An old song (She still moves me and dares me to believe)

PLANS- the Track Record

"It's so crazy how suicide occupies the minds of so, so many happy people
Don't lie you know you've thought about it, we all have
Part of growing up is asking questions

Isn't it mad weird how our wildest dreams tell us about our fears and what we want out of this life
Some say that it's healthy to experience breakups, mistakes, letdowns, or the death of a loved one

We owe all that we have to the people in our lives
We can only hope that this song reaches you in time

(Two pairs of eyes share a beautiful silence
Perfect weather breeds perfect smiles
So show me that face when you can't hold back yours
Plans to wake up on the beach
You know how it feels so fucking awesome when a song lets you know that you're not alone
Well these 3 minutes will beckon you too think, dance, live, learn, teach, and love)



So i'll meet you in front of Hagerstown at 10

And we'll live for the single moment
I swear i will hold you
On this bathroom wall forever
I promise not too hold this grudge against you
if you love like you've nothing to lose
I swear i will hold you



We owe all that we have to the people in our lives
We can only hope that this song reaches you in time"

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, whatever thought is on your mind,
I Hope it finds you well.
More then well,
I Hope it finds you Alive and well-

The purpose of this life is to truly live- -

The Track Record- Plans (to wake up on the beach)

2nd wind

There is no other sporting event I enjoy more then the Tour de France.  The race is epic and challenging to say the least; it is torture at best.  Through picturesque countryside, riders traverse an entire country in 21 days of racing all by the power of their own two legs.  Wow cannot begin to describe it!

For such a race, there are great stories.  Each day is filled with triumphs, overcoming, Hope and heartbreak.  Similar to the recent soccer world cup, there are rrepresentatives from all over the world.  It is beyond category!
My favorite stories are the ones of courage and passion, or, as the Italians call it, panache!  The days where a rider breaks away from the pack all day and wins the day in front of his compatriots or when a rider finishes the race despite a crash that would put most in the hospital for a month.  The stories of true grit, and never giving up.  Of setting your sights on a goal and reaching it no matter what.
This years tour has been full of such stories.  Even today, Lance Armstrong attempted to win the day by riding over four mountains solo to the finish over one hundred miles.  He did not make it.  However, his effort was valiant and had all the fans reminiscing about his wins just a few years back. 
But it was truly the attempt that took the most courage and gave everyone, especially Lance, a reason to Hope.  This is every bit a parallel to real life.  We are more then halfway through summer.  For many their have been great struggles, beautiful and equally gut wrenching stories, reasons to Hope and reasons to doubt.  Yet it is in the attempt, in the saying "yes", in the moving on, even if that movement is at a crawl; it is in these things that our stories are truly made complete. 
In endurance sports, after the rush and speed of the opening of a race, or a long mountain climb, an athlete is said to get their "second wind".  A rush of adrenaline and strength that leads them to get back in the hunt or otherwise continue on towards the goal. 
My Hope is that,
wherever you are,
 in reality and passion,
in spirit and in truth,
that you are on your second wind, or quickly approaching this renewal, while keeping an iron focus on the goals of Life and Love.
This is not just my Hope, but it is also my belief.  I know that you will find that strength, from deep within, and when you do, know that you are courageous and lovely, a bright spot in a universe that would sometimes seem against all that is good and true.

It may not start with moving all the mountains in your life,
but it may just begin with YOU.

Listen:
josh moore- "too good to be true"

Dedicated to Vino'- for second wind, and second chances...
(photo courtesy of Graham Watson)

My Hope resides, the children are...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2390/1515342953_4d17f59a3b.jpg
When I go running, or biking for that matter, I don't think about anything but the task at hand, the physical effort, and the temporary escape from the busyness and/or stress from life.  That's why the people I meet along my "me time" best be pretty special... and of course, many times they are.  The natural highs associated with physical activity are really helpful to anyone in life and I find after adventures on the roads or in the woods, I am often better able to Love and be loved in this hectic life we live.  So it is always a pleasant experience to find something breathtaking on the trail or in another adventurer.
  After a recent run I stopped at the track to watch the descending sun caught up in fast moving, eastward bound storm clouds.  Upon walking back towards my car, I spotted a large man and a little girl walking just ahead of me, in the same direction.  The man was strong and tall, and had multiple ear and facial piercings.  The little girl was probably around five or six and was wearing a black summer dress.  The man was intimidating, the little girl was not.  It was some kind of contrast,
while here I am, skinny runner boy, coming up behind them.  But the part of this picture that was most striking was what the little girl was doing.  She was picking up pieces of trash and empty bottles.  Not just a couple here and there, then moving on,
She was picking up every single piece of trash within eyesight!
Not only that, but the impending figure of a man (i presume her Dad) was in charge of holding all the junk she found.
It was quite a picture.
I was moving at a faster speed then the two of them, so I was about to pass by and jump in my car when I decided, maybe to spare Dad some work, or maybe because I was motivated by the little girl; to start picking up any of the pieces on the other side of the path she had previously missed.  After collecting a number of pieces, I proceeded to walk by, and without a glance back, to smile, toss the trash and start my journey home.
But before I could ponder the equally captivating little girl and the light cascading through the clouds, I heard the little girl utter something to the effect of,
"hey daddy, he's helping too"
This scene just made my day for SO many reasons.  For the beauty I didn't expect to find, for the motivation of a young child, for the apple-of-his-eye type feeling the girl gave to her dad and for the innocent Hope of a child.
All of this coming in a town where the elementary school provides the motto,
"Here, the children are our future"
Yes, they are,
and,
if this little girl is any prediction of that,
I am not only excited, but I am awe inspired;
and on a stifling afternoon when I went out looking for a little run in the woods,
...I found my Hope renewed.

That we may all move like this...

Listen:
Joel and Janna- anyway (check these people outski)

freedom and us

"freedom isn't free"
and
"the only thing needed for evil to succeed in this world, is for good people to do nothing"

Are two quotes that come to mind on this 4th of July 2010.  The first quote in particular often connotates a military notion, that we must pay for our freedom with blood, sweat and sacrifice.  The second confirms this notion, that good men (and woman) have to step forth to push back the forces that seek destruction and pain in this world.  Yet we very seldom live this way.  We have come to a time and place where we cannot see, except through military means or media, the brutality and the struggle that is at play in a world gone mad by the hunt for power and advancing oneself over one's brother (or has it always been this way?) and here in America we have a very small glimpse of what it is to fight for freedom (except our first hand military warriors).  But we are not completely free as you suppose.  There are many, many people in this country who do not feel free.  Perhaps this is because real freedom, in its simplest, yet deepest sense is neither free nor evil, but rather infinite.  The real freedom our hearts seek can only be found in the simplest of truths and a child-like sense of wonder.  Freedom can only be found in Truth; and Love.  Freedom goes beyond a feeling, relationships, or political control, but rather a sense of belonging to a larger story and leading an existence that is found deep within, so deep that it may only correspond to your own Hopes, Dreams and Experiences.
And it is a battle, a struggle.
It is a lifelong venture.
Freedom is not free.
Nor is it easy.
But "we owe it to ourselves"
and...
"we can't just let it go"
Our entire existence depends on freedom and the pursuit therein; yet it is only a select few who choose to seek and defend it.  We all have a part to play in this, in every word we say and every action that stays.  Let us seek the truth, absolutely, and in doing so, let freedom ring, and let infinity answer the call of the feeling we are truly after.  At the end of the age, freedom is not a right, but rather a precious gift, and as such amazing gifts are, it is not to be kept to ourselves.    
The choice to pursue freedom is of such earth shattering importance,
that all of our lives hang in its balance, as do the words nobody ever wants to hear,
"it didn't have to end like this"-

listen:
anberlin- we owe this to ourselves (King)