The Seven People I'd Most Like to Meet

Sunday Scribblings asks us to think of seven people, living or dead, to invite for an evening dinner party. That's an interesting thought because I just twitted (on twitter) yesterday the following:

If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead who would it be? I would talk to the Dalai Lama :)

Being as that twitter seems to be the breeding ground and brainstorming tool for blog fodder, maybe I was meant to write about this.

So my first choice, already gathered, would be the Dalai Lama. This question, at least for me, has always been about trying to find famous people I most admire and respect, rather than my friends and family. It is a question that makes me think of which famous people I would most likely value time and conversation with. So, in all actuality, it becomes a simple list of people I'd most like to meet.


1. The Dalai Lama - I still regret not seeing him in high school when I had the chance. All my friends went, as an extra-curricular field trip, but for whatever reason, I was not invited! I think it had something to do with not being in that particular honors class at the time. But often, my friends remember this event as if I were there, having just assumed I would be due to similar interests and states of mind. I was offered a chance for a free ticket and spot if I turned in an essay on my thoughts for world peace and how I would achieve it. I never did write that essay because I'm 1) a lazyass 2) intimidated by such a big topic 3) definitely not a beauty queen. Ok, so the third one is a joke (albeit still true, I'm NOT), obviously, ba-da-CHING!

So where was I? The Dalai Lama. My interest in Buddhism started to surface right around highschool, at the time the Dalai Lama was visiting. It would have been perfect. Except that I didn't get to go and have yet to meet him. I will hopefully be traveling to northern India, in the Himalayas near Dharamsala where the Dalai Lama lives. Granted, I know I'm not important enough to request a private visit with him, but it would still be cool to visit his place of residency and maybe, just maybe, if he's in India, catch one of his talks. I have a lot of respect for him and the wisdom and compassion that he shows. So, going along those lines:


2. Gandhi - As a pacifist, I respect the non-violence that Gandhi emphasized in his message and movement. The concept of Civil Disobedience first came to my attention by Henry David Thoreau's essay. It states that people should not let the government overrule their moral consciences of what is right or wrong. In other words, if people think a law to be wrong or unjust, it is the person's duty to go against that law in non-violent protest so as not to perpetuate injustice. Civil Disobedience is courageous and Gandhi created a whole movement based upon it.


3. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Similarly, Martin Luther King, Jr. was also greatly influenced by Thoreau. In his famous Letter From a Birmingham Jail, King wrote about the injustices of racial segregation after being jailed for non-violent protest; an act of Civil Disobedience. With my belief that all beings should be treated equally, human rights and civil rights are among the topics of my greater concerns and passions. Feminism, as well as gay rights are also in that category for me. Although Martin Luther King, Jr.'s main focus was on civil rights, he gets it. I would be honored to meet such an incredible speaker and charismatic man.


4. John Lennon - Pulling out the World Peace big guns is John Lennon. Yes, I am a Beatles fan and my favorite Beatle was the one and only John Lennon. I even did an art project using his portrait above as inspiration in high school. He was a big voice for peace and love, and not just the hippy kind, but the timeless, everlasting love that we should all embrace.


5. Anais Nin - Anais Nin was a French erotic writer, and novelist most known for the publishing of her diaries. If Anais Nin lived today, she would most certainly be a blogger. She is the woman quoted to say "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. " Quite possibly my favorite quote that literally turned my life around. Through her writing, she explores the deep stages and emotions of love. I believe that love, like John Lennon's message, will help change the world.



6. Anne Frank - Anne Frank, also a diarist, wrote about what life was like during her time of hiding from Nazi German occupation. This girl seemed to have a lot of compassion and the biggest heart. She believed that at the heart of everyone's core being was good, even her enemies, and would regard people as equal to her, no matter how much they disagreed. Although she lead a life of isolation for a big chunk of her childhood and hardly saw the light of day, she found the simplistic beauty in all the little things; the simple and mundane. Each day was filled with hope and optimism.

When I first read her diary, I was instantly inspired. I felt I could look up to her and relate to her, as a girl close to her age when I first read it. I've since reread it many times because it is one of my favorite books. I guess I've always liked memoirs and maybe that's why I blog.


7. Miranda July - Miranda July is my (post)modern day art heroine. She is probably most famous for her film she both directed and starred in: Me and You and Everybody We Know, but she is also a writer, performance artist, and musician to top it off. Her project, Learning to Love You More, shows the power creativity can have with self-worth. And her book, No One Belongs Here More Than You, is a brilliant collection of short stories which all relate to the interconnectedness of human relationships in her quirky signature way. She is an indie cool girl that I have no doubt has many great ideas floating around in her head that I'd love to share with. A true creative genius, she has found a way to make a living out of doing what she loves, and successfully escapes the nine to five status quo while still being a major success.

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All in all, with a bunch like this, I may just be able to achieve world peace, or at least make a dent! Now if I could have turned this in 10 years ago, do I get to see the Dalai Lama now? Good Karma, please?

If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would you invite?