It's weird how someone you never knew can affect your life in such a deep and intimate way.
For me it was a guy from my old church. I never had the great experience of meeting Dave Powell; to hear his laugh, or experience his passion for God and life. I've never looked upon his face, or into his eyes, or explored the pieces of his soul that I hear he would so willingly share. And though Dave and I are total strangers, even total opposites in the ways that we live our lives; I feel as though I know a part of him.
It's a crazy thought. I know, I know. But then again we all have these crazy thoughts from time to time. I probably have them more often than not, which may seem unfortunate, but it sure keeps things interesting.
But back to Dave: I feel as though I have met him before. And I think that is because I have. Because for some of my life I knew and loved the man that so inspired Dave. The man he is now laughing with and magnifying and bowing down to worship in His very presence. And His name is Jesus.
Now, I haven't been religious for some time. Events transpired and thoughts occurred that slowly, over time, drew me away from the religion I had held so dear for most of my life. But I cannot deny this profound thought I have that Dave really did exhibit the character of what I think God may be like. Someone that is radical, that catches people's attention and whose character, though humble, demands attention because of the spark that it has. Someone who loves unconditionally, and in the right ways. From what I have heard about Dave, he seems to be someone who really lived life. We're all alive, but I can testify to the fact that most of us live our lives half dead. Because that's where I am, and it's where i have been for months now.
But Dave has shown me something. Though he never spoke a word to me, the legacy his life has left behind and the impression that he has made on the people that have met him causes me to think in ways that I haven't for a long time.
And I start to wonder... if maybe He got it right. Actually, I know he did.
I wish I had known Dave.
I wish he was here now and I could ask him how he became to be the Christ-like person that he was. Because right now, I am at a loss.
Dave. Tell me your secret.
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12.19.2009
8.06.2009
so you know what i hate?
when you have something, a sandwich, a cracker, a pizza, anything that is slightly gooey on top (the sandwich and cracker have peanut butter, of course, why would you eat a sandwich without peanut butter!?) and then you walk and somehow manage to drop the item in question on the ground and, of course, it lands face down, with all the gooey goodness now collecting all the crunch, hairy grossness that was on the floor. gross.
HATE IT
when you have something, a sandwich, a cracker, a pizza, anything that is slightly gooey on top (the sandwich and cracker have peanut butter, of course, why would you eat a sandwich without peanut butter!?) and then you walk and somehow manage to drop the item in question on the ground and, of course, it lands face down, with all the gooey goodness now collecting all the crunch, hairy grossness that was on the floor. gross.
HATE IT
6.13.2009
living the list
i like to make lists.
and someone once asked me why i made lists.
they said that they didn't make lists because they just go out and live life, instead of wasting time of planing what their going to do.
i thought about it,
and i like their attitude towards life.
because if i just sit around making lists about all the things i want to do, and then never do them, what's the point?
so i'm not going to anymore.
write lists and not do what's on the list, i mean.
i'm still going to write lists.
because they keep me motivated.
but no more false sense of accomplishment.
instead, some of my lists are now public.
and now i have some sense of external accountability to other people that will make me make sure i actually do all of those things that i want to do.
first thing on the list?
well of course, make a list of the things i want to do this summer.
summer top 20
[ ] learn to long board
[ ] go on a road trip
[ ] bike everywhere
[ ] buy my first record (and player?)
[ ] re learn French
[ ] improve my Spanish
[ ] learn to write with my left hand... legibly
[ ] spend a whole day in the T.
[ ] play guitar every day
[ ] listen to new music
[ ] read a bazillion books... okay, maybe 20?
[ ] become 100% meat free
[ ] learn all the settings on my new camera
[ ] learn some theology... aka study my Bible!
[ ] write more letters to my friends :)
[ ] finish my first book of poetry
[ ] go to the beach as much as possible
[ ] plant some flowers / pick some flowers (but not the ones i planted... teehee)
[ ] go on forest adventures
[ ] spend as much time in the sun as humanly possible... with sunscreen!
[ ] get in shape... bahaaa. yeah right!
check.
and someone once asked me why i made lists.
they said that they didn't make lists because they just go out and live life, instead of wasting time of planing what their going to do.
i thought about it,
and i like their attitude towards life.
because if i just sit around making lists about all the things i want to do, and then never do them, what's the point?
so i'm not going to anymore.
write lists and not do what's on the list, i mean.
i'm still going to write lists.
because they keep me motivated.
but no more false sense of accomplishment.
instead, some of my lists are now public.
and now i have some sense of external accountability to other people that will make me make sure i actually do all of those things that i want to do.
first thing on the list?
well of course, make a list of the things i want to do this summer.
summer top 20
[ ] learn to long board
[ ] go on a road trip
[ ] bike everywhere
[ ] buy my first record (and player?)
[ ] re learn French
[ ] improve my Spanish
[ ] learn to write with my left hand... legibly
[ ] spend a whole day in the T.
[ ] play guitar every day
[ ] listen to new music
[ ] read a bazillion books... okay, maybe 20?
[ ] become 100% meat free
[ ] learn all the settings on my new camera
[ ] learn some theology... aka study my Bible!
[ ] write more letters to my friends :)
[ ] finish my first book of poetry
[ ] go to the beach as much as possible
[ ] plant some flowers / pick some flowers (but not the ones i planted... teehee)
[ ] go on forest adventures
[ ] spend as much time in the sun as humanly possible... with sunscreen!
[ ] get in shape... bahaaa. yeah right!
check.
5.18.2009
love actually
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion, love actually is all around."
-- Hugh Grant in Love Actually
People sometimes peg me as a pessimist. Though I can see what they mean, I almost always disagree. When I get angry or sad or discouraged about the world my views are not just about seeing all the bad things, but about seeing how much potential there is for love. If love were in this place, things would be different. And it gives me hope. Because though I talk about all the things that are wrong, I act in ways that (hopefully) seek to explore the endless possibilities of the power of love. Acknowledging the things that are wrong means acknowledging that there is room for improvement. Granted, anger often has a destructive power. But I'd like to think that there is a type of anger that is good and constructive.
Sometimes you need to see the things that are wrong so that love can abound. For me, love is something that is most beautiful when the odds are against it. I am a hopeless romantic and when love seems to have no chance of surviving but does, I get the warm fuzzies like crazy. If you look at the world and all you see is the darkness then all the world will be is darkness. If all you see is the powerful taking advantage of the weak and provoking violence, greed, and oppression then you'll probably gather provisions, find a cave and cut yourself from all of those things.
But if you look at the world and see all the violence, greed, and oppression as opportunities. If you see that this violence could really be that peace; that oppression could really be this freedom; this greed could really be that gift, think of all the possibilities in which anger could become love!
This is a lesson I am still learning. Sometimes I do look at the world and think, "God, what are we doing to ourselves?" But slowly I am beginning to look around me and be inspired by the hurting and the broken. What would the world look like if we saw every sorry, broken down, despairing situation as an opportunity to inject love?
It would be truly awakening. Because love actually is all around. We just miss the places in which it already exists, or forget to inject it in places that are lacking.
Love is more powerful than hate. So take a look around you, go the the arrival gates of an airport, to the drive-in, to a sporting event, to the park. Turn off the TV and venture out into the world. Look around and you will see a world full of love. Places where different people somehow all manage to travel, watch, play, and live in harmony. Then, when you encounter injustice, remember that love is the most powerful force in the universe. Hate, anger, agression, violence, injustice, these are all times and places in which love is absent. So use the anger and fustration you feel and be encouraged to inject love into the heart of all the darkness. Because where love is, hate cannot be.
The world is full of love, sometimes it has merely been misplaced.
-- Hugh Grant in Love Actually
People sometimes peg me as a pessimist. Though I can see what they mean, I almost always disagree. When I get angry or sad or discouraged about the world my views are not just about seeing all the bad things, but about seeing how much potential there is for love. If love were in this place, things would be different. And it gives me hope. Because though I talk about all the things that are wrong, I act in ways that (hopefully) seek to explore the endless possibilities of the power of love. Acknowledging the things that are wrong means acknowledging that there is room for improvement. Granted, anger often has a destructive power. But I'd like to think that there is a type of anger that is good and constructive.
Sometimes you need to see the things that are wrong so that love can abound. For me, love is something that is most beautiful when the odds are against it. I am a hopeless romantic and when love seems to have no chance of surviving but does, I get the warm fuzzies like crazy. If you look at the world and all you see is the darkness then all the world will be is darkness. If all you see is the powerful taking advantage of the weak and provoking violence, greed, and oppression then you'll probably gather provisions, find a cave and cut yourself from all of those things.
But if you look at the world and see all the violence, greed, and oppression as opportunities. If you see that this violence could really be that peace; that oppression could really be this freedom; this greed could really be that gift, think of all the possibilities in which anger could become love!
This is a lesson I am still learning. Sometimes I do look at the world and think, "God, what are we doing to ourselves?" But slowly I am beginning to look around me and be inspired by the hurting and the broken. What would the world look like if we saw every sorry, broken down, despairing situation as an opportunity to inject love?
It would be truly awakening. Because love actually is all around. We just miss the places in which it already exists, or forget to inject it in places that are lacking.
Love is more powerful than hate. So take a look around you, go the the arrival gates of an airport, to the drive-in, to a sporting event, to the park. Turn off the TV and venture out into the world. Look around and you will see a world full of love. Places where different people somehow all manage to travel, watch, play, and live in harmony. Then, when you encounter injustice, remember that love is the most powerful force in the universe. Hate, anger, agression, violence, injustice, these are all times and places in which love is absent. So use the anger and fustration you feel and be encouraged to inject love into the heart of all the darkness. Because where love is, hate cannot be.
The world is full of love, sometimes it has merely been misplaced.
3.07.2009
The water is deep, the water is dark. Let's see if we can swim...
Today I began reading an old issue of Geez magazine when I came across an article on Blackwater, a private mercenary army. Learning about Blackwater's existence didn't really surprise me; when it comes to the military and war issues in America the ruthlessness of the Bush government seemed to have become the norm. What did surprise me was that Blackwater contractors are immune to court martials, war crimes charges and human rights violations.
Blackwater was secretly funded by the US government. Jan Schakowsky, a memeber of the House of Intelligence Committee in the US, said that, "We think that 40 cents of every dollar goes to private military contractors. We think that about 800 of them have been killed in Iraq, but we don't know that. They're not even counted. And we think there's about 25, 000 to maybe 40, 000 engaged in military activities and combat related activities. But we don't know and we can't find out." The deaths of these mercenary fighters were not included when mortality and injury stats were calcuated for the Iraq war. This means that we were not getting accurate information on the effects of that war. If the death tolls were higher, would less people have supported it?
Though the conflict in Iraq is now diminishing the role of national governments is not. Everyday governments make decisions of which the general public is largely unaware. In the case of Blackwater, even members of Congress could not access any information regarding their association with the United States.
Today, in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan national government is commiting something of a genocide. Local Tamils are being killed and many others are being displaced from their homes. Human rights abuses are rampant in Sri Lanka, though I should also note that it is not only the government that is committing acts of violence.
Regardless, governments are put in place to govern and lead the people. In North America we live in countries that value individual freedom and democracy. Because of this we are able to influence the decisions that our governments make and the action they take.
Hold your government accountable. Learn about what they are doing. What are they using your tax dollars for? What far-reaching effects do their decisions have? If all they are telling you seems like a bundle of jolliness, what aren't they telling you?
Sometimes, as in the case of Blackwater, we can't access the information we need. But investigative journalists write articles, countries write reports, and the internet has many reliable news sources through which you can recieve information. If you hear about something that is unsettling, do something about it. Write your government, or the government involved, a letter. You don't have to be a huge activist to exercise your right to freedom of speech.
Amnesty International is a valuable reseource for learning how to write an effective letter. The Amnesty webiste will also provide you with issues on which you may want to write to your government about. Letter writing tips can be found at: http://www.amnesty.ca/youth/youth_action_toolkit/guide_to_letter_writing.php
Other great links include...
Reliable News Source: www.democracynow.org
Blackwater info: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6849
Sri Lanka Info: http://www.freeourpress.org/
Blackwater was secretly funded by the US government. Jan Schakowsky, a memeber of the House of Intelligence Committee in the US, said that, "We think that 40 cents of every dollar goes to private military contractors. We think that about 800 of them have been killed in Iraq, but we don't know that. They're not even counted. And we think there's about 25, 000 to maybe 40, 000 engaged in military activities and combat related activities. But we don't know and we can't find out." The deaths of these mercenary fighters were not included when mortality and injury stats were calcuated for the Iraq war. This means that we were not getting accurate information on the effects of that war. If the death tolls were higher, would less people have supported it?
Though the conflict in Iraq is now diminishing the role of national governments is not. Everyday governments make decisions of which the general public is largely unaware. In the case of Blackwater, even members of Congress could not access any information regarding their association with the United States.
Today, in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan national government is commiting something of a genocide. Local Tamils are being killed and many others are being displaced from their homes. Human rights abuses are rampant in Sri Lanka, though I should also note that it is not only the government that is committing acts of violence.
Regardless, governments are put in place to govern and lead the people. In North America we live in countries that value individual freedom and democracy. Because of this we are able to influence the decisions that our governments make and the action they take.
Hold your government accountable. Learn about what they are doing. What are they using your tax dollars for? What far-reaching effects do their decisions have? If all they are telling you seems like a bundle of jolliness, what aren't they telling you?
Sometimes, as in the case of Blackwater, we can't access the information we need. But investigative journalists write articles, countries write reports, and the internet has many reliable news sources through which you can recieve information. If you hear about something that is unsettling, do something about it. Write your government, or the government involved, a letter. You don't have to be a huge activist to exercise your right to freedom of speech.
Amnesty International is a valuable reseource for learning how to write an effective letter. The Amnesty webiste will also provide you with issues on which you may want to write to your government about. Letter writing tips can be found at: http://www.amnesty.ca/youth/youth_action_toolkit/guide_to_letter_writing.php
Other great links include...
Reliable News Source: www.democracynow.org
Blackwater info: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6849
Sri Lanka Info: http://www.freeourpress.org/
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