My Place in the Field

If at some time
I knew I would die,
This field is the place
I know I would lie.

There's wheat all around,
Grass in my hair,
Birds flitting in the sky,
But no one else here.

With the clouds above drifting,
My mind light and free,
I close my eyes and soak in
The sun's rays with glee.

I could lie here forever,
Alone in this field,
One with the earth,
Not a care in the world.

Cars pass by now and then,
But don't pay me much mind,
So that if death did I crave here,
I'd have plenty of time.

Loud is not an adjectibe
Used in the space.
Sound means only my
Mind's state of grace.

If near the end,
Here I would lie;
Caressed by the ground,
Awaiting the sky.

- from a wheat field outside a small village in France

This I Believe

It's the spark that ignites
The tiniest smile
Just when you thought
You were broken.

It's the light in the eyes
Of your closest friend
That requires no words
Be spoken.

It brings back to life
The dead or the dying,
Without their asking first.

It kisses the wounds
Of the broken hearted,
And quenches unending thirst.

You can dream about it
And hold it close,
But no promises
Will it make;

For it is there
Whenever you want it,
Forever yours
To take.

The Enlightened Christian

So right now I'm working on a research paper and I'm writing about the book Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor. Anyone interested in religion or metaphors and symbolism should READ IT. It's phenomenal. Seriously. Anyway, since I'm writing a paper on the book, I've had to research literary critiques and other works and letters by the author and she's absolutely fabulous. I wish I could meet her (but she's dead so that might be hard... maybe we'll meet in heaven though).

A lot of religious writers use their protagonists as models of perfect faith, or examples for how we should be living our lives. Flannery O'Connor, on the other hand, wrote about people who rejected God, killed people, did self-destructive things, and broke the ten commandments, and despite everything that they did, were shown mercy and redemption. God loves her characters all the same, all the time. She writes to show everyone all the ugliest parts of people; the parts that self-righteous Christians frown upon and disassociate themselves with because they're convinced that the people who do those things are going to hell. But, ironically, the people O'Connor writes about, are probably the same kind of people that Jesus hung out with. Reading her books points out to society that we often condemn and judge the same people that Jesus loved.

I have to admit, I've been a little self-righteous myself at times. That's not to say that I've ever thought I was perfect, but Christians sure can get a little high and mighty sometimes and then all of a sudden start telling people "okay look. You're bad. You don't love God, you don't know God, and you're probably going to hell." But do we know that? No. If those people are worse sinners than anyone else on this earth then we must all be going to hell. Can we really tell who God thinks is bad? Probably not. That's not for us to judge, and Flannery O'Connor indirectly points that out. If we think that people who do bad things must automatically be condemned to hell and not know God because of their actions, then do we really know God?

My point is, read some of O'Connor's works, I promise you won't be disappointed. In case I still haven't convinced you that she's really enlightened and cool yet, I'll include a few of my favorite quotes by her below.

Since I've gotten some new ideas in my head after reading O'Connor, I just thought that I'd express them. It's been a while since I blogged anything anyway, so here's a little food for thought in the meantime. 

"Naw I don't think life's a tragedy. Tragedy is something that can be explained by professors. Life is the will of God and this cannot be explained by the professors; for which all thanksgiving."

"Altogether it is better to pray than to grieve; and it's greater to by joyful than to grieve. But it takes more grace to be joyful than any but the greatest have." 

"If you believe in the divinity of Christ, you have to cherish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it."

I have loads of blogging ideas I'm ready to unload, I just haven't had time to get any of them written out yet. More to come, let me just make sure I tackle this beast of a research paper first.

Taking the Plunge

I looked out at the cliff before me and, eyes closed, took a deep breath. I wanted to try it if it was the last thing I did. I shivered as the breeze hit my skin. It was cold, almost painfully cold, and I knew if I didn’t do it soon I would lose all the courage I had tricked myself into believing I posessed on my climb up to the top. The second I peered over the edge, wondering what was below, that thought was confirmed. The cool, glassy water that had seemed so inviting from the beach now glared at me ominously, almost menacingly. The light shiver I had became a more violent trembling, caused by my innate fear of heights. The drop might have seemed small to the others, only twenty feet, but it looked like miles to me.

                “Vamos! Jump!” the people behind me yelled, but I was frozen. A million excuses as to why I would have to climb down raced through my head as my stomach twisted in knots, but all I could think about was how disappointed in myself I would be if I didn’t do it. I couldn’t let them know I was scared. “Just jump,” I told myself. “It can’t be that bad. Other people have done it and lived.” But I didn’t want to fall. I hated the idea of leaping into the air without knowing exactly how and where I would land, and it was so hard to let go.

                “Uno, dos…” They were counting, and the added pressure of the audience got my adrenaline pumping. By the time they got to three my legs had already decided it was going to happen, I felt my body lurch forward and at the command “VAMOS!” I left the ground. I was flying, and not by choice. I was so shocked I couldn’t even muster a scream. I watched myself flail downwards, as ungracefully as humanly possible, and remembered only at the last second to point my body so I wouldn’t feel the punishing slap of the water.

                When I surfaced again, the only thing I felt was alive. I hadn’t died! I tilted my head back, finally relaxing, and laughed at how unnecessary my momentary terror had been. I leaned back and savored the moment, allowing the water to hold me while the sun kissed my face. In that moment, I didn't have to think, or worry, or care about anything in the world; I could just BE. 

Love the Earth We Were Given to Share

I'm absolutely in love with sunrises and sunsets, especially  in the mountains. There's something so beautiful about  the sun kissing everything one last time before it goes to sleep and then touching each thing individually to wake it up, as gently as a as a mother would her children, early in the morning. Sunsets and sunrises are some of God's little gifts to us. He paints us this beautiful sky, but we only get to enjoy it for a short period of time before it disappears and the sun goes to sleep or comes out completely. I'm not a morning person, but sunrises give me reason enough to wake up as early as 2AM to hike above treeline and watch the world come alive.
It's little, beautiful things like that that I think show us how much God loves us and how much we really have to live for. There are so many things all around us that we just take for granted and to see so many people just trashing it and ruining the beauty and simplicity of nature, as though it were their's to ruin, makes me sick. We all share this world and it's our job to take care of it. How would you like it if I came and threw my garbage all over your house? You probably wouldn't..
I think what we really need is to get back to the simplicity of life before technology and all of today's garbage. So unplug, leave your house, and enjoy it. If we all just take a second to sit back and stop worrying about all the things we have to do and our plans for the future for one minute, maybe, just maybe, everyone will see how blessed we truly are.

Forward Love, Not Emails

We are human beings,

Made to love and care,

But lately all that I’ve been seeing

Are robots with a flippant air.

We call ourselves alive,

But what is life without love?

We offer no warmth on which to thrive,

Disregarding the commands from above.

We pass without a wave or smile,

We banish thoughts of the poor,

Conversations are not worth our while,

And we waste the lives we’re given to adore.

What happened to the hearts of kindness

That God created us to use?

We need something that will remind us

That people are not made to abuse.

Our relationships are with technology

Phones, computers, laptops too

But this is a sick ideology

Don’t you wish people would talk to you?

Aren’t relationships worth more than a text?

Shouldn’t you want to talk to the people you love best?

Spread the love you are given to all;

Let’s rid this world of all of its gall.  

Lately I've noticed that the old friendliness and kindness that used to be expected in others, like smiling at people when you pass them, saying bless you when someone sneezes, whether you know them or not, or just acknowledging the people who are standing at the street corners begging you to help them, has become so much more rare. people consider "checking in" with someone just messaging them on facebook or texting them "I miss you!," but in all honesty I don't think that counts as communicating with people. Things can be interpreted in so many different ways when someone's just reading it and what you mean can be completely lost on that person if they read it wrong. What really matters in our relationships with people is conveying our love for them through the warmth that we offer in our actions and our words. It's become my belief that if people are texting, emailing, messaging, etc. someone else to show them how much they care about them, then they really don't care that much at all. Pick up the phone and call the people you love, or just go see them; it means so much more. 

The Road to Change

You say you want change, you want unification
Because we all come from these hurting nations,
We preach for peace and Worldly Salvation
But do we know what it means to cure devastation?

You say you want love, an end to all hatred,
But in your mind all other religions are degraded.
If no one is good enough to find worldly peace
Then who will be sitting at the heavenly feast?

If our God can love us with all of these flaws
Then can't He love anyone who seeks truth at all?
Don't cut down your brothers and tell them they're wrong
Because we all seek truth and need love to be strong.

We can stay up all night,
Trying to find out who's right,
But instead of sitting here fighting and putting up walls,
Maybe it's better to say nothing at all.


I figured to kick things off I might as well start with something I've written. I wrote this a few weeks ago after having a pretty intense discussion about religion. I feel like everyone always thinks their belief and their religion is the right way, but not everyone can be right. I believe that following your conscience is the only way to find truth, and everyone does that differently. So why hate on people who don't think the same way as you? Your denomination and religion are just titles, but all the people around you are your brothers and sisters. Accept them, exactly the way they are. God does. Can you?