PAPER

ONE LIFE

In the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s there is a nice scene where Holly (Audrey Hepburn) and Paul (George Peppard) visit the New York Public Library. She’s never been, whereas he is a writer and you can tell he knows his way around. They pull a wooden drawer, take it to the front desk, and wait patiently for a book to appear: Nine Lives by Paul Varjac. His book.

It impresses Holly that his book really is there, and Paul starts to inscribe the title page, then gets reprimanded by the stereotypical librarian (Elvia Allman), so they leave to continue their exploration of NYC and taking turns “doing things they’ve never done before.” Of course, they’re falling in love, though she’s refusing to admit it. He can’t think of anything else.

LIVE BIGGER

In the Truman Capote short story (well, short-ish) that scene does not appear. In fact, Paul does not really appear– he’s a nameless narrator remembering his earliest days in NYC and the most unforgettable person from those days, the gorgeous but elusive country-girl-making-it-in-the-big-city– Holly, who could have stayed in Hollywood but instead just kept the name while she morphed her life into something based on the fact that men were willing to spend money in order to spend time with her. Draw your own conclusions.

Doing things we’ve never done before: it’s a nice metaphor for Really Living. Don’t get caught in the rut, repeating the same day over and over (different movie– thank yous to Harold Ramis & Bill Murray), but make each day count for something! Live your life!

But don’t turn into Holly. Find your adventures. Say “Yes” to taking that chance. Be the best version of You. But if you come home to an apartment devoid of furniture, your only companion a cat you’ve refused to name, maybe you’re overdoing it. Even if you do look like Audrey Hepburn.

THIS BLOG

This blog is about getting the most out of life. Be more, do more, learn more, live more.

In a boat there is an edge you can feel underneath you. A power boat, a sailboat, a canoe or kayak. The forces around it are playing on it– the wind pushes, the current flows, the tide subtly buoys you along in some direction you can barely feel. And you have a wheel or a tiller or a paddle– it’s in your hand but it’s subtle too, and you keep the boat riding that edge that means you are sort of heading mostly where you want to go and sort of responding to the totality of unseen forces.

This blog is about keeping your life on that edge.