My Collective Story

Photo

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 02:23:36 -0400

Wow.

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:08:08 -0400

Wow.

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:50:45 -0500

““In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.””

- Isaiah 30:15

Love is not weak, but indomitable. If you want self-love, be of...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:36:00 -0500

Love is not weak, but indomitable. If you want self-love, be of service to others. Love can only be kept once it is given away.

You want self-esteem? Do things that are esteemable. You want...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:35:21 -0500

You want self-esteem? Do things that are esteemable. You want self-worth? Take part in worthy acts.

Ultra-Deep Field photograph from the Hubble Telescope. Roughly...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 02:01:00 -0500

Ultra-Deep Field photograph from the Hubble Telescope. Roughly one thirteen-millionth of the total area of the sky. Awestruck. #Perspective.

"I was faced with a split in the road, I could hold strong and break or let go and bend."

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:42:36 -0500

“I was faced with a split in the road, I could hold strong and break or let go and bend.”

justasweater: earthandanimals: “Leo the lion, Shere Khan the...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:37:00 -0500

justasweater:

earthandanimals:

“Leo the lion, Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear were found together as cubs during a police raid of a drug baron’s home in Atlanta. When the young trio moved to Noah’s Ark rescue center in Locust Grove, Ga., zookeepers decided to keep them together, and they all still live and play in their very own habitat. Visitors can watch the 1,000-pound bear, 350-pound lion and 350-pound tiger cuddle, lounge and wrestle together, and zoo Co-Founder Jama Hedgecoth says the animals are oblivious to the fact that they aren’t natural companions.”

forever reblog, love, omg that last line.

If animals can ignore the differences that are so innate in their instincts, then how is it that humans, with all our intellectual prowess, cannot see past difference and realize that we are all natural companions.

Humanity needs a psychic shift. When we are able to not use the same logic that brings us to wars that we use to try to make peace, we must stop relying on our thinking. We have forgotten that we belong to each other.

The educated and wise have been taught caution and reflection....

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:17:16 -0500

The educated and wise have been taught caution and reflection. To absorb this mentality too much would leave our society with planes abandoned by pilots.

If night should come too soonI will argue notTo relax beneath the moonMy mind will cease to jotWhen...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:43:00 -0500

If night should come too soon
I will argue not
To relax beneath the moon
My mind will cease to jot

When the pillow shall catch my head
And my eyelids gently meet
An unreal journey ahead
Lay preciously at my feet

And far off in this night
Hide my everlasting dreams
Waiting to shine bright
And exist as daily themes

In this world, I dance
On a moon-beamed ocean-side
As an iris reflects my glance
I draw closer to my guide

I grip the hand so tight
It’s smooth, warm, and receiving
I hold with all my might
For suddenly we are fleeting

Diamonds in a valley
Is how I feel for this
In these hard times to be
I still could never miss

Soaring through the starry sky
We reach the Northern Peak
Releasing a hopeful sigh
Of a path I long to seek

Fearing the empty tomorrow
I wish dawn to stay away
Though, the ocean maintains an ebb and flow
So, I embrace a new day

Now, the golden sun has risen
My tears I shall not fight
For my dreams in which I chose
Made it with me through the night.

"I can handle tomorrow, for I am what my tomorrow exists for."

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:30:08 -0500

“I can handle tomorrow, for I am what my tomorrow exists for.”

Manifesting your dreams! My friend, Eric has been a major Lady...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:48:47 -0500

Manifesting your dreams!

My friend, Eric has been a major Lady Gaga fan for years and, being an excellent dancer, has learned all of her choreography and set a goal to get onstage and dance with her at the Born This Way Ball. He camped out to make sure he got in the Monster Pit (the best seats in the house on a first come, first serve basis) and made sure he stood out to Lady Gaga throughout the performance. On the last song of her concert, she told him to get onstage, and the magic began.

He was prepared for his moment. He made his dream come true and didn’t crumble under the pressure. He fell in line with the dancer and from section 109, I watched a friend make his dreams come true. Thank you, Eric, for showing us that manifesting your dreams can be as real as you want them to be.

You Can Look Back, But Don't Stare: On 2012 and Beyond

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:38:00 -0500

2012, according to many ancient calendars, was supposed to be the year that the world ended. It didn’t. However, I felt a death on the spiritual level. I watched my old self die. I watched the person die who was scared to be honest with himself about what was working and what wasn’t; who couldn’t feel his pain without trying to escape it; who didn’t know how to calm his mind long enough to see the silver lining; who saw people as a means to an end and, often times, an inconvenience; who would not trust anyone and vulnerability was not an option; who was so terrified of being great that he sabotaged his happiness. I watched the person die, who wasn’t truly living at all.

While we make goals for the future, 2013 and beyond, my resolutions are not about things and end results, but about a process. The process of waking myself up everyday and wanting spiritual progress, which begets a life that my spirit intended me to live.

It’s said that everyday is a little life lived in its entirety; how we spend our days is how we spend our years and how we spend our years is how we spend our lives. I pray that my days are filled with acts of service, forgiveness, reflection, rejuvenation, passion, lightness, amends, compassion and efforts that when I return to just my mind at the end of the path I can hear my higher power say, “rest now, a job well done.”

On Returning Home for the Holidays I have lived in Los Angeles...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:40:00 -0500

On Returning Home for the Holidays

I have lived in Los Angeles for five years and there is nothing more sacred than returning home, Michigan. In my case, it’s returning to my brother’s house (he was actually my best friend at Stevenson high school and his mother took me in when I was kicked out by my parents in high school—they have been my family ever since). I am growing into an adult by way of missteps and afflictions as opposed to achievements and glory. While I wish I had more successes and have accomplished more, I understand that my would-be failures are the mosaic inlays I’m using to line the home inside myself.

I say it’s sacred, not because it is my favorite place or even because of its spiritual force—in the traditional sense. It’s sacred because there’s a pull and longing that occurs when I return home. When I am here, I feel in this place, not of this place. It’s a slight ache and nostalgia that calls you to return inward. There is nothing like returning to where you’re from to show how far you’ve actually gone. It’s as if the world here moves around me without noticing me. I feel like I am a ghost. I am haunted by my past and simultaneously reminded of the kinder and simpler times. I can see and hear the comfort and security of my surroundings and the people, but it’s only temporary. It’s a temporary lifeboat that can only take me so far before I am excised from it and forced to swim alone by dint of labor, annealed by my own spirit to carry me through.

It’s sacred because in this fog my mind quiets and I am able to let go of life happenings for a moment and breathe. The breath, without struggle, feels effortless and exhaustingly unfamiliar. But I think. I can’t decide anything right now, but I think and then forget…then think once more.

In this past year I have taken several bold steps to the life I desire. And it has stripped me of the person I thought I was and would be. I was cautious because recognizing one’s destiny is one thing, but once you understand that the jagged stones in the gushing rapids are the only passage, the glaring light of the future (and the new) seems devastatingly out-of-reach. But, I can’t go back. In 2012 I checked my compass, re-routed my path and to go any other direction would be insane. May I lithely traverse this river and find myself on softer ground. May this return home still the shakes and tip me forward into a brave new world.

"Whether or not you’re consciously following your destiny, your destiny is always following..."

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:20:54 -0500

“Whether or not you’re consciously following your destiny, your destiny is always following you.”

- Martha Beck, Steering By Starlight

"If you spot it, you got it."

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:19:20 -0500

“If you spot it, you got it.”

- Unknown

“The Universe Is In Us”: We are of the earth and...

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 01:17:00 -0500

“The Universe Is In Us”: We are of the earth and stars, the elements and universe. The power and brilliance found in the disintegrating cosmos and in the crystal clear glaciers are a part of us. The echoes from the great beyond whoosh right into us on a windy day. The person across from you trickled into existence because of stardust drifting purposefully into form. Treasure, even for just a tiny bit, the essence of every life, for in it exists the origination of you.

Not too shabby, humankind. Not too shabby at all.

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:59:45 -0500

Not too shabby, humankind. Not too shabby at all.

Ryan & Riley

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:38:30 -0500

Ryan & Riley:

Love this!

Our dreams exist for a reason.

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:29:14 -0500

Our dreams exist for a reason.