the road

there is something mystical about driving on a road
in the early hours of morning.
it gives freedom to drift into dreams awake and wonder.
alert is heightened with awareness of unknowing
what lies beyond the beams from your headlights.
i find myself vividly aware of past, present, and future.
it is restful for me to drive.
it is exciting to anticipate.
it is good for the soul
to hit the road.
it is good for the heart
to return home.

Something in common with John Adams

"As much as I converse with sages and heroes, 

they have very little of my love and admiration. 

I long for rural and domestic scene, 

for the warbling of birds 

and the prattling of my children." 

-John Adams

teach me.

"Show me your ways, O Lord,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Remember, O Lord, your great mercy
and love,
for they are from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O Lord."


Psalm 25: 4-7





what will i be remembered for? when i graduated from high school my greatest fear was being forgotten. as i forged my way down gumdrop lane (my life was free of trials back then), i was wide-eyed ambitious to share God's love with anyone. somehow his mercy got lost in translation and my ambition turned to arrogance. my heart became judgmental and i swerved off the lane and into my own path. still clinging to my Christian title for identity and social meter, i lost sight of the truth of God. what will i be remembered for?

today i live in one of the most majestic places on earth. the giant redwood forest surrounds my home. i can be sinking my feet in the sand and letting the whitewash of waves lap on my feet in less than forty five minutes. everywhere i look i can see God's artistry. twenty years has passed since i graduated from high school and the gumdrop lane is more of a jagged trail with turnabouts every fifty feet. i know the sting of judgement and the loss of friendships and family due to my pretentious religious youth. what will i be remembered for?

teach me. please God, continue to make me more like you. as the morning sun peeks through the fog and branches outside my living room window, i am warmed. i am reminded that God has never forgotten me. God is good. through all the many failures and triumphs years past have brought, i have hope. what will i be remembered for?

i never stopped learning.

God, teach me.

continue on.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze."
Isaiah 43: 1-2

running

i run within the forest density

towering redwoods surround me

bay leaves cover the winding trail

ferns fan as i pass

leaping fallen branches

swerving around roots

navigating every step

widening my stride

picking up my pace

heart pounding

sweat sliding down my brow

the nature around me is deafened 

by the sound of my heartbeat

pushing further into the deep

the sandstone slips away underfoot

scurrying to hold ground

i scamper up the steep incline

dirt gives way

needles crack with branches

the forest envelopes me

i am lost in nature

running.

look up.

the bay leaves are floating

swaying to and fro

aloft in the breeze.

the oak worms are dangling

swinging from strings

invisible to the eye.

the canopy webs are glistening

casting rainbows from dew

left from morning.

the trees are growing moss

covering their trunks green

autumn rain remembered.

I am a Liberal, Nonviolent (most of the time).

"It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong."  -Abraham Lincoln


Just days ago we learned that President Obama had issued 100 troops to assist in removing Joseph Kony and put an end to the LRA. The verbiage has been pieced apart and the words released from Invisible Children representatives have been criticized, but the fact is, something needs to happen.

I fully understand that 100 advisory troops  can mean the green berea of the US Army if the US is staying on par with past initial global military involvement. I fully understand that there is likely to be lives lost, but there is also great potential of freedom gained. The fact of the matter is that there have been plenty of peaceful attempts to reconcile and bring Joseph Kony into custody, but they have not succeeded.

My father was amongst some of the early advisory troops sent to Vietnam. As a communication operator of the Green Berea 101 Airborne division he served to bring freedom and followed the orders of his country. He was someone's child, my mother's husband, and taxes paid for our countries involvement, but more than all of that he was a man. He desired all people to be free. A lot of American people cowered away or chose to be consumed with their opinions of our countries involvement and allowed fear to paralyze them from bringing any change. For many people that time is a blur. But my dad had courage and served his country. He desired to do the right thing and help bring freedom.

Everyday there is an opportunity to do something for others. We live in a time where information is so accessible. I am going to dare to do the right thing and have courage. As a graduate in Social Science/Alternative History, including courses in African history and history of terrorism, I fully support the necessary step to send 100 advisory troops to Uganda. I believe all other options have been attempted. Knowing the hearts of some of those who work for Invisible Children, I am proud of their labor and courage.

I am still liberal and nonviolent. I am a man who desires all people to be free. One might say, "the apple does not fall far from the tree."