People of an Open Heart

     Today I told a friend that, "I don't have an open mind, just an open heart."  I still think that is true, but saying it just made me think about it for awhile.  It seems like a very liberal idea that love can fix everything, but isn't that also true in the kingdom of heaven?  Obviously the two kinds of love each party is talking about is very different, but still, even in the Bible says out of faith, hope, and love the greatest of all is love.

     I understand that everything we do on this earth effects our spirituality.  I agree with the idea that the physical world and the spiritual world are directly entangled.  We don't have to travel into some mythical, transcendental state of mind, even though it can feel like that some times.  What we do in the spirit directly effects the natural, and the natural in the spiritual.  But this earth, the ground we stand on, the wind we suck in with the very last muscles in our lungs, and the fresh smell of the recently cut grass, it all is an illusion.

     Reality is in the kingdom.  The more we lose ourselves from this world and into the kingdom of God we start to see what is important and what is superficial.  The hunger for the knowledge of men quickly becomes pointless and will get you no where.  All the things we have ever wanted to learn or could ever possibly learn could never come from a mere man trapped in this flesh cage unfilled with the Holy Spirit.  I will put my time, my faith, my knowledge into the one who created it all.  The master mind, divine orchestrator of all that exists.  His word is one of the best ways to do that.  If you want to gain wisdom seek it in the right places.  LOSE YOUR MIND!
   
     I choose to live with an open heart.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart.  That is the first step.  Secondly, love your neighbor as yourself.  The rest will fall into place if you live according to that love.  I will be a man of the heart.  I will love the beaten, the broken, the ones looked over, the "normal" people, and I have great friends that better keep me accountable to that.  We need to have a common heart for loving one another.  That's is what the fellowship of Christians should be, iron sharpening iron.

     This is most certainly something I need to work on, and I pray for everyday.  I hope that we can all be people of the heart and join in common union towards what the Lord has commanded of us.

                                                               Thanks, Nate

A Free Slice of Pie from My Life

     The Trapeze Swinger by Iron and Wine has been one of my favorite songs since I first heard it on the movie, "In Good Company."  It has always struck a chord with me, made me very emotional, but at the same time has always been a song that makes me think there is an optimistic outcome ahead of me.  No matter how hard it is to see it, or even if it isn't at all perceivable, you hope it's there.
     Once I almost moved to Chicago and went to art school.  It was the same school Walt Disney attended.  I've never really traveled much.  It has always been my dream, but somehow I have always been so afraid of my own dreams.  Why didn't I just go to the school in Chicago?  Was I so afraid of failing at a dream that deciding to go with the "Run of the mill" college experience was my only option?  Maybe after two years of going to college and getting my generals done near by I can go to that art school...
     Obviously, I didn't ever go to that college in Chicago.  I ended up dropping out of college somewhere between my sophomore and junior year.  School had become something that was just in the way of living my self-destructive lifestyle.  I lost focus, didn't know what was real, or even what was important to reality.  Consciousness was a hopeful idea at the time.  Even when I was sober, everything was so bleak and grey I may as well have been asleep.  I have some memories that stick in my head like still shots.  I have a few moments remembering several sets of white teeth.  Laughing.  Still am not sure if those laughs were sincere, but I remember how at the time, I was convinced my toothy grin was real.  But looking back, was it all worth it?  I still don't have that answer yet...
                                                                          Thanks, Nate

Insanity Is Still Very Cool

     Is there such a thing as insanity? I mean really, everyone is somewhat insane, so that is just the "Norm."  Insanity is the usual plan of action by most humanoids....  But we tend to exist to live on the edge.  Show the world what we are made of as it were.
     Do you think being normal could be the real trip into the great beyond?  Living your life as it was planned by God.  Yeah, I know we messed it up and sin is a crap-sandwich in our lives, but that doesn't mean we have to let it rule our lives.  We as humans always strive to be unique and different.  I am very guilty of this, but maybe that is part of a sin nature.  Maybe we are meant to be who we were created to be, naturally before sin came into the world.  I'm not saying we have to sell all our belongings and live off the land in the woods, but we could maybe take a step towards just being who we are.
     Maybe our insecurities created this idea of having to be so independent.  I know that God created us all unique and creative in our own way, but I don't think He created us to act independently.  Obviously He gave us the choice to do so, but that would be choosing to not worship Him.
    I have heard that, that was the true sin in the garden in the beginning.  Not that Adam and Eve ate the fruit, but that they acted independently of God.  They chose their own path over His perfect way of life.  Like the deceiver Satan said to Eve, you will be like gods.  I think in that sense acting independently meant thinking you were above God, or gods yourself.  It may seem like a stretch to compare Adam and Eve's sin to our desire to be independent, unique, or even insane, but that's why I just write my mind into this blog.  Just putting thoughts into the digital void.
                                                                  Thanks, Nate

4th of July 2012

     Tonight, I looked up at the moon.  Hidden by black storm clouds, that could cause chaos for the earth dwellers at any moment.  It was a calm before the storm.  A storm that never seemed to come.  Tonight is the one night of the year the moon is forgotten.  Fireworks fill the sky in an explosive blaze of multicolored raindrops.  Not even the brightest, orange moon could compete with that.  Not that it's even making an attempt tonight, so bashfully hidden in shame of its hardly yellow hue.  Tonight, I relate with that sobering moon.  Hidden behind another set of headlights on the endless path of pavement, trapped behind my eyes.  Maybe it's just the the nap a few hours ago combined with "Getz" on the radio, but the night is somber.  Seems a little strange that these sort of nights are most inspiring.  Rambling on and on, about a mere moment that took place only in my mind seems to be the cure all for the time being.  I guess that's what this blog is for.  So if you enjoy it, thank you.  If not, I'm sorry for wasting your time with rambling.  I hope you find a more suitable blog for your reading tastes.
                                                                Thanks for reading.

Jack, Outlets, and Movement. You Thought That was Just Notes on My Arm.

Jack:
     I was talking to a co-worker today, and he said, "Some days I just want to hurry up get my work done, and then go home.  But then I realize that I'm probably going to do nothing after work anyway.  So I don't know why I'm in such a hurry anyway."

     It got me to thinking how true that was.  Often times I've found myself waiting for a task to be done so I could move on to another task, that I'll just wait to get done with, and the pattern repeats.  Basically our days become stamps of the previous and we are always in a rush to make the same stamp as the day before.  Maybe if we slow down and check out our surroundings once in a while the stamp patterns will change.
   
     I quoted two different Jack Johnson songs in one quote when my co-worker, (Tom) mentioned his concept of the day to day.  The songs were, "Inaudible Melodies" and "Breakdown."  "Slow down everyone, you're moving too fast."  "All the people on the street walkin' as fast as their feet can take 'em, I just stroll through the town."

     For the last month or so I have been trying really hard to not let things tick me off.  Instead of waking up and thinking about how upset I am about an argument over nothing the day before, I wake up with a clean slate, and throw those thoughts away.  Forgive and forget!  I'm about 110% positive that my purpose on this planet is to love, and love unconditionally at that.

Outlets:
     I think everyone needs some sort of outlet to withdraw from stress and social friction.  For example, drawing, blogging, firearms, music, frisbee golf, or whatever it may be, you need something that takes you away from reality even if it's only for five minutes or so a day.  Sometimes when I'm frustrated I think about growing my mustache back, shaving my head, getting covered in tats, and starting a punk band.  Even though that's not a very likely scenario for me in the near future, it still gets me through the day now and again.  Maybe once a week I should go home and just lay waste on my guitar.  Who cares if it sounds good.  Besides a handful of possibly upset roommates from the mangled wreckage of ill-toned guitar chords pouring out of my room with some rough, overstretched vocals following quickly behind them, I have nothing to lose.  That's my attempt at encouragement to find an outlet.  I'll try to have a follow up to this post in the near future.  I'll be holding try outs for my band next Thursday... ;) (that's not a real thing)

Movement:
     Even though I just said we need to slow down as people, I'm not saying we should stop our movement.  I have been realizing that if you want something done, you have to do it.  If you remain passive things wont just happen for you.  For years I have hoped my art would be further along than it is now.  But no matter how hard I hope it happen it's not going to unless I stop sitting on my butt, playing video games, and saying, "I don't have enough time."  Movement is what keeps made the "Greats" great.  People like the Wright brothers didn't make their dreams come true just by wanting to fly.  They put years and years into trial and error, and they had mostly errors until they finally performed the first self propelled flight ever in 1903.  (random facts for ya)  I guess my point is encourage yourself to DO your dreams instead of hoping your dreams.

     Well there you have it.  This was basically a self-motivating post, that I hope others can relate with and could potentially help if you have been in a similar, or even a less buoyant boat...

Under a Half and Half Sort of Sky

    Since mid-October last year, I have been running about four days a week.  It has been a significant life style change.  It's a freedom, a release of tension, and has created an ever-peaking sensation in my life.  I thought it would be good to mention it now, early on in my blog history, sense I will probably be mention it randomly throughout my upcoming blogs.

     Today while on my run, I was listening to the song, "Sunshine Above Weather" by Remedy Drive.  While rounding the corner on this county highway, I turned into this brilliant sun halfway hidden by these deep blue rain clouds.  The wind rose up against me.  It was cool, and refreshing.  I closed my eyes, and what I have caught in glimpses before, I caught in full bloom in that moment.  It was worship, a transformed mind, a softened heart, and all that was flesh melted away.  I couldn't feel my calves that had previously been aching.  All that was good in the world was clearly visible in front of my eyes.  My spirit was filled with joy and I felt a slight burst of tongues roll quietly off my lips.  I am so thankful that God finds times like these to spend with His kids.

Achieving the Day to Day

It's a sort of somber way to start off my new blog, but I was listening to the Smiths-Asleep, and felt the urge to get some thoughts out into cyber space...

I don't know if you have ever listened to the artist "Danger Doom" but his music really releases stress.  He has this simple sort of flow.  It's a combination of senseless rubbish and the possibility of complex chaos.  If you lower your minds comprehension is usually when your mind expands.  Ideas come in water proof bottles.  If your bottle has a leaky top, the idea will melt.  I guess the point is, it  comes in a sort of box, and revelation isn't always in some "cosmic" event.  It isn't always prompted by in depth research and elbow grease, but by opening up your mind and dumbing down your motor skills.

Obviously I'm not saying using your brain is bad.  I'm just saying some of your most profound revelations can come in the simplest forms.  Danger Doom may be out of reality, but fiction can give solutions to reality in the form of concepts, that might be able to survive in the day to day.

Every day I do the same thing.  I wake up at 6 o'clock and go to work, I print shirts for 8 hours, then I go to the gym and run.  Even though I do the same thing every day, different thoughts and ideas flow through my head even though they should be the same as the day before based on daily circumstances.  And even though I have different thoughts in my of my daily routine.  Its still basically the same sort of thing, but once in awhile you hear a song, or see something unusual that makes your reality transparent, and you wonder what is real, and what is actual reality.  It's an inspiration.  Even if its only two lines on a yellow sticky note, it's still a slice of sanity, in the chaos of the day to day.  It's something that just makes sense and you know is where you could be, or is where you are in a different reality.  It's ecstasy.