Wednesday, January 29, 2014

the greatest love of all

Whitney Houston said it best.

From the moment "I Will Always Love You" was released, I spent years praising the song and even claiming that it was by far the singer's best work.

That opinion got challenged though once I stumbled upon "Greatest Love of All" about two years ago.  I was already familiar with the song, but it was only after rediscovering it that I found myself ready to appreciate it properly.  Within a few listens, the vocal prowess demonstrated in "I Will Always Love You" had taken a backseat to the message of "Greatest Love of All".

Indeed, I was ready for this.  At that time, I had just deduced some theories on self-love and was taking immense delight in seeing how straightforward they were.  Then came this song.  Its lyrics carried a message that rang loud and clear and that, more importantly, was in line with my dear theories.  I was nothing short of elated.

Much credit goes to songwriters Michael Masser and Linda Creed.



While all the words to the song are great, the final part of the chorus is where the power of the message is concentrated:
Because the greatest love of all / Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all / Inside of me
The greatest love of all / Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself / It is the greatest love of all
Imagine that.  This thing called love, that many of us have searched for, are searching for, and will be searching for, is at its greatest within us.

May we all keep learning to love ourselves.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

souvenirs pralognanais

After Christmas, I went with a group of friends from Paris to spend a few days in Pralognan-la-Vanoise, a town in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.  I had been invited by Mélodie, Raphäel, and Jeannette, who took on organizing and hosting duties and did so with brio.  When I was not at the chalet up to mischief (of course), you could find me on the slopes, trying to get my body-snowboard coordination to work and, in the process, experiencing soreness in my shoulders, wrists, feet, butt, belly, ankle, head, and right pinky.  Yet still I persevered!

It was a fun adventure, due in large part to the company that I was in.  That our non-Parisian friend Keith was around to join in on the fray was definitely icing on the cake.

The following are a few souvenirs from the trip.

Chalet

An ibex welcomes us at Le Bouquetin car park

The village

Map of the ski resort

Beyond the slopes

Raclette for dinner

View from the Mont Bochor cable car

The same ibex greets us at the same place and in the same manner as before!

Doron de Pralognan

View during a snow stroll

Fondue for dinner

Chalet