone who can appreciate a dazzling summer sunset, or a crisp, orange autumn day, or a magnificent symphony, or the smile on the face of a beautiful girl can see that these marvelous works of creation simply don't belong in the same world as a cancer ward, a hospice, or a cemetery. It's not enough to say that the world is full of both good and bad things. That explanation simply doesn't suffice. The good things in life are just too good; the bad things are just too awful. They just can't be part of the same plan. C.S. Lewis put it best; he said that human beings instinctively know that the good things in life are supposed to exist, while the cruel, painful things are not. He said that somehow we know that "right" has a right to be there, while "wrong" has no right whatsoever."
Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, Anthony DeStefano, pp.67-68
I like it - although I would of course use jasmine (be it the word, the tea, the rice, or the cousin) to exemplify the category of things that are right in the world!

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