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Saturday, November 26, 2011

silent passenger

Time carries on
Like a heart
Pump pumping
Like a drum
Bump bumping
A pendulum in the night
Tick tock tick tock
A 4/4 measure
A quick change pleasure
Played by the steady hand
Of the silent passenger
We have all met
In our dreams.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

life Q and A

How do you climb a mountain?
A step at a time.

How do you change your life?
A step at a time.

How do you start something you want to do but haven't gathered the courage for?
Take a step in time.

How do you believe yourself that you won't fail?
Pick up your feet and see them land.

But what if your laces are crossed and your hands are full?
Leave what you don't need. Drop it, fix your laces and ...walk on.

What if I don't remember how to walk?
It will come.

What if your legs are broken and your spirit shot?
Take a breath, close your eyes and crawl.

What if you take the wrong path?
Go somewhere up high, look where you are going; then you will know what you need to do.

What if it is too dark to see?
Let your spirit guide you to where you need to be.

What if you lose your way?
Grab your own hand. Dig a hole and make a compass.

How do you do what you were meant to do?
Wake up every morning. Have faith in yourself and just...work.

What if I forget?
Then remember.

What if I don't make it?
Then you can say that at least you tried with everything you had.

Where am I going anyways?
Forward.

What if I look behind me? I will get sad because things are gone.
If you are climbing a mountain and look back you will be terrified. Instead, look ahead and set your goal.

What if the goal is so far away...?
Persevere.

What if you forget your goal?
Keep walking until you remember.

After all, you aren't necessarily defeated if you get beat back. You just need to find another way around.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

belief

Such a strange word...belief. What is it to believe? It is having faith. The opposite of fear. The light in the dark. Is it religious? I am not sure. I think so, but then again I have never believed in organized religion. Many things happen in this miniscule existence that we like to call life. Who are we to judge our own experiences, much less the experiences of others? What about faith, is it exactly, that makes us believe?

My mother actually came up to me a few weeks earlier and started talking about her "God of understanding". The phrase caught my attention, as I had never heard it phrased that way before. I asked her about it, and she said, yea. I am not one to tell who God is to you, but I know who he is to ME, and it is MY God of MY understanding. Wow. Is it that simple? Can we really just look inside ourselves and define our faith and belief for ourself?

Why not?

To err is human. But to have erred and not believed in anything? This makes me really sad.

So I asked myself. What do I belief? Well. Many things. I will write a list.

I believe in personal strength. I believe that even if your soul is asked by things you don't want in your life, or struggles so painful that you can't mention, that this strength still exists. I believe that true freedom only occurs when you seek your true strength and you work on yourself until it begins to shine. I believe that sometimes, people are like geodes. They have these rough outsides, but when cracked and burst open, there are thousands of gems just waiting to see the light of day.

I believe in more than just aspects of our lives, I believe that we are all apart of the bigger picture, and that children are the most precious things. I believe that good teachers are hard to come by, but when they do, the teachings will live forever in the hearts of all they touch.

I believe that belief can be stronger than all of our fears.

I believe that the past is just that.

I believe that there were people in my life that I had thought to have been different. But they weren't. I believe that I made them into the people that I wanted. But they weren't. So I forgave myself.

I believe that you can learn a lot about a person by fighting them. And that sometimes, this is truly the only way to know someone. I believe that you will begin to know yourself only through struggle.

I believe that so many people do not know themselves. That they are rough geodes that have never struggled enough to crack open.

I believe in not taking the easy way out. I compared this to my sister last night. That if you are standing at the base of a mountain, you will never know what the sight is like at the top unless you take a step at a time. Do as much as you can. No more, no less. If you push too hard, you will get tired and lose interest. If you don't push enough, you will stay in one spot forever.

I believe that one must always go forward.

I believe that you are the most important guiding hand to yourself.

I believe that breath is important.

I believe that there is a mean, cruel world. I feel sorry for it, because it has suffered so much that it does not remember what it is like to feel joy.

I believe there is a light in people.I believe that you need to trust it, feel it, be it. I believe this is the God of your Understanding. I believe that it is beautiful and the source of all the deepest abilities and desires.

So. Yes. I believe in something. If I didn't, I would be miserable. I am tired of being miserable. It wears so much on your soul. I am a fighter, and I am happy.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

too afraid...of what

Everyone has fears. It is ridiculously normal and human. Kings fear for loss of their kingdoms, paupers fear what they do not know. Myself? I am afraid of a lot of things. Perhaps a lot which I don't know, but for the most part I think I do. I am scared of losing my family. I am scared of dying tomorrow and my friends and family would not know how much they meant to me. I am scared that I am not learning fast enough. That our family business will crumble and we will be jobless in a world that does not value the skills I have obtained. I am scared to draw. I am scared that if I draw, my drawings will mean nothing and be thrown away. I am scared that I will hurt myself doing something stupid and will never recover. I am scared for our nation and all of the children growing up without an education. I am scared that a fire might burn up my house and community. I am scared I will lose sight of my goals. I am scared of other people's actions. I am scared that I will die because I was too weak to handle the world around me. I am afraid that I will have learned nothing in life, and the teachings that I have given will amount to nothing. I am afraid of the weather changing. I am afraid of a global food shortage. I am afraid for my friends who are trapped in desperate situations. I am afraid I will be attacked by someone much bigger and stronger than me.

See? Told you I was scared. Life is scary. I grew up a quiet, shy kid. I will always be that kid at heart. But I will also realize, that we are more than the fears that break us down, we are the strengths that build us up. I must be stronger than I am afraid of life. For even though I fear being trapped in the corner with no way out except through a lion's jaws, I know that I am strong enough to climb the cage and jump out to safety. If you fear your own strength, it will never surface in your time of need. And right now, I think we all need to learn how to be strong.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

el cielo es azul

"At the very beginning of this Place by Flowing Waters, The People gathered to build a Great Kiva. In so doing, they enacted the joining of the primal pairing of nature that bonded them as one people, male and female; Sky and Earth, sun and moon, winter and summer. The Great Kiva represented the First House created by the People upon their emergence from the Earth's Navel. The Great Kiva was the center of the Cosmos, where the six sacred directions symbolically came together, where The People reconnected with their spiritual and mythic origins and were nourished by the spiritual Center, the Earth's Navel.

Imagine the Great Kiva filled with The People of this Place by Flowiing Waters as they awaited the first rays of sunlight on the summer solstice. This was a sacred event, the beginning of a new cycle of life celebrated by all people. It was a time of renewal and thanksgiving. As you sit on the Great Kiva, you too are participating in this Celebration of Life. You have walked in the footsteps of The People of this Place be Flowing Waters. Remember that "place that The People think about."

-The Center plaque at the Aztec ruins (Pueblan) in Aztec, New Mexico.



Tuesday, June 28, 2011

what's really great

top 10 things that I love:

My family
My friends
Having a job
Being active
Food
Art
Animals
Guitar
Hats.
Words.

Your turn :)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

defenseless. I think not.

I think so many women give up without even trying. They make excuses for themselves, or they admit defeat before the match has even started. They say, "I will never be that strong" or "I can't do those things", "Men will always be stronger than women". Or what's worse, they will try for about a half a second, and then without seeing immediate gratifying results, they throw in the towel.

"Oh I ran for 10 minutes, now I can eat this green tea frapachino and a couple of donuts."

And then the real kicker, "I just don't have TIME to do any of that stuff." or the green problem "I don't have the MONEY."

You can't hide from me, I know these excuses all too well. My last relationship EVOLVED around excuses. Do you think I was happy? Well, I damn well tried to be, but I didn't give myself the tools to do so. I could talk all day about my ex, and I could place all sorts of blame on this person if I wanted to, but the fact of the matter was, that it all comes down to a personal choice. You HAVE TO DECIDE who you want to be! What makes you happy! At this time of my life, I was miserable! And the shitty part was, that so was my partner. Instead of quitting smoking and doing something productive, we wasted all of our money on booze, cigarettes and video games.

One day, I just woke up and had this great epiphany. I wasn't where I wanted to be....I wanted to be home! I missed my family. My grandpa was sick. My sister was growing up without me. My mother needed me. My father needed my help. Could it really be so easy?
Well. For me it was. I was leading a destructive and unhealthy life, so I made a decision to get better. It just so happens that my partner did not want as much. In fact, the last time I heard from her, she was relapsing with cancer. Do I feel bad? Yes. Horribly. I feel sorry for her. I feel heartbroken and sad. But will I let this sadness consume me? No, I can't afford it. I AM TOO STRONG NOW. Does this make me a horrible person? Maybe. But I chose not to place blame. I don't want to blame her or hate her. I can't help but think about her now and then, despite the ignorance and the excuses and false brevity that was our relationship, I did care for her. It just, wasn't me. I let my guard down for over two years with her. She owned me, and I let her. It was my fault, really. I could have stopped it. But I was weak. It was a false sense of security, like a blanket to cover my eyes in the dark.
Stop.
No more.

WOMENS EMPOWERMENT.
Does it matter who controls you? It could be a 300+ lb hairy, sweaty bald guy, or a computer nerd with hipster glasses. It could be someone who preaches peace everywhere except...within his own house. It could be a man. It could be a woman. It could be a mother, a father, a brother, a daughter. What if it was your boss? It could be a fat diesel dyke in a club, or it could be your pretty woman neighbor. It could be your coach...it could be anyone.

But you have to make a decision. Are you REALLY going to take that? Obviously, whoever is controlling you has problems of their own. Their ego is too big, or their penis is too small. Whatever it is, you need to make a decision.

SAY NO.
Be a WOman. And no. This does not make you GAY. NO, it does not mean you are any less womanly or BEAUTIFUL. It means that you said F**k OFF, this is my OWN life, and you can not say or do anything that will convince me otherwise.

It doesn't even have to mean that you have been a victim in the past. You could be saying this to an abusive lover, sure. But you could also be saying this to yourself so that you can have the CONFIDENCE to do other things in life. Even simple things! Like... doing what makes you happy, or raising your hand in class. It can give you confidence to...wear that silly frimpy colorful skirt that you have been eyeing at for months. Or even to quit your vices and save your money to do something great!

So. You are not defenseless. And screw what the media has ever told you about what your body should look like. If you want to, you can be stronger than a lion. I'm just waiting to hear you all roar.

J.