think, write, share

ugh, i feel sweaty and grossy disgusting…but strangly satisfied all at the same time…

[ed note: i hate trying to come up with titles for these posts...i should really wait until i'm done writing before coming up with such witty titles as, "ewwwww"]

i’m so tired…

…but the weekend was amazing!

After I finished reading Wicked last night, it isn’t no surprised why it was turned into a hit musical.

The idea of reading the book after seeing the musical and being entranced by the soundtrack really came from my sister. She started reading the book a while ago, and after a few failed attempts of getting through the first few chapters she finished it and found it fascinating, eagerly awaiting to see the show and see how the story had deviated from the book. I decided last year to pick it up after seeing it for sale at Costco and started reading it while I was in NY for the holidays. I finally finished it last night and I can definitely see why some people–my coworker for instance–didn’t enjoy it after seeing the musical first. The basic premise of the musical can be found in the 400+ pages of the book, with the characters being basically the same, but the story was drastically changed.

The change made to accommodate the Broadway crowd was perfectly understandable. The story of Elphaba–also known as the Wicked Witch of the West–is one full of sadness and tragedy. The small glimpse of the psyche of the Witch we get in L. Frank Baum’s novel and in the Judy Garland movie is very brief, with the focus on Dorothy and her “annoying dog”. Gregory Maguire fills in the background of Elphaba as a girl with a tough childhood; the girl that no one wanted; the social outcast with very strong notions of wrong and right. By the time I finished reading the book, I felt a deep sadness for the green skinned child rejected by society who longed for nothing more than love.

How many people do we know who are social outcasts? How do we feel about those who are marginalized in our society? Do we go out of our way and help those who are less fortunate or do we cross to the other side of the street to avoid having to make contact with them? Do we look at them with pity and a desire to provide some comfort to those who often have no one to care for them?

Sadly, the answer to those questions are often filled with negativity. The majority of us are self-centered and conscious only of how other people perceive us. We live in a “me, Me, ME!” world where we weigh action with reward. What will this get me? What will other people think? We care more for our own ego than we do with the suffering of others.

We need to ask ourselves now, “am I do enough to help the less fortunate?”
Catholic Social teaching demands that it is not enough to simply pray for those in need. We need to take action. Volunteer at your local Loaves and Fishes serving meals to those who are hungry. Help build homes with Habitat for Humanity for those who have no shelter. Speak out for injustice and put an end to the death penalty. Speak out for those who have no voice to protect themselves and help put an end of our culture of death. Donate to charitable organizations such as Caritas International, Catholic Charities, or a relief organization of your choice.

We cannot simply sit back and shut ourselves off from the world. We need to leave our protective shells and take action. Sitting back and doing nothing is no different than doing the inequity ourselves.

Matthew 25: 35-45

[The king said,] ‘for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

“Such a maelstrom had not been known in Oz before. Various terrorist groups claimed credit, especially when news got around that the Wicked Witch of the East–also known as the Eminant Thropp, depending on your political stripe–had been snuffed out. It was not widely understood at first that the house carried passengers. The mere presence of a house of exotic design, set down almost intact upon the platform rigged up for the visiting dignitaries, was stretching credulity enough. That creatures might have survived such a fall was either patently unbelievable or a clear indication of the hand of the Unnamed God in the affair. Predictably, there were a few blind people who suddenly cried “I can see!” a lame Pig that stood and danced a jig, only to be led away–that sort of thing. The alien girl–she called herself Dorothy–was by virtue of her survival elevated to living sainthood. The dog was merely annoying.”
-Gregory Maguire, Wicked