Ok, I meant to make this post on 11/11/11 but I was dead tired by the end of the day so I wasn't even gonna try, and then a lot of other stuff came up. So its a bit late, but here goes.
A while back, my brother showed me a video for this thing called The Beckoning of Lovely 10/10/10. If you don't know what that is, I recommend you go YouTube it to get the best definition, but I'll try to give you a bit of a description here. Basically, its an event that this amazing woman, Amy Krause Rosenthal, has been putting together for 4 years now at the Bean sculpture in Millennium Park in Chicago. The idea behind each gathering (08/08/08, 09/09/09, 10/10/10, and 11/11/11) has been to beckon lovely back into the world. 08/08/08 was in conjunction with one of Amy's self-made movies, 09/09/09 was a more solitary affair, and 10/10/10 was moving and stunning. 11/11/11 looked to be another wonderful event. It would be the first Beckoning I would be in attendance for. I couldn't wait.
That day, my brother and I woke up early, got to the train station, and traveled to Chicago. We took the bus to Millennium Park and waited patiently for Amy and the yellow umbrella she carried to every beckoning. We chatted and nerded out with the other amazing people already there, going on and on about Nerdfighteria (more about that in another post), Wheezy Waiter, various other YouTube videos, and just the general awesomeness in the air. Then, 11:11am rolled around, and a cheer started to rise through the crowd as a smiling woman with a yellow umbrella made her way to the front.
The day was amazing. We sang together, wished people happy birthdays, sent out "I love you" texts, watched a marriage proposal, were given free candy, saw John Green (YAY!), and overall did our best to beckon lovely back into the world. This all happened as a feature-length movie titled "The Beckoning of Lovely" was released on YouTube. I recommend you watch this movie whenever you get the chance.
In the descriptions for the event on the website, we were all told to bring white pillowcases and sharpies, but not given an explanation as to why. Amy explained that we should draw a large cloud on one side so if anyone said we were "dreaming too much" and "had our head in the clouds" we could say "You bet." Then, she encouraged us to get people to sign our pillowcase so we could remember all the friends we made that day.
A friend of the project handed out temporary tattoos that had a small yellow umbrella and a little message on them: "Make the most of your time here." This has been a big phrase in relation to The Beckoning of Lovely, and I wholeheartedly agree with it. Its something we all need remember; our lives are short. Much too short to spend them angry or jealous or upset or hating or complaining.
Our world is in a rough place right now, but then again, it always has been and always will be. However, just because the world's constantly going insane doesn't mean our own personal worlds have to be. Surround yourself with people you love and who love you in return. Enjoy fun things, and also find the fun in hard work. Support the ones you care about, and never miss a chance to tell them you love them. Read. A lot. Love the little things. Never compromise, but know when to find middle ground. And never, ever, EVER let anyone define who you are but yourself.
In the words of Charles Schulz that someone brought up that day at the Bean, "Be yourself. No one can say you're doing it wrong."
P.S. - I'm dedicating this post to my friend, J.G. She's going through a tough time right now, and I hope that the lovely returns to her life soon. She deserves it. <3
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