Sumpin' Witty

A day will come where you'll find yourself, seemingly, in the                                                                                                                                    middle                                                     ...

Be bold, be brave. Be loud and obnoxious. Be fearful and timid. Make waves, start fires, cause a commotion. Be anything but nice. Be compassionate and have passion. Be cunning and charismatic. Be sarcastic. Be rude. Say things that make people uncomfortable. Start awkward conversations. Laugh loudly. Tell jokes and stories. Laugh at your own jokes. Shake hands firmly with those you meet. Talk to strangers at parties. Memorize random facts to tell others. Be reliable and dependable or be flaky and flighty. Be punctual or always be late. Say yes to invitations. Show up with presents. Be outspoken or soft spoken, but be heard. Make your point and leave it at that. Listen closely and attentively to others. Be anything but nice. Be blunt and direct. Be romantic. Recite poetry. Sing loudly and off-key. Be caring and kind. Give people homemade gifts. Be flirtatious and funky. Wear costumes as often as possible and speak with fake accents and give fake names at parties. Be rowd...

A dear friend of mine recently shared this poem with me. It was written in 1927 by the poet and philosopher Max Ehrmann, although he did not receive credit nor acclaim for it until much later. My friend gave me the poem and said she uses it in times when she needs to be reminded of certain ideals and ways to live life. Max Ehrmann wrote it for himself "because it counsels those virtues I felt myself most in need of." Funny how almost 100 years later this poem is still aptly fitting to life. I can't stop reading it myself, so I thought I would share it with you. Desiderata Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible and without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you...

What happens to a dream fulfilled?  Does it sit upon the shelf like an old forgotten toy, a keep sake for some day when a story should be told? What happens to a dream fulfilled?  Does it get replaced by the next ambition, the next goal, the next big adventure? Does it get forgotten, stored in the attic, set aside like a worn out t-shirt? We’ve pondered the question of a dream deferred, thank you Mr. Hughes, but what of the dream fulfilled? What of this goal we’ve met, this obstacle subdued, this mountain climbed, what of this dream fulfilled? Perhaps for those who’ve only deferred dreams, a dream fulfilled seems a glorious thing, a chance to reach the highest heights. Perhaps for those who’ve fulfilled their dreams, a dream deferred seems a welcome reprieve, a chance to continue dreaming, an ideal as yet unmet.  Like a lover you’ve dreamed of, the real thing is often not as pleasing as the idea or the fantasy. We tend to live too fully in...

Last night, Jahsiah and I watched an Australian movie entitled, Wish You Were Here . It told the story of two sisters who travel to Cambodia with their husband and new boyfriend, respectively. After a night of doing drugs and partying too hard, the boyfriend goes missing. I won't spoil the movie for anyone, as it was good and worth watching. For Jahsiah and I though, the movie was perhaps not the best thing to have watched last night, as we both felt uneasy and nervous afterwards. As I brushed my teeth, getting ready for bed right after the movie ended, I realized that we were leaving in approximatley 7 weeks. That's about 49 days (even though we don't have a set departure date). That's not very far away at all! And watching a movie about everything that can go wrong when traveling in a foreign, far-off land, well, that's a bad idea when you are about to do just that! We laid in bed like little kids the night before a trip to Magic Mountain or Disneyland. We were ...

A little bit of poetry on this fine Sunday afternoon. It all feels so fake. Like I'm waking up for the first time to realize that all this is nothing more than plastic pawns on a cheap, cardboard chessboard. If it was carved from marble or mahogany, it wouldn't seem to bad. But this, it's all I can do to wait for that day when I hear "Pass Go, Collect $200", and then, just like that, Without waiting to say Sorry, Like a Hungry Hippo, I'm off! Down secret Chutes and up Hidden ladders. If I hurry, I'll be gone before you have the chance to sink my battleship. Careful! Don't break the ice or someone will notice I'm sneaking out, through the Ballroom, with the revolver, and Mrs. Peacock is on my ass! If I can just make it through this Candy Land of distractions and demons. One wrong move, and KeRplUnK! It could all be over before I know it. But like Magic Gathering, there are tricks up my sleeve. And I'm willing to take the Risk...