talk to me

So much of our humanity's ability to get along and co-exist relies upon the simple passing of messages from one to another.  Communication.  Language.  Message.  These things are used everyday, by every person in the world.  There are many differences of course, many dialects and tongues, cultures and styles of communicating.  Yet there is a sudden, or rather recent shift in communication.  Yet this is not related to any of the pre-existing differences but rather a new age.  Social networks and the mobility of communicating.

  Its getting bad.  A few days ago I went for a run at dusk and also the folowing morning as I had to work all day.  As I was heading out of town that evening, I ran by a woman riding a bicycle, by herself, and I could hear her talking rather loud.  As I got closer and we passed one another I realizaed one hand was on the handlebars, the other on a cell phone and she was carrying on a conversation while pedaling up hill.  The following morning I was running on a dirt road about 2 miles from any populated housing and I spotted another woman (what I thought at first was an animal) and she was sitting by the edge of the road, no houses and sight, alone, talking on her phone.
  Now at the risk of judegement I would like to comment on what I think was the same woman.  I have run through all the scenarios and I still cant believe you would be talking on the phone, in the middle of engaging in another activity, especially as dangerous as bike riding can be.  Seriously.  Even if their best friend or soul mate was on the other end of the line, and they were very sick or something serious, why would you be engaging in other activities while trying to talk to them?
  I believe we have settled.  We, as a progressive culture of young people in an emerging world have settled for lackluster communication and poor connections.  This leads to misunderstandings, hurt feeling, lack of focus, and a completely scattered social scene.  I have come to believe that if somebody really wants to communicate with me they will tell me whats on their mind.  Instead, we often times just do it with a text, or a short internet message that may not even be received for some time. 
  They call it rude when you don't pay attention to someone.  Even careless.  We owe it to ourselves to speak the truth and take the time.  Is that not what you would want from somebody?  Want to plan a trip or make time to hang-out with someone?  Call them.  Have a serious topic to discuss?  Sit down for a cup of coffee.  I know your busy.  Who isn't?  It's worth it, it's important, it must come back.
  I really appreciate my Buddhist brothers and sisters.  They truly take the time to slow down, to connect.  In America, everything moves, fast.  Always has, always will.  It is up to us to connect with one another, on a real level, on a level where we understand eachother, where we know where the other person is coming from.  Our fate as a nation and our Hope of belonging and understanding in a world of so many different types of people relies on this communication.  Lets not settle for second rate.  Let's give our full attention to one another (as best we can) and Hope that, although we may never be able to fully embrace and co-exist, that we can, "not agree, but proclaim love; and communication."- Mae
After all, that is what this blog is about.  Its about taking the time to connect with one another and sharing daily life, good, bad, REAL.  The only reason it is daring is because we don't do it so much anymore.
listen:
anberlin- "Impossible" (acoustic)

summer skin in the Empire State

There is something special about the first warm days of the year.  Snow is all but forgotten (even if it stay til April), school slows and eventually ends, summer plans are made and the dark northeast becomes a tourist magnet for city dweller and hibernating animal alike.  I have always thought the term "spring fever" for young men and women is an intriguing phenomenon.  Somehow, the weather changing gets people, in body and mind, to feel Alive and rejuvenated, ready to seek out another, hoping for romance...


yet there is a correspondence beyond a summer romance we truly seek.
There is a Hope that does not disappoint,
There is a Love that never fails...
  or keeps score

As a good friend reminded me recently, Love is the one thing we never stop seeking as a human race.  Maybe it is a part of our being, celestial in nature, cut to the core.  Maybe it is written on our hearts.  Maybe it is part of the fantasy we attempt to breathe life into.  Regardless, Love, and the pursuit therein, is the most cosmically engaging aspect of the human existence and the element that proves we are not so evolutionary after all. Why would a species hold onto an element of their being that consistently destroys and stretches their very existence?  And why, upon reaching this love, do they realize it is flawed and many times not enough?  How can we be made for this, yet seek more?

this summer, make sure your Passion has purpose <><;

There is something special about the first warm days of the year...


Listening: Matt Nathanson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXvMJ2UF4RM&NR=1


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Niagara_Falls_-_American_Falls_At_Night.JPG

Whats important and the spirit of all things good

Its been a tough couple days. Lotsa stuff to occupy the mind and work through; for many people around CSC. I believe we are doing the best we can to bring truth and love to campus and as such, we have to deal with a lot of stuff that comes up from our past(s). Its painful, it's tricky, it's dam hard... but it's worth it.
So one of my escapes and sources of renewal is running. On my run yesterday, I was running on a side road and there was a tree down in the middle of the road. Not a huge tree, but not a small one either, probably like 20 feet long. So I decided to play the Samaritan and haul that tree off into the forest to be with its other wind stricken, fallen comrades. As I was struggling with the overgrown sapling, a mini-van came barreling down the road and flew by. In my fit of frustration and endorphins, I jumped into the middle of the road and yelled, "you're welcome" at the top of my lungs...
and then i felt stupid. Stupid and tired. That whole thing about a good deed with bad intention cancelling out the fact that it was a good deed, yeah that. hmm. How quick we are to judge. How quick we are to let anger lead, because, after all, we just did something good, we must have all the answers right?
Well, no. And through the midst of the chaos, relief Always comes at its appointed time. My renewal was not so much in my run that day, but rather in the kids I work with (yay for good behavior and the hilarious moments where everything makes sense in the words of a child) and a surprise meeting with my ol roomate and close friend. People! God gets us, he feels us, he knows our hearts. We can't get out of our bad moods alone, we can't even humble ourselves to realise the beauty in the moment. We can't even stop our impulses enough to think about how this feeling, the one filling your legs and exiting your chest, this anger and absolute feeling of betrayal, was the very same one Jesus felt and is still feeling, over and over again. We are to move closer by loving, To love someone is to move closer. Even through good deeds.

I mentioned this blog is about everyday miracles. Everyday truly is. Let's slow down and help our futile minds grasp this notion. For our stories still have an author who cares, still have a reason to believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv0LsrTGuAE