Tribute

Thinking a lot about friends tonight. 
What to say? 


Ya know those friends who feel like extensions of your soul?
Physically, they can be near or very very far. 


I guess hard "goodbyes" can make very sweet "hellos" later.


But currently, I'm freaking out about hello and goodbye.


Being far apart?
Is it 

"absence makes the heart grow fonder" 

or 

"out of sight out of mind"?

It can be both.

I have amazing friends. And I'm happy to say that I firmly plan on the former option for the fantastic people I love.


We all live our own lives, but the connections between our lives are powerful and meaningful. 


Outlet for this reflection on friendship? Skillet jam session. This song can seem a bit emo...but to me it just brings good memories of great friends.


Those Nights-Skillet


I remember when
We used to laugh
About nothing at all
It was better than going mad.


From trying to solve all the problems we're going through
Forget 'em all.

Cuz on those nights we would stand and never fall
Together we faced it all.
Remember when we'd


Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive.


I remember when
We used to drive
Anywhere but here
As long as we'd forget our lives,
We were so young and confused that we didn't know
To laugh or cry.
Those nights were ours
They will live and never die
Together we'd stand forever.
...
Those nights belong to us
There's nothing wrong with us.

I remember when
We used to laugh
And now I wish those nights would last.


:)

Touch [life] again with immortality!

Holy cow! 
The more I read this poem the more I fall in love with it. 


Edward Markham wrote it after seeing a painting by Jean-Francois Millet:
The author has something to say about what he means (http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/markham/reflections.htm I'll admit I didn't read very much of that. Long. Good though, I'm sure.)

As for what it meant to me? It shows human potential! Holy heck! 
We humans are meant to be more than what he is describing!
We are meant to enjoy "the rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose."
We are meant to "feel the passion of eternity"!!!
Ready for me to stop blathering and post the poem? Kdeal.


Edwin Markham, my friends:


The Man with the Hoe

"Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground, The emptiness of ages in his face,  And on his back the burden of the world. Who made him dead to rapture and despair, A thing that grieves not and that never hopes,  Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox? Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw? Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow? Whose breath blew out the light within this brain? Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave To have dominion over sea and land; To trace the stars and search the heavens for power; To feel the passion of Eternity?  Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns And marked their ways upon the ancient deep? Down all the stretch of Hell to its last gulf There is no shape more terrible than this -- More tongued with censure of the world's blind greed -- More filled with signs and portents for the soul -- More fraught with menace to the universe. What gulfs between him and the seraphim! Slave of the wheel of labor, what to him Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades? What the long reaches of the peaks of song, The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose? Through this dread shape the suffering ages look; Time's tragedy is in that aching stoop; Through this dread shape humanity betrayed, Plundered, profaned and disinherited, Cries protest to the Judges of the World, A protest that is also prophecy.  O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, Is this the handiwork you give to God,  This monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched? How will you ever straighten up this shape; Touch it again with immortality; Give back the upward looking and the light;  Rebuild in it the music and the dream;  Make right the immemorial infamies, Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes? O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, How will the Future reckon with this Man? How answer his brute question in that hour When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world? How will it be with kingdoms and with kings -- With those who shaped him to the thing he is -- When this dumb Terror shall reply to God, After the silence of the centuries?" You are probably smart enough to figure out that I added emphasis to lines I liked, those aren't in the original poem haha. How great is that?? If you don't think so, that's ok. Go find what inspires you, and be inspired! :)

Apologies

Sorry. It's one of those double-post days.
But I just need an outlet to shout to the void that life is so good.


I have a long night of paper-writing ahead of me...


despite that, MAN life is good!


One of those 
             contented-sigh
                                 slash
                every-song-on-your-ipod-feels-especially-epic
                                        slash
                                "My heck, I'm a lucky gal"
                                        moments.


:)

Love this

http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html

Stick to the status quo (oh-oh-oooh )

I just got that High School Musical song stuck in your head, didn't I? Apologies. 


It popped into my head when I saw this:


"It is difficult, if not impossible, for most people to think otherwise than in the fashion of their own period."~George Bernard Shaw


How true, eh?? 
The High School Musical song suggests that people act/think the same to fit in and be cool. 


(Not saying that isn't a factor. But let's go further.)

A lot of the time I think people don't think differently because that's just how they think. (Waiting for someone to say "duh.") Challenging natural assumptions of life is difficult because...why would you think to challenge them? The thing about "natural assumptions" is that they are inherently "natural"...you haven't necessarily consciously decided to think that way. 
Think about it.


Because of this, I've found that I'm a lot more empathetic towards people I learn about in history classes who do stupid things. 
Not that I think they should do those stupid/terrible/biased/ignorant things. 
But I can see how perhaps their thinking was more natural than radical to them. Sometimes. Maybe?


How do you think differently than you currently think? 
By encountering different ideas?
Perhaps by coming up with new ideas?


This leads me to another quote, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. (This one happens to be printed upon a wall at work.)


"This time, like all times, is a very good one if we but know what to do with it."


What are the fashions of thought in our time?


Maybe identifying them can help us evaluate what we think (what we naturally assume?) and how we can move forward to make this time a very good one.


I just used the word "think" thirteen times. (Make that fourteen.) 
I think I think too much ;)


Haha!


:)

Dreamer

I have to be in the mood for the actual style of music...but I really love the lyrics of this song!
(I included the music video for two reasons: just in case you want to listen...and because I found the strangeness of the video quite humorous) :)


Dreamer, by Elizaveta


"I believe in fairy tales 
and serendipitous encounters.
Catch a tiger by the tail and make a wish, 
drink from the fountain.

I believe love will prevail, 
the path is clear for me to follow.
Shooting stars will leave a trail
for me to fill with joy and sorrow.

Leave your fear of love behind
Let your dreaming be your guide.
If you seek then you shall find.

Sun is setting in the west, 
hovers like a big balloon.
It follows me and beckons me, 
but I am staring at the moon.

Leave your fear of love behind
Let your dreaming be your guide.
If you seek then you shall find.

Torn and tattered from the fall 
and waiting to rise up again.
And I can feel it in my blood, 
I hold the future in my hand.

Leave your fear of love behind
Let your dreaming be your guide.
If you seek then you shall find.

I believe in fairy tales 
and serendipitous encounters"

(Creepy masked guy has some moves)


:)

Join the Jollies

I had a fabulous mini-conversation the other day whilst at work (at an Assisted Living). I was told:


"When I was younger, I saw some old people who just sat around and were glum all day. Then there were others who kept cheerful and as busy as they could. 
Right then and there, I decided I'd join the jollies."


Haha! How great is that?! 


Another gentleman is always slipping people candy to thank them for their help, and looking for little ways to help out.


Awesome examples all around me help me see the kind of person I want to be!


For starters, I want to be the kind of person who...


...stops at lemonade stands
...shows appreciation for others' efforts (even when they are getting paid for it)
...finds a good balance between being productive and slowing down to have fun
...doesn't ever stop wanting to learn
...randomly decides to whip up fun treats to deliver to whoever 
...is open to new foods (gulp, seafood :P )
...is always looking for ways to be kinder
...etc, etc


The list continues, but those things stick out in my mind right now, based on awesome qualities I've seen in others lately.


Awhile ago, I realized if I want to be this kind of person when I'm older, I need to start becoming this person now! 


I want to join the jollies 


:)

Magic

11:11:11 
11/11/11


What are you going to wish?! 


:D

The Drumbeat Carries On

Have I ever confessed to you my love of Nickelback songs?

This world is so big. 

Possibilities are mind-blowing. A bit overwhelming? At times. 

But you gotta start somewhere!

Hmmm.

:)

Ends & Beginnings

FB status of Reese’s:

Which is better - the first or last bite of a REESE'S Peanut Butter Cup?

What an intriguing little question.

:)

Hot Air Balloon

Ain't my little brother studly?
We found this awesome thing whilst wandering Ross haha!

"Life isn't about finding yourself,

it's about creating yourself."

Well said, random little sign.

(Also, the hot air balloons remind me of an owl city song: 

"We wrote a prelude to our own fairy tale...let's spend the afternoon in a cold hot air balloon....")

Happy creating, everybody!

:)