7 On The Brain

     Well I've started working on the VaughnDL's Movie Recommendation page that I'm going to put up on the blog soon, and I'm excited about that. I'm also excited about something else that's been mentioned recently on the blog--excited and scared actually. I know that to AB it probably seems like I'm dragging my feet a little bit with this whole thing, but I am DONE! I made a realization the other day and I am now pumped and ready to go for the Summer of 7!!!!!!! You want to know why? Okay, so I was freaking out a little bit about the first month, because the fast for month 1 is food. You can only eat 7 foods! I was thinking (and saying out loud) things such as "But that's got to be unhealthy! Eating only one or two types of vegetables? Only one type of meat? No thank you!" But it's not a diet. The fast isn't about losing weight or becoming more physically healthy, it's about becoming more spiritually connected to God through eliminated the excess in your life. And doing that isn't going to be easy. Only eating seven foods for 30 days is going to be pure hell, but the point is that through the struggle of dealing with eating such a limited amount of food, you'll stop leaning on crutches such as a full refrigerator and always-available snack foods as a sense of security and START relying on God. So that's where I stand for the first month. It'll be hard, and eating only one type of vegetable for a month will suck, but He'll help me through it. That's the whole freaking point after all!

     Month two is clothes. This is the one I struggle with the most. This is the one that will have me in tears day after day. And you know what? That's why I HAVE to do it. I have to! If the thought of only being able to wear 7 articles of clothing makes me want to cry, then there is a serious problem in my life right now and I have to fix it. There are kids around the world who only have ONE article of clothing to their name, and I get upset thinking about only wearing SEVEN? I mean, that was a real eye opener for me when I thought of it that way. How selfish am I that I wanted to not go through with the 7 Fast because I couldn't deal with downsizing my wardrobe? And even though I'm totally on board with doing it now, I know for a fact that when July comes, I'll be wanting to back out again, I'll be trying to tweak the system and get 8 or 9 articles of clothing to wear, I'll call a clothing fast stupid and pointless, just like I have been doing these past few weeks. And therein lies the problem. I absolutely MUST do the clothing fast because I obviously have a huge problem with clothes-based materialism, and it needs to be fixed.
     Month three is possessions. Every day, give away 7 of your belongings. In theory, this one doesn't seem that hard to me. I mean, especially after month 2, I'll hopefully have a better attitude towards clothes and get rid of some of my wardrobe. But when I really think about it, 7 items a day for 30 days is 210 items in total that you're supposed to give up during month three!!!!! That's appalling! But again, that's why I have to do it. I have tons and tons and tons of possessions, I can afford to let go of 210 of them. Some people cannot honestly say that. Some people don't even have homes, and I'm freaking out over 7 measly items a day.
     For the fourth month, the fast focuses on media. Goodness knows I have a problem there. Even with this Internet fast that SE and I have been doing, I've abused my privileges! I definitely spend less time on the Internet than I did before, but I'd be a liar if I said that I have stuck adherently to the 30 minute rule. For this fast, you have to give up seven forms of media. I'm not 100% sure all the details that go along with this one, because I don't know if "Internet" as a whole counts as a media source, or if each website is a source of media, but either way, media is definitely an area of my life that needs to be curbed. I pride myself on being a purist, and not being obsessed with my phone, or twitter or instagram or facebook, but that doesn't mean I'm not wholeheartedly obsessed with other types of media, i.e., TV, movies, YouTube, Tumblr (WHY DID I GET A TUMBLR??). This month will be just as devastatingly hard for me, but it must be done.
     Month 5 is about adopting seven habits that contribute to a greener life. That may sound easy, but do you know how hard it is to keep up new habits? Very hard. Very very hard. And how do I contribute my life to being greener? What can I do to help the world be as beautiful as it was meant to be, and as healthy and safe? This one is more difficult in reality than it seems to be on paper, and I'm kind of excited to see how it goes.
     Month 6 is about spending. You're only allowed to spend your money in 7 places. Because I'm still a teenager, and not a brand-conscious one at that, this one will probably be less difficult for me than the others. I may in fact have to make it harder for myself to get the point across better. Instead of only spending my money in 7 places, I might eliminate 7 places that I can spend my money at. Do you understand what that means? I would have to give up Second and Charles for a whole month. I'd have to, or the fast would not serve its purpose. This month will be harder than I anticipated... AND THAT'S WHY IT MUST BE DONE!!!!!!!! There is literally nothing at all at Second and Charles that I need. So why does it make me so sad to think of being away from it for a whole month?
     And finally, month 7. This seems like less of a fast and more of a pain-relieving month. Every day you must take "seven sacred pauses" to spend time with God. Boy will I need that after all those torturous months of fasting. I'm actually really excited. I'm getting pumped up AB!!!!! I hope you are too SE!
     Hopefully, through 7, we can stop being such spoiled brats. Because really, that's what we are right now. You asked how much is too much SE, and I think we have too much. It's nice to have privileges, and it's nice to be blessed, but as soon as we take our blessings for granted, as soon as 7 articles of clothing makes me cringe, then I've reached the point of "too much".

Movie Recommendation: Flipped. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to be able to recommend this movie! I've read the book and enjoyed it a lot, and had been wanting to see the movie for a few months, and wouldn't you know, SE gave it to me for my birthday. It was really good, definitely a movie I will be rewatching many times. The actors they chose were perfect, and even though it's only semi-similar to the book, it's like a whole new, awesome take on the basic story. That's what I love about Rob Reiner, the director of this movie, and many other movies that I love. He doesn't change things in an offensive way, he doesn't change the stuff that goes into his movies in order to make us mad at him and go "It wasn't like that in the book!" he simply tries to give another take on the story, which is really cool most of the time. Anyway, this movie was so cute and I already can't wait to watch it again. :)

                                      


Okay, I like this trailer, but the boy's voice who's narrating is TOTALLY not Callan McAuliffe's voice! (The boy who playes Bryce in the movie). Why would they use a different guy's voice for the trailer??? That really bothers me!!!

                                                               -VaughnDL