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Life Is…Underappreciated

1 Jul

What’s true about my life? “I have a lot.” I have too much. If you’re reading this right now, you have a computer or at least have access to one. You’re pretty rich…err…lucky…err…blessed compared to not only the majority of the world but even to inner-city demographics.

A group of my friends just came back from the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico. While there, they invested personally in impoverished children using skits, puppets, dances, etc. My friends shared in a giving, a loving way, and their eyes were opened to a real world outside of their comfort zones. The consensus of the group was this:

We have a lot. Others have little.

We were designed to give as much as we were designed to receive. I myself have been to Guadalajara and its surrounding cities, and I can agree that we have a lot. Others have nothing. Even when these people have little (and I mean little), they give what they have.

Not Giving: Pay close attention starting at the 1:37 mark and on to the end of the time/progression bar.

When I saw this episode from BBC Earth’s Life about primates, I was hit by the words: “These youngsters, born into the right family, don’t know how lucky they are.”

At first I thought about overpaid celebrities, athletes, and CEOs, and how their children grow up spoiled. Then I thought about people I know who would never walk into a soup kitchen or sacrifice anything for the poor. Then I thought about myself and how I spend way too much on clothes, food, and entertainment.

The truth is: We can all give more.

Giving includes tangibles and intangibles: food, love, clothes, a listening ear, money, invested time, hope, and the list goes on.

We can be appreciative of what we have, while still being able to give, not just leftovers but our best. Am I saying you have to be the next Mother Theresa? Well that would be commendable, but no, you don’t have to be her. Be you, and give in ways you were designed to give. Give how you genuinely like to receive.

You can travel out of your country to realize this, travel to any metropolitan urban city, or just watch the news to see that the life we live should be appreciated and also selfless.

Life Is…Full of Traps

25 Jun

Life is very temperamental. You know: moody, sensitive, unpredictable.

Sometimes we can be enjoying the sweetness of life, stay in the sweetness too long, and then…BOOM! Blindsided by a harsh reality. I’m reminded of addictions that consume purpose and joy.

I’m also reminded of ignorance, a running away from problems never intended to be solved. When people find themselves in a hole they ask “How did this happen?”

The sensitive venus flytrap also reminds me of people who just snap at you for no apparent reason. There are short-fused people with tempers, and on the other side there are people who have been victimized by the actions of tempers; both sides, robbed of joy.

BBC Earth’s series Life can illustrate how quickly the walls can close in on you.

While life is full of traps, it is also full of hope. We may not notice it, but it’s true.

If you’ve been going through an awkward or uncomfortable transition in your life like I have been lately, I have no deep words or formula for you or myself.  All I can say is “have hope” and “keep going.” I understand that each of us are different when it comes to recovering, healing, and barreling through tough times. So do what you have to do.

Lastly, they say that “Time heals,” and “Sorrow may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning.” I believe these words because I’ve experienced them. So I hold on to them.

I hope you’re still holding on too. You’re not alone.

Tomorrow’s a new day.

Life is…A Dash

18 Jun

People always compare the concept of life to a marathon or a race.

I agree.

But when I say that life is “a dash,” there’s a little play on words.

  1. You may have heard that on a tombstone, one’s life is summed up in that little “-” between the date of birth and the date of passing (1901-1979).  That little mark doesn’t say much about who we are or what we’ve done in our lives here.
  2. Compared to eternity and centuries of life, our own life is like a pin prick on the Great Wall of China. Simply a spec in time.
  3. History, purpose, and future: Understanding where you came from tells you where you are, and realizing where you are now will determine where you can go. We are capable of building legacies, good ones and bad ones, all within an average of 70 years. That’s pretty miraculous. It can also be quite tragic. Are you doing what you need to do? Progress.

*ROADS*

BBC Earth’s Life series reminded me of the thoughts written above.  This wise little mammal, helped put things into perspective.

Meet the Sengi, formerly known as the “elephant shrew.” It’s clever and it’s a survivor. Check it out:

We all have some sort of mental map of where we want to go, and when “ancient enemies” try to come after us, it’s our endurance and the direction of our lives that can keep us alive.  So if you’re reading this and feel hopeless or discouraged in the least bit, rest assured that you’re still here, and are still capable of a new start today.

I’m not sure if I’m thankful or bitter for these words by world-renown speaker and pastor Francis Chan, but they hit home with me quite often:

Just to put into perspective the brevity of our lives:

Throughout time, somehwere between forty-five billion and one hundred twenty-five billion people have lived on this earth. That’s 125,000,000,000.  In about fifty years (give or take a couple of decades), no one will remember you. Everyone you know will be dead. Certainly no one will care what job you had, what car you drove, what school you attended, or what clothes you wore. This can be terrifying or reassuring, or maybe a mix of both.

- Francis Chan in Crazy Love

What a challenging thought!

However, it’s not impossible to become timeless. I mean, that’s why there are history books. We still remember figures that have impacted this world for better and worse. If you compare the amount of individuals in history books to the amount of people that have ever lived, then it’s a small number.

Does this mean that your dash means anything less? NOT AT ALL. If you have the access, resources, and experience in anything worth fighting for, you can still create a ripple effect in people’s hearts, turning your dash into something that creates an unstoppable momentum.

So don’t make that little “-” on your tombstone the only thing that defines your life when you’re gone. You still have time to leave a footprint and add some definition to what life is. Do something.

LIFE IS…

15 Jun

After watching BBC Earth’s Planet Earth series on cable, I was sold on buying their next featured series Life.

Photo taken by Justin Marimon featured on Amazon.com

So far I’ve only seen the first disc, and I’m afraid to go on because I think my mind will blow up while watching these amazing natural wonders that take place every day all over the world.

What makes me want to write this new series I’m naming Life Is… is belief that a lot of these behaviors I see in these familiar and unfamiliar animals are similar to human behaviors like roaming in packs, nurturing others, biting ankles, blending in, abusing relationships, and the list goes on. There are so many behaviors out there from humans and non that we can learn from, all for the sake of preservation and future life.

I love this quote:

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Jesus Christ (The Message)

The truth is that this life isn’t meant to be wasted but valued. We are valued. We’re so vital to each other and to those in need, and we all can help. We often forget this as we get so focused on ourselves, worrying about tomorrow. It’s easy to do. I know. For myself, it takes constant reminders that “it’s not about me.” I’ll even loosen it up a little bit and say “it’s not just about me” to the point that my well-being should be because of your well-being.

So yeah…I can’t wait to write this series as I know there will be much to learn from it.

Here’s BBC Earth’s trailer for Life


Search Offline…

22 May

…because we’re so used to searching online. Searching for something that we don’t even know we’re searching for. Half the time, we’re looking for connections and entertainment, and blindly we lose touch of what we’re supposed to be doing, whatever that is. To me, it’s building relationships, constantly learning for the sake of others.

Trust me when I say that I’m on no high-horse. I hate heights, and I probably suck at controlling such a beast figuratively speaking. Every day, however, I do rack my brain and configure my heart to live a selfless life for the sake of others. That’s what I value.

“Sacred Art”

26 Apr

What’s your inspiration? What’s your expression outlet? You are the product of creativity and purpose. Continue the cycle by being creative and purposeful.

Here’s a poem I wrote about how our passions have been instilled in us and are supposed to make us who we are meant to be when we express them and live them out. God knows our hearts.

Written October 2008.
Expressed April 25, 2010.

inspired by the phrase “Sing us a song, and we’ll sing it back to you.” by Paramore

Ok Gaga: A Bad Romance

19 Apr

Ok so it looks like I’m a little “Hayley Crazy,” BUT I only used this video for innocents’ sake. I’ll admit it’s a great and possibly timeless melody, which may land itself among Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing, Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On a Prayer, or any other karaoke party anthem out there.   The original arrangement by Lady Gaga is a smash-hit, people-mover.  There’s also the slower ballad cover by 30 Seconds to Mars, that gives Bad Romance a very dark and adult (yes, more adult than Gaga’s lyrically speaking) vibe.

So I slipped past the melody, looked at the lyrics, and then wiki’ed the meaning of the song on Wikipedia.com.  There you can find a quote by Lady Gaga from an interview with MTV. About the song, she states:

What I’m really trying to say is I want the deepest, darkest, sickest parts of you that you are afraid to share with anyone because I love you that much.

While I generally don’t agree with Lady Gaga’s ways, this time I may see eye-to-eye with The Fame Monster (Let’s hope this monster only has two eyes).

Bad Romance

I’ve seen toooooooooooooo many (romantic) relationships ruined because one person thinks they can change the other. “You should do this…you should do that…should…should…should….”

I’m guilty of this. I’ve played both the victim and the suspect at one point, and have found out that it’s not as beneficial as I thought it would be. Nobody wants to be controlled, but everyone wants to control.

So where does the change come in?  Compromise, sacrifice, and selflessness must be realized and put into practice. Just like in any team situation, the goal is to be successful as a team, not as an individual. If a relationship is to be successful, those involved need to come to a clear understanding of where the relationship is going, and make self-adjustments and self-improvements from there. Change for the sake of the common goal (i.e. marriage and life together). Live by example and not just by words. To do this without trying to change each other is difficult, but highly recommended. Relationships and romance are a learning process. Never stop learning.

This so called “bad romance” can be something beautiful.

Bury The Castle?

10 Apr

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews Chapter 11

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1) : fidelity to one’s promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs <the Protestant faith>

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

We think we know what faith is, but we usually just make up our own definition for words that have been around for a while. The definitions above are a couple of the most credible and consistent definitions for “faith” known to us.

In regards to Faith vs Fantasy, recently I was listening to a song called Brick By Boring Brick (BBBB) by a popular band named Paramore.  At first, I didn’t understand the song, causing me to not really agree with what was being said. So I researched what lead singer Hayley Williams wrote in her published journal explaining what the song is about:

“I believe it’s important to stay young at heart. To have faith in what might seem impossible and to have goals beyond your current ambitions or temporary means. However, there is a huge difference, to me anyways, between acknowledging your dreams and never living in reality. Some people are so scared of being boring- so insecure with who they might be- that they build up this huge lie, it’s all one big distraction. For not only the on-lookers but for their self. To me, it is a selfish way to live. A great means of defense. But selfish nonetheless. I’ve been hurt by this lifestyle. Hurt by people I barely know. I’ve even been guilty of living this way. It’s so common. I’m glad that I’ve found some words to finally speak up about it.

A brick is such a traditional, tired and plain boring representation of solidity. I wanted the whole song to have this sort of fairy tale vibe… only to twist the point I’m trying to make in the song which is, ‘Stop living in a fake fairytale… like, WAKE UP!’ When thinking how I could really get that across in the song I decided I’d use a house. Someone’s safe place, even in a fairy tale… you can’t forge a refuge out of magic & fairy dust. You gotta build it just as real and as solid as a stupid old brick.”

What really won me over were the lyrics to the bridge that I guess just “clicked” one day:

If it’s not real
You can’t hold it in your hand
You can’t feel it with your heart
And I won’t believe it
But if it’s true
You can see it with your eyes
Or even in the dark

WOW. That’s when I realized that it’s in agreement with the definitions above. So there’s a difference between faith and fantasy.  This message needs to be heard.

Here’s Paramore making sure it’s heard:

Intimately:

Stage Fright: Me

16 Mar

SO YEAH…These were my initial thoughts that I had written on the subject of Stage Fright when I first sat down to brainstorm about this series. These lines began to surface as I related elements of life and performing. It all somehow came to this. It’s also a look at my thought process.

Thanks to Mike Wofford for producing the track, Ronald Suk for directing, and Janet E. Esposito for writing a life-changing book.

Stage Fright from So Yeah on Vimeo.

The stage is set
People are waiting
Time to be real in a world of actors
Performers
Performing life or just passing by
It’s a hyped up show
Expectations
Anticipation for the sake of passing time
Entertainment
Where are we going with this?
Conversation material to materialize?
Stimulate their senses
Eyes, ears, hear, and mind
Detachment vs Engagement
You vs Them
Who’s your real audience?
Be honest
Premature self-evaluation can kill the sense of passion and basis
Fear: Volunteered or obligated?
Put on the spot
In the spotlight
Step up to the mic
Cheeks red
Skin pale white
Cotton mouth chokehold
A deep breath
For momentum to take flight
You can do this
Prove ‘em wrong
Leave ‘em stunned
The stage is set
This is your life

(to be continued)

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