End of the year

I'm usually not a person who makes a big deal out of a new year. Mainly because I generally have broken my "resolutions" almost immediately. Anywho, this year feels different for some reason. As I approach 2010 I am feeling anxious about it... not necessarily good or bad but anxious about what the new year has in store for me. I am ready to build on the momentum I am feeling surrounding Casual Friday and a few other projects that are percolating. Being still right now is of the utmost importance, but that can sometimes be a challenge for me. My mind wanders rapidly and often, but being still and listening are high priorities for me.

Oh well...when I sat down I thought I had a lot to write about but I guess not...maybe tomorrow...

Medicine for Melancholy

This is one of my favorite films of 2009. It reminds me of what I enjoy the most about art. The ability to dream and create something amazing, while hopefully taking the viewer or listener on a journey with you. Great art allows us to escape for that time into a different world so to speak. This is what inspires me as an artist. Knowing that we have so much creative power at our disposal invigorates me, and it ain't even about money(budget). It is about vision and passion. Love! Loving what we do at the core of who we are. Being willing to express that truth in that moment at that time....yeah man... definitely good shit.

Detox 2.0

So lately I've been asking myself what am I consuming on a daily basis... Not so much physically (although I could definitely use some improvement there as well), but mentally what is my daily intake. Am I filling my thoughts with useless information or am I taking in things that will enhance my way of Life? Am I being sucked into the daily media scrutiny of info that has no bearing on my existence or am I using my time to create the Life I have always envisioned for myself? As I sat back pondering these things after being inundated with inquiries about how I felt about Tiger Woods and watching how that (his infidelity) got and gets more coverage than the troop increase or the new developments in health care... I realized that there is a clear imbalance in what information I am taking in on a daily basis. I started to make leeway in changing what I was consuming and when. I didn't cut on my computer first thing in the morning. I would read spiritual passages and got deeper into my affirmations and prayers, but I realized that soon as that was done I was right back on Facebook or wherever reading (through status updates) things that had little or no relevance in the way I need and want to live my Life. So I chose to take a break from cyberworld (save for blogging and a few websites that I have found useful)...

I have done the master cleanse quite a few times and have found the results by enlarge to be helpful, so I am figuring why not do the same mentally! Why not limit the times I am on the computer "social networking" and actually use that time to finish the slew of unfinished projects that await my time and energy? Why not cleanse my mind of the clutter that has accumulated over the past few months? There is so much that I want to and need to put into my journals, so many things I have wanted to say to me (yeah I talk to mySelf) but have been to preoccupied to say!

I was gonna say that I look forward to getting back on Facebook and reconnecting with old friends and for networking purposes, but I don't know if I do! I mean it is really great connecting with folks and all that, and it is useful for staying in touch with family; but is it really something I look forward to? Hmmm... I won't front like I won't reactivate my account, but the last 3 days have been really good for me. What I really look forward to is continuing the journey of creative expression that has been formulating and manifesting ItSelf in my Life over the last few days.

Nothing To Prove

So yeah...I am rethinking a lot of things that I am doing in my Life. It dawned on me that I am doing some things to prove that I am a "good" guy and not necessarily out of enjoyment. I feel that if I say no I will disappoint them and they will not look at me the same. So I get caught up in this merry go round of things I am not really interested in doing, but I do not have it in me to just say not this time, maybe later or even no. I have to appreciate and accept my goodness and not overwhelm myself just to make others happy and to reinforce my good nature with them. My goodness (or whatever you wanna call it) is not a case by case temporary thing, nor is it up for others to judge.

Sometimes I really don't know how to end these post...part of me wants to end on some ole flowers and licorice type stuff, and the other part of me is like you whatever...write what you feel and move on...it is all good...light at the end of the tunnel and all that there...although I do understand and accept the importance of affirming the life I "seek" and not dwelling in the negative space...every once in a while gotta let that frustration out...

The Worst Vice

How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:4

I believed for a while that is easier (at least it appears to be) to correct a flaw in someone else than it is to work on ourselves. There is very little immediate outward glory if we correct our own mistakes, no one besides ourselves to say thank you. There is not pat on the back or someone to tell you how great you are. Just you digging deep within yourself to improve you, and it is difficult to admit the things that make us the most comfortable may be the things we need to rid ourselves of. It is challenging but necessary and very rewarding.

Over the last few months I've seen people reach out for assistance in their personal development only to have the person they are confiding in pile it on more. I do not believe it was malicious in intent, but in the same vein it was counter productive for both parties. I believe that when someone reaches out for "advice" on a matter it is also an opportunity for us as the giver to grow as well. We have in that moment a chance to look within us and seek that compassion we would seek and give from there. Compassion instead of correction, because even if the advice we give has worked for us in the past does not mean it will be the best route for that other person to take.
Listening is the best remedy for any ailment. Without judgment and with out ego. That is how we truly help.