Musical Nirvana

We walk into the unexpected cathedral

The ceiling towers over us,

Appearing to disappear into inky depths.

Our footsteps echo dully into the endless space.

With sudden inspiration,

I snap my fingers:

SNAP!

                snap!

                            snap

                                                 snap

                                                                 snap

                                                                                                                        snap

A shiver runs down my spine.

We get into a mixed arrangement

And begin.

We sing the fortissimo opening chord…

It’s perfectly in tune.

The director cuts us off.

Our sound does not hang in the air,

It rings throughout the church.

The sound peals forth from the stone walls,

It is almost as if the multitude

Of stained glass images are

Holding the harmonies for us…

An eternity later the reverb dies out.

A single, shining tear

Crawls down my cheek.

Something to Think About

"I constantly get out of my comfort zone. Looking cool is the easiest way to mediocrity. The coolest guy in my high school ended up working at a car wash. Once you push yourself into something new, and whole new world of opportunities opens up. But you might get hurt. In fact you WILL get hurt. But amazingly when you heal-- you are somewhere youve never been." - Terry Crews

Truth

I want you to think. I mean really think about one thing. I want you to ask yourself, "What is truth?"

Merriam-Webster will tell you that truth is: sincerity in action and character; the state of being the case; the body of real events, things, and facts; the property of being in accord with reality.  This defines truth, but it doesn't tell you what it actually is.  Let's ask another source about truth.

In Metaphysics, Aristotle and Plato said, "p is true if and only if p corresponds to a fact." Closer than Webster, but still not quite right. A fact is generally considered something that is true, which causes the original Greek to become recursive, and therefore not helpful.  Let's take a look at a different interpretation.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy."  Again, we find another circular definition about truth.

Now, my thoughts about all this. Truth is frequently defined vaguely or circularly because it is actually a hard concept to grasp. I know that I don't fully understand it, but I best know what it means to me from a song in the musical Jesus Christ, Superstar. In the trial before Pilate, Jesus is asked, "But what is truth, is it unchanging law? We both have truths, are mine the same as yours?"  And that one line got me thinking really hard about truth. And my current conclusion is that no one can tell you what is true. You have to go out and experience truth. I can't tell you what that means. You need to find it for yourself. People will discover their own truth in their own way and place. I won't tell you where I found my truth, as I believe that finding it is one of the most personal and private experiences that anyone will ever have. It is not something to be taken lightly.

So with that, I challenge you: go out and find your truth. Do it often enough, and you might find that even something as solid as truth can change. Live your life, and discover your truth.

English

Today I was called a grammar Nazi, which got me thinking about why I am a stickler about grammar and spelling. And I finally discovered that I want English to go back to being a beautiful language. Think about it, English used to be a graceful, thought-provoking language, for example, in almost all of Shakespeare's works (not just his plays, but his poems as well) the language flows, and smoothly transitions among ideas. 

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages." (As You Like It)

This one quote is a wonderful example of my point. Poetry notwithstanding, this is basically how the common man spoke in that era. Nowadays, this beauty is corrupted by a conglomeration of abbreviations, contractions, and ignorant people abusing the grammar of our language

I take a stand for English because if I don't, then no one will protect our language. I fear that eventually, English will devolve into pidgin; so please, for the love of English, stop killing our language!

I've learned.

Some of this I learned myself, some I learned by watching my surroundings. I hope you learn something today.


I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in. 
I've learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets. 
I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just jackasses. 
I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it. 
I've learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed. 
I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more screwed up than you think. 
I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 
I've learned that it is not what you wear; it is how you take it off. 
I've learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you're finished. 
I've learned to not sweat the petty things, and not pet the sweaty things. 
I've learned that ex's are like fungus, and keep coming back. 
I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity. 
I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it. 
I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities. 
I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity. 
I've learned that 99% of the time when something isn't working in your house, one of your kids did it. 
I've learned that there is a fine line between genius and insanity. 
I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the ass are permanent. 

conversation

Instead of small talk,

tell me one little thing,

why do you smile when others are serious and sitting with heavy glasses?

why does that one hymn in Church always make you giggle?

which voices do you imitate most often because

they are so damn funny?

tell me about your joy.

Instead of a casual conversation,

just let me know,

what do you crave when you're feeling anxious or curious?

flirting, peanut butter cookies, that one kind of music you promise your friends you hate,

cement on your feet and exhaustion in your lungs?

Tell me, I'm not interested in your job or even what you do,

unless you would do it every day of your life, as often,

with a quarter of the pay,

but tell me,

where do your wings take you

when you're soaring down the road off to anywhere?

Because I know you take out your wings every so often.

To what country or person or building do you fly

and ache to embrace, feel comfort, be fed?

Let's talk real talk,

get into the stuff that makes you laugh at yourself,

like the passing thoughts and scenarios

you've chosen to actually play out,

the sounds and faces you make only to your family,

the times youve blushed

when you really shouldnt have,

the people you've fancied yourself holding hands with,

shedding tears with,

loving, even.

Tell me,

are we going to get to know each other

through the weather and prepared anecdotes?

Let's take a risk,

I'll ask the questions.

Hints for a Happy Life

So, I'll start today's post with an apology. I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything in a long time. I've been really busy with Love's Labour's Lost, and after that, I just wanted some time to relax. But now I'm back, so let's celebrate with some "Hints for Life". (I know it's similar to one of my earlier posts, but just bear with me)


It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return. But what is more painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let that person know how you feel.

A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go.

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

It's true that we don't know we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, and hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth, even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day bright.

Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

Always put yourself in the other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person too.

A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may level stress. But a loving word may heal and bless.

The happiest of people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything that comes along their way.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear. Make the most of the first two, and don't let the tear stop you from loving again.


Sorry again about the impromptu hiatus, and thanks for reading!