Fair Flying

I'm thinking of making these "What I Learned" posts whenever I travel somewhere new or whenever I feel like I learned something particularly important.  So, I went to Texas this weekend and I absorbed lots of new knowledge I'd love to share with y'all. Firstly,  Texas is awesome.  It really is a wonderful place! Sure, it's hot and sticky and a bit messy from time to time (what place doesn't have its ups and downs?), but it was seriously an enjoyable place to be. The people are so polite and kind, and they seem to always have a smile on their face even when their lives are chaotic. That's what I find most admirable, and how strong willed they are as well. The food is great, the people and places are fun, and there's a whole lot of history and culture down there as well. Everything's bigger in Texas. Okay, I should have known this already, but it simply didn't occur to me how HUGE everything really was. Especially the food portions. ...

My robe, so comfy & soft, was torn away from me and crushed by the hopes and dreams of many.

Sometimes I think we burrow too deep into the past and sink to the bottom of the darkest dankest ditches, 'till our minds are filled with soil. And when we remember ourselves, we break free and soar higher than we planned through a phosphorescent sky, and we land smack dab somewhere in the middle of our future, bruised and confused with no way back.

On occasion, I become sick of balloons and their neglectful treachery as I attempt to tolerate their ambiguity and lift myself up from the clouds. Sometimes, I am done with balloons and the way they tempt me with delusions I know will never be as I tug myself out from the crowds.

A velvet night sky grinning like a Cheshire cat, whilst cherry bombs pop against the eerie beam of a spumescent moon.

Distance is a funny thing. It fills with unspoken words on metal tongues and cheesy grins on post cards and profane bumper stickers. It's all about context, and not so much about reality. It's a pain, but it can also be a blessing in disguise. That's cliche but it's true. Distance reveals the best in us, and the worst. It is the pinnacle of happy endings and sad beginnings. It's the difference between love and happiness. It's the true meaning of freedom, and mystery. It helps us feel truly grateful for what we have, and miserably yearning for what we don't. But distance is distance. And we are people. We can only be so patient, so nimble. And yet we can stretch out to the borders, to the several seas, to the plethora of horizons and the cornucopia of unknowns. We have so much, it's just spread out across this huge field called distance. It's not really far away. Nothing is ever too far.  Many think distance creates boundaries. I think it ...

Every year, seasons come and go and holidays come and go as well. I used to think they'd pile atop one another like a giant glob of dandelion seeds. And yet, they string together, but in a different sense. It's like a timeline, highly obscure and infinitesimal, but so very bright. I can see what I've learned, and see what I've lost, and see what I have and always will love.  Good Friday in particular interests me because each year I find more and more reasons to love God. And each year the biggest reason makes itself known and strong. It amazes me; the way I see the world and perceive others seems to grow and flourish, as does my relationship with God.  And in turn, I encourage everyone to grow, expand and flourish in the light of the true goodness in the world. Look for the goodness in everything and everyone, and you will find a new light shed upon your life. It fills the emptiness and fills you.  I'm no preacher, I just like to share what I've learned from my...