ipod is on shuffle. i look out the window as the current song comes to a close, then back to my songs. there are so many songs on there that i don't even care about anymore, a sad but true statement. i tap the fast-forward button 50 taps per minute. below my fast- forward, rewind, and play button it displays how many songs i have in total on my ipod: 1,115. one thousand, one hundred fifteen.
i can't help but think to myself how funny i was growing up with my old ipod nano, i had a secret pleasure in knowing i finally had more songs on my ipod than my older sister did on hers when i hit five hundred something songs; and the same when i saw that my cool college friend i'd secretly really looked up to (well, i guess it wasn't really a secret) only had three hundred something songs on hers.
i thought five-hundred was alot... now it's almost only half of what i have on my ipod.
as much as i hate wasting time doing it, i do it anyway: scrolling the facebook news feed, seeing what is the newest most interesting thing happening in the bubble of my friends. oh look! someone is engaged... oh wow, ninety something people liked it. someone got accepted to that big fancy college!! bam-- 119 likes. as a younger facebook user i thought i was popular when eleven or twelve people liked my status that was a song lyric...
and same with friend numbers on facebook too. i look at a five hundred friend count by sophomore year and think "wow, that's alot!" and then turn to one of my freshman friends who has over one thousand friends.
the older i get, the smaller bigger things get. isn't that a compelling but exactly true concept? bigger things get smaller, numbers that were once so big shrink into miniscules compared with the number they are right NOW in the moment.
age. you thought being 10 was a big deal when you were 10 (and when you were nine.) i thought my older sister turning 18 was crazy. then, she turned 19. 19 years of full life. and that's nothing compared to other ages in this world obviously.
trends. the song "friday" by rebecca black certainly had alot of views on youtube, but then she evolved into a national icon because of how popular the song became. yout thought 250 hits were pretty good? try a bajillion (meaning i don't know the exact number of hits she had but i do know they were a TON.)
nature. you thought the thought the building was really big growing up? try mount everest. (sorry for jumping so far ahead.)
and..God. you thought the universe was big? you thought the number of stars you counted on that trip to the mountains was plentiful? you thought how the sky never stops wherever you go was a trip? you thought the idea of the sun's actual size hurt your brain alittle bit? don't even try to imagine the size of God, because it honestly is not something to be measured with human metrics or numbers.
stay in awe of things that are "big" to you while you can. because numbers change, big things shrink; or maybe it is just you growing with the numbers. or, the numbers are growing with you (and the rest of society).
is this positive? or negative? that is a whole different story obivously-- do you see the glass half empty or half full?
that is, if you can still see the glass... or has that shrunk to you too?
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
We live in a bubble.
You might think I say that because we live in the suburbs, and we are supposedly closed off from the real world.
This might be true in some cases, but let's dive deeper into that.
Ok, we live in a bubble within our clicks of friends we hang out with.
That may be true to. But try again.
Bubble of population. Bubble of neighbors. What's the next layer of Bubble?
The bubble of ourselves.
We live in our own bubbles. Admit it. If facebook isn't doing enough by
forcing us to be obssesed with ourselves, it's within our constant indulgence in complaining about all the problems of life-- too much homework or not getting to go to the movie or breaking a nail.
I can't say we're all guilty of this. I know there are souls out there who's bubble layers are very thin and they pop it often to help And care for others. But I write this blog post because I live in a bubble often. A bubble where sometimed thr things that only matter are what effect ME.
Outside of our bubbles are other bubbles- individual bubbles with other individual people inside them, too. But the oxygen is replaced by sadness in some of their bubbles. It begins to suffocate them and they can't take the pain.
That's why we need to pop our bubbles. To not only save ourselves a life of selfishness and greed but to help, encourage and LOVE others who are in need. Which, just fyi, is everyone on this planet.
We got alot of work to do then, don't we?
Spreading love is worth it. Being love can be simple. Once you show people that simplicity, they might want to live in love too (and not in a stuffy bubble).
Sadness is real, depression is real, everyone needs love; and it's everyone's job to give and have that love. And to encourage in everything you do.
Pop the bubble.
Twloha.com
You might think I say that because we live in the suburbs, and we are supposedly closed off from the real world.
This might be true in some cases, but let's dive deeper into that.
Ok, we live in a bubble within our clicks of friends we hang out with.
That may be true to. But try again.
Bubble of population. Bubble of neighbors. What's the next layer of Bubble?
The bubble of ourselves.
We live in our own bubbles. Admit it. If facebook isn't doing enough by
forcing us to be obssesed with ourselves, it's within our constant indulgence in complaining about all the problems of life-- too much homework or not getting to go to the movie or breaking a nail.
I can't say we're all guilty of this. I know there are souls out there who's bubble layers are very thin and they pop it often to help And care for others. But I write this blog post because I live in a bubble often. A bubble where sometimed thr things that only matter are what effect ME.
Outside of our bubbles are other bubbles- individual bubbles with other individual people inside them, too. But the oxygen is replaced by sadness in some of their bubbles. It begins to suffocate them and they can't take the pain.
That's why we need to pop our bubbles. To not only save ourselves a life of selfishness and greed but to help, encourage and LOVE others who are in need. Which, just fyi, is everyone on this planet.
We got alot of work to do then, don't we?
Spreading love is worth it. Being love can be simple. Once you show people that simplicity, they might want to live in love too (and not in a stuffy bubble).
Sadness is real, depression is real, everyone needs love; and it's everyone's job to give and have that love. And to encourage in everything you do.
Pop the bubble.
Twloha.com
Monday, March 12, 2012
You Got Mail
Dear You,
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes or cleans so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Yes,I am the vine; you are the branches--MY branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. At all. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Oh yes, I have loved you more than you will ever know. Now, remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
And you always shall be; if you remain in me.
With Love,
Jesus
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes or cleans so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Yes,I am the vine; you are the branches--MY branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. At all. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Oh yes, I have loved you more than you will ever know. Now, remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
And you always shall be; if you remain in me.
With Love,
Jesus
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
You are... An idea. I mean, you're real; but to me you're an idea. A fantasy. A thought of the future.
Yes, You've inspired other thoughts. Thoughts of smiles, music... Remembering feelings I've forgotten over time.
Thoughts of age difference,which could also be called age seperation. Thoughts of the thoughts you might not ever think About me, or over the thought of thinking ANY thought about me. Thoughts of you're-too-cool-for-me, thoughts of our mAybe three or four words we've shared. In a span of knowIng eachother for six months. Not that long, not thAt many words. I guess that makes sense.
Then there's that other idea... And then comes age seperation Again, but not as dramatic this time. The idea of the ocean eyes, the laughter, the kindness, the joking, the dreams of your future, the interests. The dream of us talking again.
Then there's the final idea. The idea that these people are not ideas. The idea that His will will be done in time and the previous people me mentioned might not have one second of time to do with His will. Or one of them might even be THE will. Or they were put in my life to show me a glimpse of an idea of what Your will is. Or not.
But the idea, or reality rather; that HE is alive and everywhere is the greatest reality of all.
Just go with the flow and see where He takes you. We're messages in bottles floating in the Ocean. Who will throw us back in the water and who then will keep us? Is God the wind and thr Holy Spirit the ocean?
Yes, You've inspired other thoughts. Thoughts of smiles, music... Remembering feelings I've forgotten over time.
Thoughts of age difference,which could also be called age seperation. Thoughts of the thoughts you might not ever think About me, or over the thought of thinking ANY thought about me. Thoughts of you're-too-cool-for-me, thoughts of our mAybe three or four words we've shared. In a span of knowIng eachother for six months. Not that long, not thAt many words. I guess that makes sense.
Then there's that other idea... And then comes age seperation Again, but not as dramatic this time. The idea of the ocean eyes, the laughter, the kindness, the joking, the dreams of your future, the interests. The dream of us talking again.
Then there's the final idea. The idea that these people are not ideas. The idea that His will will be done in time and the previous people me mentioned might not have one second of time to do with His will. Or one of them might even be THE will. Or they were put in my life to show me a glimpse of an idea of what Your will is. Or not.
But the idea, or reality rather; that HE is alive and everywhere is the greatest reality of all.
Just go with the flow and see where He takes you. We're messages in bottles floating in the Ocean. Who will throw us back in the water and who then will keep us? Is God the wind and thr Holy Spirit the ocean?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Sunshine Vs. Shadow
"The shadow proves the sunshine"-- Switchfoot
and so it does. No matter how thin or dark or small a shadow might be, it gives hope that the sun is shining (one could even say that hope is shining in general.)
But if we get too invested in this shadow... we begin to miss the sunshine.
Think about it.
and so it does. No matter how thin or dark or small a shadow might be, it gives hope that the sun is shining (one could even say that hope is shining in general.)
But if we get too invested in this shadow... we begin to miss the sunshine.
Think about it.
Friday, November 25, 2011
the Truth about Truth
there comes a time in one's life where one must ask questions in order to find truth. it doesn't reallymatter what the question is, it could be anything from a math question to a religious question even how to tie your shoe. but the point is; people are in constant search of truth. anything that ends in a question mark is some sort of vantage point into even a minimal portion of the never-ending abyss that is known as truth.
but, truth varies.
what I mean is, truth in modern time has been twisted and shaken and chopped up and modified to fit each individual's standard so truth can never truly be "truthful" at times but rather, just the mere opinion of whoever you are asking.
let's say you are asking two individuals about a religion, for example. let's say the religion is Buddhism. if you ask a Christian or a Morman or even an atheist about Buddhism, they might give you different answers than the Buddhist would tell you. so what is the truth?
but besides truth being based on the giver of truth, it is also shaped by the receiver of this truth as well. the receiver's mind and brain is like a keyhole. if the truth your are trying to place inside one's keyhole doesn't fit, then they donnot understand the truth you are trying to convey. one teacher might explain a certain math problem a certain way, this being a certain "key" if you will; while another teacher explains the math problem in a completley different way (a completely different shaped "key" but it is still trying to convey the same answer to the math problem.) one of these keys fits in the student's keyhole... the other doesn't, adding yet another fraction on finding real truth: HOW is the truth being coveyed? how is the giver shaping the key?
truth (in the modern age)=the person conveying the truth's conception+person receiving it's understanding of this conception+ how the truth is being conveyed.
but now we are still at the same problem as we were before; which was whenever one asks someone a certain truth, they might not give the complete answer. they either throw in a bunch of other elements that are not the complete core one is searching for, or they give a certain level of the answer but not the deepest level of the answer which is the core. so if truth is just these three elements, will we ever find the truth?
yes.. but not by asking humans.
(no, that wasn't an attempt to make you question whether aliens are real or not! pahahaha.)
a person's whole life is seeking truth. we all may say we have an individual purpose for life, or what the meaning of life is; but in the end are we not either trying to find truth or live a certain truth? even for the people that believe there is no meaning or truth, so they just trudge through life and drag on-- that is their truth and purpose (sadly).
but; the true truth will set you free.
but, truth varies.
what I mean is, truth in modern time has been twisted and shaken and chopped up and modified to fit each individual's standard so truth can never truly be "truthful" at times but rather, just the mere opinion of whoever you are asking.
let's say you are asking two individuals about a religion, for example. let's say the religion is Buddhism. if you ask a Christian or a Morman or even an atheist about Buddhism, they might give you different answers than the Buddhist would tell you. so what is the truth?
but besides truth being based on the giver of truth, it is also shaped by the receiver of this truth as well. the receiver's mind and brain is like a keyhole. if the truth your are trying to place inside one's keyhole doesn't fit, then they donnot understand the truth you are trying to convey. one teacher might explain a certain math problem a certain way, this being a certain "key" if you will; while another teacher explains the math problem in a completley different way (a completely different shaped "key" but it is still trying to convey the same answer to the math problem.) one of these keys fits in the student's keyhole... the other doesn't, adding yet another fraction on finding real truth: HOW is the truth being coveyed? how is the giver shaping the key?
truth (in the modern age)=the person conveying the truth's conception+person receiving it's understanding of this conception+ how the truth is being conveyed.
but now we are still at the same problem as we were before; which was whenever one asks someone a certain truth, they might not give the complete answer. they either throw in a bunch of other elements that are not the complete core one is searching for, or they give a certain level of the answer but not the deepest level of the answer which is the core. so if truth is just these three elements, will we ever find the truth?
yes.. but not by asking humans.
(no, that wasn't an attempt to make you question whether aliens are real or not! pahahaha.)
a person's whole life is seeking truth. we all may say we have an individual purpose for life, or what the meaning of life is; but in the end are we not either trying to find truth or live a certain truth? even for the people that believe there is no meaning or truth, so they just trudge through life and drag on-- that is their truth and purpose (sadly).
but; the true truth will set you free.
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