Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Music Lives...
So today oddly enough I was sitting and watching the VMA encore on the music in HD channel and Paramore came on to perform. Needless to say, I was stunned. I had heard their music before but something about watching it today made me feel enlightened and in some way overjoyed. There is something about music that moves me more with everyday. I know that most music is just a repetition of three chords, the same lyrics regurgitated to an extent but when someone is passionate about their art you can tell. If this is a rambling post than I apologize but when someone lets you into their world in as deep as a way as some performers you cant help but feel their pain or their joy. I find a way to take on the emotion of the artist and in turn correlate it to my own life. I encourage you to turn the lights off and listen to the Radiohead album "The Bends". Thom Yorke's hear and mindset is poignant in each song and you can't help but delve into his every emotion.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Think it through...
Maybe making the move was a bad idea. But I'm sure i'll be able to learn from it. Sometimes the things we think are the wrong choice end up being the best thing for us. I learn more from my mistakes than the things I get right on the first try. Maybe its because getting it right the first time makes me think things are easy and I forget what it means to actually work at something. Well I didnt get it right this time...but my wrong will hopefully be the most educational experience i've ever had.
Don't get me wrong...I love the area and I love most of the people but theres something missing. I was expecting something different then I got. The product that I was purchasing had a different description than what was on the box...and so on and so on. I am thinking about my next move..this time i'll know better to thoroughly think it through before making a rash choice.
Don't get me wrong...I love the area and I love most of the people but theres something missing. I was expecting something different then I got. The product that I was purchasing had a different description than what was on the box...and so on and so on. I am thinking about my next move..this time i'll know better to thoroughly think it through before making a rash choice.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Ever and ever...
There is clarity that comes through pain. I've stumbled upon it a couple of times. Everythings broken...you long to fix it...something comes along to mend it...but it only breaks you more and makes you realize that you werent as badly broken as you thought you were to begin with. Theres only a crack there now...same as everyone else.
I've done a decent job at picking myself up and dusting myself off. There are those times though that I wonder when Ill get help up instead of being left for the next good samaritan. Friends have been great...family has been good too...but I just want something with a different substance.
I got a message two days ago. Someone I never thought I would hear from again. Someone I wish I hadn't heard from. I was doing so well...I still am...but it still gives me imagery to think on. I'm better this way...I know it, you know it. Theres not a question as to how I should respond. I shouldn't.
This heart on my sleeve hasn't held up well. I've been kind of forced to change its location. Theres an answer there somewhere...He'll bring it. Maybe I'm not ready...maybe I'm being stopped so something doesn't happen again...another blast I wont be able to recover from for awhile...
I've done a decent job at picking myself up and dusting myself off. There are those times though that I wonder when Ill get help up instead of being left for the next good samaritan. Friends have been great...family has been good too...but I just want something with a different substance.
I got a message two days ago. Someone I never thought I would hear from again. Someone I wish I hadn't heard from. I was doing so well...I still am...but it still gives me imagery to think on. I'm better this way...I know it, you know it. Theres not a question as to how I should respond. I shouldn't.
This heart on my sleeve hasn't held up well. I've been kind of forced to change its location. Theres an answer there somewhere...He'll bring it. Maybe I'm not ready...maybe I'm being stopped so something doesn't happen again...another blast I wont be able to recover from for awhile...
Monday, September 1, 2008
Today...
Today is the best day to begin a new life. I feel like in some respects every morning we get up we need to restart our lives. I understand that there are things that weigh on you or that hinder you on a consistent basis...but those burdens and that sinful weight should be given to the Lord before we sleep so we can be awakened with a new refreshed spirit to serve and be used for Christ.
I have a problem with past sins clinging to my heart strings and pulling on them whenever I feel weak in the spirit. I allow those crimes to seep back into my mind and convince me that as a child of God I am not deserving of His grace and mercy. The best part of it is that i'm not...and though those feelings in and of themselves are wrong in one aspect they are completely right in another.
None who follow or do not follow for that matter are deserving of the mercy of the Lord. But in His loving kindness for His people He puts aside the fact that we are undeserving, covers us in His blood and longs to see us in His dwelling place. Our God is not a mean father holding a tree branch waiting for us to come home late from playing so he can discipline us. Our God is the father who begs us not to disobey so that he would not have to discipline His children.
We should be hurt not by the punishment but more so the fact that we have been given an ultimate gift... a gift that will satisfy us for eternity... a gift so sweet and beautiful that no picture could emphasis its worth...and with that gift we continue to spit in the face of Christ without remorse and wake up ready to do it again the next day.
I have a problem with past sins clinging to my heart strings and pulling on them whenever I feel weak in the spirit. I allow those crimes to seep back into my mind and convince me that as a child of God I am not deserving of His grace and mercy. The best part of it is that i'm not...and though those feelings in and of themselves are wrong in one aspect they are completely right in another.
None who follow or do not follow for that matter are deserving of the mercy of the Lord. But in His loving kindness for His people He puts aside the fact that we are undeserving, covers us in His blood and longs to see us in His dwelling place. Our God is not a mean father holding a tree branch waiting for us to come home late from playing so he can discipline us. Our God is the father who begs us not to disobey so that he would not have to discipline His children.
We should be hurt not by the punishment but more so the fact that we have been given an ultimate gift... a gift that will satisfy us for eternity... a gift so sweet and beautiful that no picture could emphasis its worth...and with that gift we continue to spit in the face of Christ without remorse and wake up ready to do it again the next day.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Too long...
It feels like forever since I've taken the time to sit down and blog, or maybe I just haven't had anything important enough to say. Lately I have been in awe of just who Christ is. I have been reading a book called "When I Don't Desire God" by John Piper and in the first chapter and a half, a huge weight dropped on my heart. How many times do we seek joy in the creation? How many times do we long to fill the void with something that the Lord has molded and put together when the only satisfying thing is Christ Himself?
I have a list of things I want...a list of things I feel like I need and when I got to Kentucky I felt like it was finally time to start checking those things off. I created an agenda and I was just hoping the Lord would go along with it. How egotistical and arrogant is that? The redeeming savior gives His mercy and grace bottomlessly and here I am wanting to force a square into a circle by telling God what I want.
When we seek joy in the Lord there is nothing more satisfying because two things are happening. We are delighting ourselves in Christ and finding true joy that exists only in loving and worshipping a true sinless Savior. More importantly we are glorifying God in finding joy in Him. When we find joy in christ it doesn't mean that we aren't getting those things we want but we are getting them not by our own power but because the Lord is blessing us even when He shouldn't.
In these blessings it may not include the things that we say we want...cars, relationships or money, but when our hearts are aligned with the heart of the Lord he changes the desires of our hearts to serve Him to the best of our ability and glorify Him with the blessings he has given us and only to glorify Him. Our God is good and deserves all glory, all honor and all praise.
I have a list of things I want...a list of things I feel like I need and when I got to Kentucky I felt like it was finally time to start checking those things off. I created an agenda and I was just hoping the Lord would go along with it. How egotistical and arrogant is that? The redeeming savior gives His mercy and grace bottomlessly and here I am wanting to force a square into a circle by telling God what I want.
When we seek joy in the Lord there is nothing more satisfying because two things are happening. We are delighting ourselves in Christ and finding true joy that exists only in loving and worshipping a true sinless Savior. More importantly we are glorifying God in finding joy in Him. When we find joy in christ it doesn't mean that we aren't getting those things we want but we are getting them not by our own power but because the Lord is blessing us even when He shouldn't.
In these blessings it may not include the things that we say we want...cars, relationships or money, but when our hearts are aligned with the heart of the Lord he changes the desires of our hearts to serve Him to the best of our ability and glorify Him with the blessings he has given us and only to glorify Him. Our God is good and deserves all glory, all honor and all praise.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Past Few Days...
I can honestly say that I have gone through one of the most trying times in my life this past weekend. I made the move to Kentucky thinking that everything was in order and I would be able to move in to my apartment on friday and settle in for a couple days until I started my job. Well I was wrong and from friday on it has just been a whirlwind of problems.
When I showed up at the apartment that I was suppose to be living in with my roommates, it was a disaster and completely unacceptable as a place to live. The walls were yellowed and cracked, the appliances were old and the oven had a broken handle that had been duct taped back on. It was nowhere near what I was shown when I was here to visit and I had no choice but to pass on it.
One of my roommates and I started looking for a place to live immediately knowing that we didnt have a roof over our heads and hoping to find one that would be available. We went through place after place and three days later we found one. I have been living in this hotel and out of a suitcase for far too long and I am ready to be organized and have my life back in order.
After being thrown through the wringer by a few different complexes and almost neutering my dog just so I could get into a place asap we are finally hotel free and apartment bound. I hope that this will be someplace I can call home soon. I need it...
The Lord is good and has made provisions for me and has taught me patience through all of this. It is true that if the birds and animals are taken care of then why would He not take care of His children. Remember that even when the path is dimly lit and you may not be able to see in front of you there is a hand guiding you in the right direction even though it may not be clear until you've reached your destination.
When I showed up at the apartment that I was suppose to be living in with my roommates, it was a disaster and completely unacceptable as a place to live. The walls were yellowed and cracked, the appliances were old and the oven had a broken handle that had been duct taped back on. It was nowhere near what I was shown when I was here to visit and I had no choice but to pass on it.
One of my roommates and I started looking for a place to live immediately knowing that we didnt have a roof over our heads and hoping to find one that would be available. We went through place after place and three days later we found one. I have been living in this hotel and out of a suitcase for far too long and I am ready to be organized and have my life back in order.
After being thrown through the wringer by a few different complexes and almost neutering my dog just so I could get into a place asap we are finally hotel free and apartment bound. I hope that this will be someplace I can call home soon. I need it...
The Lord is good and has made provisions for me and has taught me patience through all of this. It is true that if the birds and animals are taken care of then why would He not take care of His children. Remember that even when the path is dimly lit and you may not be able to see in front of you there is a hand guiding you in the right direction even though it may not be clear until you've reached your destination.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The First Goodbye...
Tonight I said goodbye to the first two people I love. Nathan and Bethany Gaddis have been like a brother and sister to me. Over the past few years of our friendship I have grown to trust them with the most intimate details of my life, share in some of the happiest moments of my life and plummit together during the bad. Nathan has become my best friend and Bethany the same. She is the blunt big sister who puts me in my place and tells me when i'm wrong and he is the one person who can tell me im and idiot and I can accept it whole heartedly...well sometimes. As I walked out of their living room and down the steps to the door it was as if each step I took away from them gave way to more and more tears.
I looked back when I shut the door to the house and I saw Nathan looking back at me and it was then that I realized that he and his family have become my family. Jaxon, their 3 yr. old son, is one of the most amazing and intelligent kids I have ever been around. There are those kids that you're around that annoy you after about 15 minutes but Jax just has this way about him that no matter what he says or does you just want to say "Are you kidding me" (a quote that he will commonly repeat because it makes you laugh) and pick him up and hug him.
Jovie is their baby daughter and though she is still growing you can already see the personality and potential that she holds. Shes adorable and her chubby cheeks light up when she laughs and it just makes you want to do the same thing.
Lastly, I said goodbye to my grandparents. I can't begin to express the feeling that came with hugging my grandparents and telling them goodbye. I love them and they have been a pillar of strength in my life.
It was hard...theres not many other ways to describe it
I looked back when I shut the door to the house and I saw Nathan looking back at me and it was then that I realized that he and his family have become my family. Jaxon, their 3 yr. old son, is one of the most amazing and intelligent kids I have ever been around. There are those kids that you're around that annoy you after about 15 minutes but Jax just has this way about him that no matter what he says or does you just want to say "Are you kidding me" (a quote that he will commonly repeat because it makes you laugh) and pick him up and hug him.
Jovie is their baby daughter and though she is still growing you can already see the personality and potential that she holds. Shes adorable and her chubby cheeks light up when she laughs and it just makes you want to do the same thing.
Lastly, I said goodbye to my grandparents. I can't begin to express the feeling that came with hugging my grandparents and telling them goodbye. I love them and they have been a pillar of strength in my life.
It was hard...theres not many other ways to describe it
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Convictions...
I have been thinking a lot lately about the definition of conviction. I know that it is a topic discussed often within church circles but I think we forget sometimes that the word is more universal than just church members and christians. I was thinking about why we are convicted. Are we still in a point in this day and age where the Holy Spirit convicts us or are we just morally aware of good and evil?
Are the things that we have been taught which are good and evil what brings this feeling of guilt on us? When you wrong someone or curse someone out...do we feel guilt because it truly is wrong or because when we were younger our mothers and fathers, grandmother and grandfathers smacked us and told us they better never hear those words again? I wonder if the things we feel "convicted" about today are the same things they did 100 years ago or even 20 years ago.
I think we put so much emphasis on the feeling of conviction and what we "should" be convicted about and less on what is actually morally correct and incorrect. If I sit down and have a drink at home...why should I feel convicted about that? I'm not causing any of my brothers or sisters to stumble...im at home...alone...drinking in moderation.
Stop pushing the idea of conviction and what you feel convicted about upon everyone else. There are the clear cut morally wrong issues but everything else...just walk away and leave it up to the heart of the other.
Are the things that we have been taught which are good and evil what brings this feeling of guilt on us? When you wrong someone or curse someone out...do we feel guilt because it truly is wrong or because when we were younger our mothers and fathers, grandmother and grandfathers smacked us and told us they better never hear those words again? I wonder if the things we feel "convicted" about today are the same things they did 100 years ago or even 20 years ago.
I think we put so much emphasis on the feeling of conviction and what we "should" be convicted about and less on what is actually morally correct and incorrect. If I sit down and have a drink at home...why should I feel convicted about that? I'm not causing any of my brothers or sisters to stumble...im at home...alone...drinking in moderation.
Stop pushing the idea of conviction and what you feel convicted about upon everyone else. There are the clear cut morally wrong issues but everything else...just walk away and leave it up to the heart of the other.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Top 500....
So Rolling Stone magazine released a list of the top 500 albums to own, period. So it is only natural that me as a musician and lover of music should own these 500 albums or however many of them I don't. This is my new goal and it is to be accomplished before July of next year. Hear is my request. If any of you who reads my blog have any of the cds from this list Top 500 Albums of All Time please let me know. I am trying to get them in any way possible other than illegal download. I think it would be a great story if I got a lot of them from people every where but I will continue my goal even if noone responds. I will update you each time I buy an album to cross off the list. Until then please help. You can contact me at top500albums@yahoo.com. It will go directly to my phone and I will respond immediately. Thank you to all who will be keeping an eye open! Wish me luck!
First Purchase - Led Zepplin - Led Zepplin
First Purchase - Led Zepplin - Led Zepplin
Saturday, July 12, 2008
But I Still Love Technology...
All this talk about the iPhone and everything that goes along with it has got my head spinning. I'm only 21 and I feel like the old man who is trying to learn too much at one time. There are so many different things to be done and so little time to master them because another application or slick and savvy instrument comes right along behind it. But even though it has become an uphill battle I will continue to press on and try to defeat this enemy known as technology.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
History repeating...
There are those nights where you could take everything back...where all you need is the second chance...reaching out for it...longing for it. Tonight is slowly becoming one of those nights for me. Maybe I deserve the things that have happened to me. Maybe I have brought each and every consequence upon myself. I just wish there was some way to at least figure that out.
I want to know if the time-line that is my life could have been side stepped or avoided in some way. I want to look past the whole idea of what I've gone through has shaped the man I am and really get to the heart of my past. Have I wronged so many people that in some way "karma" has found its way to my doorstep? I'd like to think that I've made just as many mistakes as the next person but it's hard to believe sometimes.
In no way am I saying that I lead a completely miserable life. All I am wanting to know is if I could have put some type of guard around my tongue and mind that could have prevented the outcome that I am now experiencing. I want to take it back...I would give anything to take it back. The problem is that I can't complain about what I am reaping because I've sown it.
I want to know if the time-line that is my life could have been side stepped or avoided in some way. I want to look past the whole idea of what I've gone through has shaped the man I am and really get to the heart of my past. Have I wronged so many people that in some way "karma" has found its way to my doorstep? I'd like to think that I've made just as many mistakes as the next person but it's hard to believe sometimes.
In no way am I saying that I lead a completely miserable life. All I am wanting to know is if I could have put some type of guard around my tongue and mind that could have prevented the outcome that I am now experiencing. I want to take it back...I would give anything to take it back. The problem is that I can't complain about what I am reaping because I've sown it.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
One more lap...
As the time grows closer for me to climb the next mountain of moving my entire life to Kentucky I have been wondering what things lay ahead. I'm full of excitement at the thought that all this time my life had kick started when in all actuality this is what it needed, to separate myself from what i've known for so long and re-plant my roots somewhere else.
I wonder if the place im going to live in will feel like home. If it will have a feeling of comfort after a tough day or when that feeling like a wave with incredible force is coming down upon you. Will I meet people that will challenge me to become a different person and step out of the comfort of who I am. All these things I want and am hoping for...the question is will it all happen the way Im wanting.
On a side note...New York was incredible. After being there it makes me want to come home and alter the whole city of Naples into this quick paced, run across the street before you get hit, hop on the subway before the door closes kind of place. I loved every aspect of it, the dirtiness, the beauty, the people and even the hecklers. If you ever get the chance to go you would be crazy to turn it down.
By the way...Do you like comedy?
I wonder if the place im going to live in will feel like home. If it will have a feeling of comfort after a tough day or when that feeling like a wave with incredible force is coming down upon you. Will I meet people that will challenge me to become a different person and step out of the comfort of who I am. All these things I want and am hoping for...the question is will it all happen the way Im wanting.
On a side note...New York was incredible. After being there it makes me want to come home and alter the whole city of Naples into this quick paced, run across the street before you get hit, hop on the subway before the door closes kind of place. I loved every aspect of it, the dirtiness, the beauty, the people and even the hecklers. If you ever get the chance to go you would be crazy to turn it down.
By the way...Do you like comedy?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A Temporary New York State of Mind...
So here we are...almost two days down and I am already fearing Friday. When I walked off the plane and into the city I have to be honest...it was as if I was home as cheesy as it sounds. The night before I left I was more excited than I had been in a long time. I couldn't sleep. I was ready to get out of Naples, ready to see a different scene and just wanting to be in a city with culture and a nightlife.
Since I've been in the sitting I've found myself envying all of the people that ive here. I know that they aren't all living the great life or have lots of money but they are in a place with more variety and walks of life than maybe any other place in the world. Living in Naples and coming to a place like New York City you find yourself feeling like an ant in the Sahara. The weird thing about it is that it doesn't create a sense of fear but a sense of comfort. You know that with all those people there has to be someone who will accept you, someone who will want you and someone who will be there for you.
I love the fast-paced lifestyle and the fact that somehow with all the craziness everyone in the city just kind of meshes together and runs smoothly. I don't want to leave...
Since I've been in the sitting I've found myself envying all of the people that ive here. I know that they aren't all living the great life or have lots of money but they are in a place with more variety and walks of life than maybe any other place in the world. Living in Naples and coming to a place like New York City you find yourself feeling like an ant in the Sahara. The weird thing about it is that it doesn't create a sense of fear but a sense of comfort. You know that with all those people there has to be someone who will accept you, someone who will want you and someone who will be there for you.
I love the fast-paced lifestyle and the fact that somehow with all the craziness everyone in the city just kind of meshes together and runs smoothly. I don't want to leave...
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Yes...I did do it...
So I finally did the unspeakable. I got the tattoo I had been wanting to get this past Wednesday. I almost backed out at first, afraid that I would get it and regret it for the rest of my life. I started looking at the cost of removal surgery and what it all entails. My stomach was in knots, my throat was dry and it was like that for the two days leading up to the process. When I went in I had him put the stencil on my arm and let me look at it...to see if I could really picture this new addition to my body being permanent. Once he did that I was done for. I sat down...told him to do it...and away he went. After and hour I walked out of there with a new tattoo on my forearm and a weird sense of completion? Not in the spiritual sense but in a "I finally did something i've had on my list for a long time" feeling. Anyway...if you havent had one...dont get one because they are addicting. But at the same time...I would tell you to do it...I don't know...its different for everyone im sure...yeah its probably different for everyone. I will be adding pictures later...and make sure you keep reading this next week...Nathan and I depart for New York on tuesday and i'm sure he and I will have some interesting things to say.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
21 and Invincible...?
I remember the days when birthdays seemed to last forever, with the wait to get there even longer. Now no matter how much enthusiasm you express its not enough to make each day seem like its not just another day. I will have to say this though. The older I get the less I look for gifts or money or anything in the form of the physical. I just want to spend it with my friends and family...the people I care about most. I know it seems like a patented old man thing to say but its true for me in so many ways. My birthday was two days ago and I found myself wanting to just be around everyone laughing and enjoying the company and not thinking when the perfect time to get my presents was going to be. I went to dinner with my family and towards the end of the meal I didn't want to get up. In fact I was hoping that random people would just find their way in to this brilliant celebration that was my birthday. When we left, one of my best friends set up a time for me and some of my friends to go out and have a good time, just hanging out and again enjoying the company. It was at the second part of the night that I slowly started realizing for the first time what is truly important. With each passing birthday since ive turned 18...I haven't had that unstoppable mentality. I havent looked in the mirror and thought to myself the rest of my life may lay ahead of me but theres no better time than right now. Now all I can think about is the tomorrow that will come...each new path that is set in front of me. I encourage you to search yourself...find what is important, embrace it and remember that there is no greater time than tomorrow.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Check this out...
I purchased a pair of Toms Shoes about 6 months ago. If you haven't heard of Toms heres the gist. With every pair of Toms shoes purchased a child in Africa gets a pair of shoes. The cost of the shoes you purchase don't affect the shoes the children get so any shoe you can buy would be helpful. I watched a shoedrop that they did in November and it was one of the greatest things I have ever seen. Sometimes we take for granted something as simple as shoes. I was watching these children walk up with shoes with flopping soles and the bottoms tied to their feet. Seeing the look on their face was worth the money spent. I would love to go personally and help out with the drop but until then I will encourage everyone reading this to check them out and do what you can to help the kids out. The website is www.tomsshoes.com. On top of helping out the children in Africa...the shoes are pretty cool too! So go take a look.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
If YOU could...?
Sometimes I wonder if one of the smallest things that have happened to me could be changed if it would completely alter the path that I've taken this far. I don't mean something traumatic like parents divorcing or deciding to go away from home for school but something as simple as a broken friendship or a job in high school or just a book that has changed my life now but could have spoke in volumes just a few years before. I always think about things like that. I've been finding myself lately creating different situations or outcomes and I just find it hard to believe that anything would change. What if I had stayed with that one girl from high school for just a little bit longer. Would I be married right now with children and a job on the opposite end of the spectrum of my work now? Ok...I understand thats can't really be considered as something small or minute. But I guess the point I'm trying to get at is not where we would be if these "small" things had or hadn't happened but that maybe even the small things that occur can be considered detrimental in the outcome of our lives. I mean what if I would have picked up a basketball instead of a guitar ( I know there are some people reading this that just started laughing). But in all seriousness...what situations should be filed away as life-shaping and which should just be shrugged off? It also brings up the age old question of "If you could go back, what would you change?" But if those things that I wish I can change will change the outcome of my life now...I would be the first to admit that I would leave everything the way it is. Sure there are the relationships that broke me and the relationships that I broke the other involved, words that were said that hurt me and words that I said that may have damaged someone else all of the woulda shoulda couldas. I'm just slowly starting to become less of an advocate for the invention of a time machine the older I get.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Should there be a different route...?
It's funny how life starts to play with you and how you think you have things figured out but its usually right about that time that you start seeing that you don't. I've been planning on moving to Kentucky for about 4 months now and my reasoning was because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Naples was not where I was suppose to be. "I don't have a life here" I would say or "All of my friends are in Kentucky". I'm not rethinking my decision to leave by any means but if you would have talked to me two or three months ago...I would have told you I absolutely hate this place and that there is nothing here to offer me. But recently it's like things have picked up and I am starting to enjoy myself more than I have in the past. Most of my friends are home for the summer so I know I can attribute most of it to that but its almost like somethings off sometimes and I shouldn't be as happy here as I've been...like its just not normal. Everyone around me has been full of absolutes...its either "You should move" or "You shouldn't you're not going to be happy". I feel like I'm the only person who can tell myself "I don't really know what you should do". I'm excited to move. I want to start a new chapter in my life and change my whole persona completely. I want to be who I have longed to be without wondering if I will feel uncomfortable in this new skin or if people will few me in a different light because I'm embracing a different side of me. What I mean by that is a more cultured side...a more intellectual side. No more mindless entertainment or cheap thrills (i've always wanted to say that) but, actually growing myself and digging deeper into who I really am. But with all that said and all the excitement that is growing in me...I still hate the fact that the temporary happiness I'm enjoying has been allowed to torment me in even the smallest way possible by making me feel an ounce of doubt.
Friday, June 13, 2008
If only I could
My contacts are drying out. I'm not 100% sure that thats the problem or if its the fact that im so exhausted my actual eye sockets are retracting and trying to convince me to put them to rest. I have this thought and the question behind it is, what if we can only be defined by one thing? What if there is one attribute that allows us to feel so separated by one another that it almost compels us to become the people we are. The question kind of coincides with the quote from Rilke (read the post titled "Letters"), in that if I could no longer write my music or appreciate music or have it in any part of my life I would feel as if my legs have been taken from me. I don't mean it so much in the sense of..."If I don't write today I will lose my mind" but more in the being defined in the regularity of my talent and with its absence I would be standing in a empty room twiddling my thumbs and asking myself whats next. It makes me thing of a movie...a ridiculous one..but its called "Stuck On You". In the movie, if you haven't seen it, there are two brothers and they happen to be Siamese twins. To make a long story short they move to hollywood and while out there they decide to undergo surgery to separate themselves from one another. After the surgery is a success, the brothers find themselves doing things on their own without the "support" of the other. But the scene that gets me is the older brother played by Greg Kinnear is sitting on a bench reading the paper and finds himself scooting right next to the statue at the other side of the bench until eventually he is on top of it. He didn't know how to act without the other half being attached. They were defined by others as the Siamese brothers but to themselves they were what kept the other half running properly. So in the same sense do the things we love to do, the passion that drives us, not the day to day normality of a job or school, but whats at the center of our heart define who we truly are? Does this make sense, or should this just be a post that kind of fades into the rest? Tell me what you think...
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Isn't it?
I find it ironic that three posts ago I was complaining that I was feeling less inspired than normal and now since that I havent been able to sleep because its been running through me like coffee. I can't explain the feeling when you get an idea and frantically look for paper to put it down on...its freeing in some way. Its as if its been held prisoner for so long and it finally is released, a weight of your shoulders. The odd thing is that its been music that I never imagined I could write...different yet similar. I can't explain that either...maybe one day I'll get the courage to leave this secluded house of mine and play out. I just feel like theres one more thing that needs to occur before that happens and I keep looking for it but it hasn't come yet. I don't know if talking it out makes any sense to anyone else but its organizing things in my own head. I love to write yet its the thing that haunts me. If I don't write the proverbial monkey is there on my back telling me that I need to be and when I want to the monkeys in my face distracting me from focusing on it. So as it seems I must succumb to the late night awakenings and write when my mind feels best suited for the task. Have a good night everyone.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Why Hunting?
I've recently decided that I will be moving back to Kentucky so I've started looking for a place to live. I am going to be living with a couple friends and we need to stay within a pretty decent range of prices but we need a pretty big living area because we are all idiots. My problem is I wont be going back to kentucky until I actually move there, so how exactly am I suppose to judge a place if I can't see it? I just feel like I have so much going on right now but in all actuality I have less than most. I don't know, there really is no point of running my mouth about it...I just wish the perfect place could fall into my lap and I would live there happily ever after. If anyone knows or has any ideas, let me know. I would be in your debt.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
At the moment...
I've run into sort of a rough spot when it comes to my music lately. I can't seem to write much and when I do it all seems so redundant that I get sick of writing it so fast. I don't know if maybe ive finally hit the proverbial ceiling in my songwriting ability or if I just don't have enough going on around me to write about. I just feel like i've come to this point where each song could go somewhere but I've lost sight of where to take it...like I put the keys in the ignition, start the car, put it in drive but have no idea where its going to. Unfortunately unlike somethings in life, you kinda have to know where your going with your writing. There is some music out there that you just wince at and have a hard time believing that these people were actually given a record deal and its those people that get the most airplay and radio promotion. But thats another day another dollar. I don't feel like i've written that one song to sum up my entire ability as a songwriter/musician and though I have a good amount of years left and I am nowhere near being a professional...I feel like it should have already come. I will keep climbing up the mountain...but ive gotta get some water soon before I crash.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Something new isn't always bad...
I went itunes surfing the other day and came across an old artist (new to me) by the name of Lucinda Williams. I bought the cd "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" and love it. The song "Cant Let Go" is one of my favorites and the writing in "I lost it" shows a side of an artist that so few of todays musicians have. Her genre is on the side of country/folk rock but if you can look past it then you will enjoy her music thoroughly. Check her out when you get the chance...shes been on repeat in my car for the past 3 days.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Letters....
I've been reading this book...which without even finishing it I will strongly recommend it to anyone who is an artist, writer, poet or who creates absolutely anything. The book is called "Letters To A Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke. I'm telling you it is absolutely amazing. I walk away from literally almost each page shaking my head at how much it strikes the heart of an artist. The gist of the book is as follows. A young writer by the name of Franz Xaver Kappus seeks out Rilke and asks him to critique his work. Rilkes response is not one that he or any person would expect im sure because Rilke, a renowned poet, tells Kappus that he is not worthy to critique his writing if he is writing from the heart and if he feels he can not live without writing. It jumpstarts this wonderful relationship through letters between the two poets and as you read you dive a little deeper into each part of the writers hearts. You see the vulnerability in Rilke and how passionate he is about writing. Though I don't believe you ever read a letter from Kappus, you can sense his gratitude and respect for Rilke and the privilege he feels it is to have a friendship with such a person. A line from the book that almost made me cry reading it is "Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows, at its source you will find the answer to the question "Must I Create". To someone who longs to be heard through his art...a line like that is golden. I loved it so much that im getting it put on my forearm for my 21st birthday and my first tattoo. But on the real, this is an amazing book...go pick it up...its like 10 bucks.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
And then there were two
I found out today that my parents are flying my best friend and I to New York for my 21st birthday. We are going to be out there from July 1st through the 4th. I'm pretty excited seeing as how its one of my favorite cities in the world because of the culture and the variety of people that coexist there. I went once a few years back and loved it so I'm extremely excited to go back a second time around to catch what I missed. Whats always amazed me and it probably shouldn't I guess, is the fact that you can be in one place at 2 o clock and then a few hours later half way around the country. Its like you wake up get dressed and your home is in California but when you step outside 2 hours later after everything is taken care of and your ready to go to work your in Texas. Our time has changed so much and it never ceases to amaze me just how far we've come. With that on a side note...Did you know you can buy apple products I.E. Ipods, Ipod Touch and earphones from a vending machine?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Shouldn't the case be...?
I don't know what it is but somewhere the idea of what a love should be and what a love is has been lost in translation. I understand that there are times where our hearts decide to believe what our minds tell it and we fall into an idea of love that never really existed at all. The reality is not that love can be be found but it must be accounted for on the emotional. Too many times we mold a situation into what we long for it to be and push aside the facts and all the signs pointing towards the opposite thing that we should be choosing. Love is not a convenience, it is not here for one more than another. It is not something that one half can take lightly and the other be consumed in. When ones heart is at war the other should run to its defense and not be settled until peace has been found. When we long for someone because of loneliness we tend to look so quickly that we forget that we will not be the only life involved. So what do we do? We learn to not be able to say no and throw all we know as truth aside to feed our selfishness and greed. We look to better ourselves and not the other we are pursuing. Love is a selfless act and how we know we truly love someone is when we are willing to break our own hearts to repair anothers. Love is a choice not a feeling. So as caution to all those in search of finding something or someone to dig the roots of their heart into...make sure that the choice being made is one in which you will not regret when the morning comes.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
There Used To Be
So what originally inspired me to start writing a blog? Doogie Howser...and im not kidding. I used to envy him as he sat there and wrote on one of the first personal computers to ever be owned...blue screen, white writing...I would do that but its so late eighties early nineties. I just loved how he could sit down at the end of each day and write out exactly what he felt his day consisted of and just what he learned from each life lesson. So as I attempt to do the same...read with kind eyes and be soft on the criticism...because im not Doogie.
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