Keep Calm and Carry On

That post title comes from a poster that was produced in Great Britain on the outbreak of World War II. They made a lot but didn't use many because it was reserved for times of extreme crisis (which makes you wonder what constitutes extreme crisis if not WWII in Britain, other than WWII on the continent). It is very simple, one word per line, centered, in sans-serif all-caps. Oh wait, I can link to it! http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/products/keep-calm-and-carry-on-poster. It comes in many colors, and I like it very well.

While we're linking, go ahead and bookmark http://www.goodsearch.com/. You can designate a charity, and it will give them a penny for every search you perform. For everyday use, there's no difference between it and Google. I bet I have given the Heifer Project at least a quarter this year.

I just started reading The Journey of Desire, which is bittersweet because it's the last John Eldredge book I haven't read (that I know of). He says, "Now, what if I told you that this is how it will always be, that this life as you now experience it will go on forever just as it is, without improvement of any kind? Your health will stay as it is; your finances will remain as they are, your relationships, your work, all of it.
"It is hell."
I had to stop thinking about it very quickly, because I would have quailed before the prospect. I realized that would indeed be hell. I mentioned the idea to my small group this evening, and a collective shudder went through the room. One of them even said, while shaking her head, "Living with that roommate forever!" It's partly because we're all young, mostly single, mostly not in our ideal jobs, and not "fulfilled" in the traditional sense of the word. But I bet most people feel that way. People who have the jobs they always wanted, the spouses they dreamed of as kids, the kids, the cars, the house. Not that that's what makes people. It's just what I snap to when I think of the future. I want to consider how we can shape our lives into something that we want to last forever, nail down the moments of bliss and stretch them out so that we never want to skip this chapter or even flip, God forbid, to the end. I'm only ten pages into The Journey of Desire, but I think it's going to be about doing just that: finding the moments you want to last, and making them do so. What a concept. And if the book goes in another direction, this idea is now a seed for me.

In Harris Teeter today, I sampled this Alouette spread, like a goat-cheese deal, with sun-dried tomato and basil in it. It was on sale for just over half of its normal price. I snatched that sucker up so fast, and now it's about to go on a homemade ciabatta-bread sandwich with pepperoni and salami. It's amazing what those goat-cheese people can do.

Advice columns used to be called agony columns.

Good night and good luck. Keep calm and carry on.