Ah Autumn....the smell of censorship is in the air.

I can't believe it! I forgot to mention Banned Books Week! The last week of September the American Library Association publishes the list of books that have received the most requests to be removed from shelves in schools, public libraries, and retail stores. Of course, it never happens.

The ALA celebrates Banned Books Week in order to bring attention to the books. Take a look at the list. Have you read any of them? I sure have. :) I have already read the red ones, and the blues ones are on my list for this year.

Alexie, Sherman. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian."
Anderson, Laurie Halse. "Twisted."
Angelou, Maya. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
Block, Francesca Lia. "Baby Be-Bop."
Boyle, T. Coraghessan. "The Tortilla Curtain."
Brown, Marc Tolon. "Buster's Sugartime."
Burroughs, Augusten. "Running with Scissors."
Cast, P.C. and Kristin Cast. "House of Night." (Series)
Chbosky, Stephen. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."
Comfort, Alex. "Joy of Sex."
Crutcher, Chris. "Deadline."
Drill, Ester. "Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL."
Dubberley, Emily. "Sex for Busy People: The Art of the Quickie for Lovers on the Go."
Ehrenreich, Barbara. "Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America."
Frank, Anne. "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl."
Fuentes, Carlos. "Aura."
Garrison, Eric Marlowe. "Mastering Multiple Position Sex."
Hahn, Mary Downing. "The Dead man in Indian Creek."
Harding, Kat. "Lasbian Kama Sutra."
Hartinger, Brent. "Geography Club."
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants: A Short Story: The Complete Short Stories of Hemingway."
Hitler, Adolf. "Mein Kampf."
Irving, John. "A Prayer for Owen Meany."
Johnson, Maureen. "The Bermudez Triangle."
King, Stephen. "Survivor Type. A Short Story from Skeleton Crew."
Kingsolver, Barbara. "The Bean Trees."
Klausen, Jytte. "The Cartoons That Shook the World."
Knowles, Jo. "Lessons from a Dead Girl."
Lee, Harper. "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Lippman, Laura. "The Crack Cocaine Diet: A Short Story from Hardly Knew Her."
Martin, Michael. "Kurt Cobain."
McDonald, Brian. "In the Middle of the Night."
Mead, Richelle. "Vampire Academy." (Series)
Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff. "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary."
Meyer, Stephenie H. "Twilight." (Series)
Moore, Alan. "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier."
Morrison, Toni. "Song of Solomon."
Myracle, Lauren. "ttyl"
Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. "And Tango Makes Three."
Schrag, Ariel, ed. "Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age."
Scott, Elizabeth. "Living Dead Girl."
Sedaris, David. "I Like Guys: A Short Story from Naked."
Seierstad, Asne. "The Bookseller of Kabul."
Selzer, Adam. "How to Get Suspended and Influence People."
Shusterman, Neal. "Unwind"
Sliverstein, Charles, and Felice Picano. "The Joy of Gay Sex."
Snyder, Zikpha Keatley. "The Egypt Game."
Sones, Sonya. "One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies."
Toriyama, Akira. "Dragon Ball: the Monkey King."
Von Ziegesar, Cecily. "Only in Your Dreams: A Gossip Girl Novel."
Walker, Margaret. "Jubilee."
Walls, Jeannette. "The Glass Castle: A Memoir."
WritersCorps. "Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems."

On a side noet I am pleased that I have met THREE of the authors listed above: Marc Brown, Toni Morrison, and Barbara Kingsolver.

For those we love...

Once upon a time, a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them, “Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time? In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? One answer for all questions? Tell me, is there such a mantra?”

All the wise men were puzzled by the king’s question. They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. The wise men handed the king a paper with four words written on it. These four words would ground the king in his triumphs and lift the King during his darkest hours.

The four words were: This too shall pass.

As the king read the words, he became enlightened.

There are times when it feels like your world is crashing down around you. Nothing happens as planned. Everything is against you, your ambitions, and your very livelihood. Those are dark times. We’ve all experienced them at some point. But lately I have experienced something else. I have watched others go through tough times. And I, unable to ‘fix’ anything, am left on the periphery unable to offer anything more than support and encouragement in a situation that is nearly helpless.

Life certainly comes with plenty of ups and downs. On the upside we experience promotions, new relationships, material things, wealth and so forth. On the downside we experience layoffs, breakups, loss, financial hardship, death and other less desirable aspects of the human experience.

Most of us ride the roller coaster of life; our moods and levels of happiness are dictated by the situation at hand. We celebrate the upsides and bemoan the downside. In this perspective, I suppose that the end goal is experiencing more upsides than downsides.

I recognize that the upsides and downsides are part of this human experience. And that this experience is intrinsically beautiful and perfect. Regardless of my place on the roller coaster, I know that there are lessons to be learned and lives to touch.

For me, the secret is not letting my mood or level of happiness be dictated by the situation at hand. I know that true power comes from within, regardless of the circumstances around me. I base my happiness on the permanent, rather than the transient. Is that extremely difficult? Heck yes! I’m I successful in my attempts? Heck no!

When the fan gets hit, I remind myself that this too shall pass. And when Lady Luck smiles on me in a special way, I remind myself that this too shall pass.