Wednesday, June 18, 2008

One's Life into Literature

If there was a book about your life, would anyone want to read it?



I can't recall where I heard this or whom I heard it from for that matter. However, this is a question that lodged itself into my memory bank and pulls at my heart strings from time to time. Some wonder why Mike and I made the move to Argentina? It appears to some that we have no direction, we're just aimlessly globetrotting with no long term goals in mind. Let me spare any argument. It's true, there were no real long-term goals in the decision to move to Argentina, it was more of a whimsical decision with more of a soul-searching sentiment. As for myself, the catalyst to the excitement in booking a one-way ticket to another country lies in the question above.


How many autobiographies or biographies have you read in your lifetime? I find it fascinating in reading books about others' lives to see how I might relate with the author and/or characters that carry the plot. I'm currently reading "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Aron Ralson. He's also very well known for being the guy who survived a climbing accident in Utah in 2003 by cutting his own arm off, which was stuck between a boulder and a canyon wall, to escape and survive. Reading about the moments leading up to his gutsy actions in survival mode is fascinating. I find it to be educational on how to handle the metaphorical situations in life of being between a rock and a hard place. The countless other autobiographies and biographies I've read or even skimmed have all brought me to thinking about my own life tale.

In one of the many conversations Mike and I have had about travel and the wonders of all corners of the planet , he made a great point. "Everyone should write their own book," he claimed matter-of-factly. Each person has their own perception and can tell about it in their unique form. Some do it better than others but nonetheless something can be learned from each author. Writing about your own life tales may also aid in an objective view of your own story. Imagine how you might look at your past, present and future if you take a peek from the outside instead of the usual subjective focus. I'm now a true believer that everyone is the author of their own book and only they can dictate the next chapter. What's the most exciting thing that has happened in this current chapter of your book? Maybe the objective view will provoke more excitement or better yet, more appreciation of our individual tales.

Who knows? Maybe one day when you and I are famous, our rough draft will be waiting on the publisher's doorstep.

1 comment:

KRISTIN said...

I've thought a lot about the subject, too. But it's really irrelevant, seems to me, either other people would read your book or not, so are "real long-term goals" irrelevant to me. I think the only reasonable goal is to become the closest to the perfect person one is able to become and this is something one can do anywhere.