By definition, happiness (noun) is:
the state of being happy.
Not a place.
Not a person.
Not a job or car or beautiful boy with a shining ring in his left pocket.
Read MoreThe Concept of Happiness
Expectations of Europe
I learned a thing or two about a thing or two in Croatia.
Mostly about expectations.
I think I had in my mind (for some odd reason) that this side of the Mediterranean was smooth and sandy,
Still and steady,
Clear water and sweet fish.
I was met pretty quickly with the reality that Croatia was not willing to oblige to these ideas.
Read MoreIf You Can't Buy It, Build It
in europe
But perhaps out of all the things I’ve learned on this escapade thus far, at the forefront is this: I’d like to get close. To be in the season I’m in. To stand in the weather that’s present. To sit with the people I’m next to while still maintaining connection to those miles away.
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Photo by the magnificent Emily Steffen
Traveling and Being Alone
I want to allow my cage door to be unlocked. But is it ok to close it when it gets dark out? Is there something to say about being a non-prodigal son who can come and go? Is there a way to be grounded and cageless? Is there really an answer to question or just a truth to swallow?
Read MorePresent in Paris
A city that begs for your attention like the sparkles on the Eiffel tower every hour, on the hour (fun fact I recently obtained) was on it’s knees asking “Will you be here? Will you try?”
Read MoreIn Bloom from London
in cageless
Meandering through the vast Hyde Park of London, I found myself surrounded by bountiful flowers and grass. I also found myself amongst a tactical conversation of planning. As most people do on trips, an itinerary is necessary for means of comfort (oh wait, that’s just me? Type A people… please stand up)As my travel partner (photographed below, as he probably will continue to be throughout this quarter’s newsletter) and I spoke of a minute detail pertaining to another destination we are going to in the coming weeks, I mustered the words “sounds like a plan of the present.”And I was almost taken aback at my own comment.I have never not been a planner. Every moment. Every stitch. Every second.On Remembering
It was death season and just like I had to cut my hair and break my back and lick my wounds to survive again, it needed to wither too. I am not saying it deserved to be tortured or violently scalped in the same fashion of my particular cross, but I am saying: this is just how it has to be.
Read MoreHow to be Beautiful
Isn’t it funny, The things that we see?
Read MoreThe Science of Thought
On average, a person has 6,000 thoughts per day. 90% of which are repetitive in nature.
But here’s the kicker: your thoughts don’t affect how you feel. *Your emotions affect how you think.
You can’t control an emotion.
But you can control a thought.
Read MoreFe(men)ists
What if we listened for the answer next time we ask a man how he’s doing? Would relationships mend? Would violence decrease? Would wars stop?
Read MoreDiscovering the Voice in your head
Of course it is easier to swallow the instructions handed to us the day we escaped our mother’s birth canal to “Do as we say, not as we do” even though the sentence tastes like nails every time it is recited.
Read MoreThe Point Of Pain
An object in motion will stay in motion, Sir Newton proclaimed. But why do we claim ourselves prey when pain itself doesn’t take ownership as a predator? What if this seemingly terrifying danger isn’t a lion set to devour us but rather something else?
Read MoreA Brief Guide to Moving On:
in healing, moving on, micro blog
My shrink told me to start looking at failures as products of reality instead of products of people.
Read MoreI Love(d) You, Say It Back
What good does it do if we only love those who love us back? Have we come to a point where love is, for the most part, no longer a verb or a noun? Rather, it lives in our lives as more of a tight sphere of self interest? Something we grip onto so grossly and only toss when we can be sure it will be tossed back at greater than or equal to pace and force?
Read MoreOh, What A Year
in micro blog, grief, spirituality
My mind tends to framework itself around endings. This serves as a problem when the God I serve is more or less a master of new beginnings. I wrestle with this a lot.
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