Listen when,

All of this around us will fall over.   

  I find myself sitting, with an odd sense of peace. Frigid air from the bedside window chills the tips of my feet, and will soon, slowly, bite my ankles. The TV plays some new, police drama, the voices cancelled out by the sound of sweet, sweet, music in ear-bud form. The body slows while the music flows, simply how it goes. I choose to write now, because something truly profound has occurred, the next page, a step forward, an emergence from shelter. I am happy. My heart is light, the mood is crisp . I choose to feel this now, after an intense moment of inner peace. The song slowly resonates in my head, echoing, to the souls of my feet. (Nice lil' play on words.)

 I close my eyes and breath deep, slowly absorbing the message.

 Woah, Life. Familar phrase? It should be.

                                       

                                                    I'll tell you what we're gonna do.




Happiest Regards,


JD

I huff and I puff so they call me a

Wolf

What kind of person are you? Let's think about this for a minute. For seriously this time you guys! It's hard being really, really, ridiculously good looking. Do you seize every minute? How do you handle adversity? Would you stand and fight for a belief? Do you face the world head on? When was the last time you stopped and actually listened? How do you see yourself? What will you do? Questions, questions, questions, all of us have questions. Answers, answers, answers, where are all the answers?

Hey, if you can figure that one out, please let me know.

I've been called many, many things in my life. Some of my more dubious titles I will forgo mentioning as they are a bit tawdry. It's funny though, the names or titles that we choose to remember for whatever reason, be it nostalgia, anger, or just plain ole good fashioned humor. ( Insert knee slap here ) What have you been called, or referred to as? How did you interpret it? What did it make you feel? It's like a tootsie pop, keep on licking and hopefully you will get to that juicy center.... Metaphorically speaking..... As we all know the center of the tootsie pop is in no way juicy and just tends to almost bond itself to our molars..anyway I digress. Articulation and what-not.

Wolf.

I was once called a " Wolf". I did not understand the context, in which it was used. So I formulated my own interpretation. I saw a Wolf as a fighter. A creature bound by its nature to never give up, under any circumstance. A pack animal, that uses the skills of those kept close to further the cause, to bring a goal to fruition. No matter how dire the situation, ( get it, Dire Wolf ) the wolf persists and if it can't achieve it on its own, it looks to the pack for guidance. Now I obviously liked this title, hence why I still remember being called it and choose to reflect on it now. It made me think, after I derived my own interpretation, that I thought of myself as a lone wolf. I always felt like I could do everything on my own, that I could overcome any obstacle on my path, by myself. But now, here I was, giving a different definition. It made me realize that I wasn't alone in anything. My friends, family and loved ones are my pack. I still consider myself the Alpha Male, simply because I'm kind of awesome and so totally humble ;-). ( this is the part where you giggle and say "Oh, Joshua" )  I lean on my pack, a whole freaking lot. I would never give it up.

It's funny how a simple word, phrase, saying, name or title can bring on such thought. Something as simple as saying, " You know what you are? You're a wolf." Words can mean the World. Remember that.


I found out later in what context my new found title of " Wolf" had been said. At first it confused me haha. Sadly it is not too hard to confuse me. Giggity. It also made me think, yet again. And ya know what I found?
Both my definition and that of the context fit me, a little too well.

Too well, indeed.

So what did I do next? Well I'll be a regular old scholar, and grab myself a dictionary, I did.

Websters offers this definition, among others:

: A fierce, rapacious, or destructive person (2) : a man forward, direct, and zealous in amatory attentions to women.

Like I said before, a little too well indeed.

But, I kind of like it.



Howl on



Be well unto yourself, and others.

JD

A Change of Season

The things hardest to bear are sweetest to remember.
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca



This past week I have watched the world around me change. I've sat in the cool Autumn air and participated in something special. The beauty of changing leaves. Leaves fluttering through the air, canvasing the sky. All is quiet. I have had too much time to think, my mind racing and wandering at every turn. So amidst this confusion and beauty I stand as the world spins around me. I stand before you a man, a dreamer, a hopeful romantic.

Sometimes during the beauty and awe of a situation, we forget the underlying truths, that as wondrous as these now falling leaves are, they are falling. Once the leaves have given their beauty to the world, and the trees lay empty the leaves remain on the ground, forgotten until the next chapter. It's a reminder of frailty, of how quickly we can lose something that moments before we took for granted. I love the sound of falling leaves. I love the colors. But all is growing cold now, winter is fast approaching and the world is receding into its shell, preparing for the hard times ahead.

I will stand and face the cold, no jacket on my back, or shoes on my feet. I have been doing my best to embrace this change of season, I have watched the leaves around me fall. I Have tried to gather them together into a pile, but each day there are more to clean up. Eventually, there will be no more leaves to rake, no more leaves to fall, and we will be left with barren trees and frosted Earth. I'm not sure if I yet welcome that eventuality for as long as there are leaves to rake, Autumn is not over.

I am not yet prepared for winter, but will do my best to shoulder the cold.


The pine stays green in winter... wisdom in hardship.
--Norman Douglas



Be well unto others, and yourselves.

JD

Quote

Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words they become your actions. Watch your actions they become your habits. Watch your habits they become your character. Watch your character it becomes your destiny. -

Lao Tze

Yeh

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when the day is done, that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life



Not really a quality post but, yeh.

Be well Unto others, and yourselves

JD

Our Future

-------Things are going to slide, slide in all directions-------
--------------------Won't be nothing--------------------
-------------------------------------Nothing you can measure anymore-------------------------------------
--------------The blizzard, the blizzard of the world--------------
------has crossed the threshold------
--------------------------and it has overturned--------------------------
-----------------------------------the order of the soul-----------------------------------
-----------------------When they said REPENT,-----------------------

I wonder what they meant?

Leonard Cohen-1992



I have been thinking a lot about the future, not specifically my future but our future. Life and the World.

The future of the world.. 

What will it be? 

       I hear broken conversations on the street, bits of telecasts, and people preaching for repentance at my own school. I see crumbling homes, polluted water, dusty air with no end in sight. I see this and yet, I keep passing it by, commenting and even writing about it. I try in many ways to make a difference, and I know I succeed. I make actions everyday to improve the quality of life, and our world. 

How many times have you commented on the state of our world? 

What have you seen that made you think twice about its condition?

When have you tried to make a difference?

There are many out there who do, have, and continue to fight. Their actions are commendable. Their will is absolute. Their drive....... is that of OUR world. They fight to keep it strong, even at the expense of themselves.  They continuously try to make it better, not just for themselves but for our future. It's impressive. Thinking about that makes my heart well, it fills me with a passion to fight a bigger cause. I am only one person, one man, with one will, strong and absolute. Together though, joined with the will of many, power grows. It gleams. One action at a time. One day at a time. One year at a time. One moment at a time. Hmm......Time. Time marches on, even if our future halts. Here's a riddle from a sweet ass book that I read as a boy.
This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town
And beats high mountain down.

We all have to try and change the world, make it better, keep it strong, all for the sake of our future. If we don't, who will?

It's time, for me to make a difference. It's time for you to make a difference. Maybe you already are, maybe you have and maybe you will.

Either way, It's Time.

Be well unto others, and yourselves.

JD

We are twice armed if we fight with faith.

Faith and doubt both are needed - not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve.
--Lillian Smith


         I awoke this morning to a gleaming sun, chirping birds, and a familiar emptiness. Something that has followed me my entire life, I am constantly doing battle with. Sheer power of will can breakdown just about any obstacle or wall in your path. The belief in the ability and power of ones self, is the cornerstone of having tremendous will. The will and courage to face the dark, stand tall and know that no matter the outcome you will be victorious. The will to step into the darkness, trusting solely in faith, knowing that your path is guided. The will to embrace the the dark and even take a little bit of it into yourself. So, this familiar emptiness, let's talk about that.


          My entire life I have always wanted more. I have always wanted to do better, be better, achieve higher feats, chase after impossible dreams and goals, and make the world mine. I will push myself to the limit of my being to achieve a goal I find worth fighting for, no matter the detriment to myself. It is simply how I roll, and I like it. The issue with my headstrong and balls out philosophy, is a constant weighing, a strain on my faith, on my heart. I need to re-affirm my faith often,  believe in myself and my ability, and trust that GOD has my back covered. Call it the Grandest Leap of Faith. Even when things seem their darkest; will depleted, faith strained, heart weakened, mind weary. I lift my head to the LORD, and know it is where my help comes from. I Breathe in knowing, that I am shrouded in his white light and protection. I am twice armed, with the LORD at my side. I let his presence fill me and grow with warmth. The dark, or the uncertainty of the future, holds many chasms. There is only now, not when, for some who wander into the darkness, don't make it back. Even if you're only 24. Maybe that's part of my feeling of emptiness today, Life is intense. Make sure the people you love, the friends you cherish are close to you. Don't let them slip away because of time or fear, or being too busy.  Carpe Diem.  Make it yours, and those close to you. Life is as fragile as it is wonderful.

And together, we ALL leap into the darkness. 


R.I.P Linda Dowling. You will so totally be missed.  IU <3

"Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!" - -Padre Pio

Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand. 
--Thomas Aquinas 


All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired.  --Martin Luther


As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.  ---Emmanuel Teney 

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.
----Saint Augustine

He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly.
----B. C. Forbes

In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith, but by the want of it.
---Benjamin Franklin

That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God. 
----Albert Einstein

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. ----Thomas Aquinas

If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.  ---Mohandas Gandhi

We are twice armed if we fight with faith.  ----Plato


They're my quotes for the day.

Be well unto others, and yourselves.

JD