sunrise reminiscence (again)

"It is necessary to be present alone at the resurrection of the Day, in the solemn silence at which the sun appears, for at this moment all the affairs of cities, of governments, of war departments, are seen to be the bickering of mice. I receive from the Eastern woods, the tall oaks, the one word DAY, which is never the same. It is always a totally new language."

-Thomas Merton, When the Trees Say Nothing

love like a sunrise

what is it about sunrises?

addendum

"On the night you left I came over
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders
Our brand new coats so flushed and pink
And I knew your heart I couldn't win
Cause the seasons change was a conduit
And we left our love in our summer skin"

"sometimes, you just gotta listen to the music"

this'll be fifteen posts in one:

speechless again.

the overwhelming combination

of the highest highs and the

lowest lows

all jumbled, twisted, wrapped

around into one vivid color:

beautiful in its intensity because it's

hard.

being in sewanee for the past two weeks is one long blur. so much of my life these days is so unstable, changing every day, with plans shattering in morning and new ones forming hours later. dreams dashed, and new ones appearing in their place, prolly 'cuz i'm a dreamer, all underneath the summer sun in my summer skin that has always seemed to soak up everything so much more than the dull gray of winter's constant ache. i see new freckles appearing every day, as if each represents another thought.idea.person.confused piece of my life.

summer skin, don't come out of the summer sun, even if you get sunburned sometimes. 'cuz even in all this confusion, and jumbled time of life, we've got to keep soaking everything in deep, because this vivid life is as good as it gets right now, here, on this side of eternity.

color of the day: stripes. the brightest yellow and the brightest deepest blue, which should be the colors of some girl's swimsuit somewhere, strolling along the sand of ocean blue, holding a white coverup blowing in the wind from the sea, whistling to a summer tune. she's only happy in the sun.

so much music in the last three days. adventures everywhere, from the waterfall at fiery gizzard, to warm nights spent laying down on rocky beds staring up at stained glass, to days spent laughing underneath blue sky and white clouds, to lightning storms from greens view, to firetower sunrise. laughs and tears and thoughts and frisbee. you know, rippin' cigs and doin' the math. joke.

and pradip summed everything up in one of his moments of tipsy wisdom: "will, you know how to love in the abstract, in a way that is difficult for many, but this is what i will tell you... in this year, more than anything else, no matter where you are or what you do, i want you to learn how to love a single person right in front of you."

love one at a time. seems to be a common theme lately. "if it's lonely where you are, come back down, and i won't tell 'em your name." i gotta come back down, learn to love again in this summer skin, and be at peace with the present.

sorry about the random musings.

love wins.

as if we could

"yeah, we can't think we're going to save the world, but we have to be crazy enough to act as if we could."

thank you, paul dixon.

potential is different from reality, and should therefore not create expectation, but maybe it is true that a change in perceptions can change reality. einstein thought it could, he thought we have the ability to reimagine the future.

so we must step forward--default toward action--as if the world can change, and the destructive systems that are destroying humanity and our world don't have to win. that we can change them, and turn them into beautiful, creative systems, with the potential to allow creation again and again. creation of new life.

crazy enough to act as if we could.

but how do you help make that potential for the creation of new life a reality? what's the best way?

i know it has to do with throwing off the chains that bind us into our current systems. but this question has been prevalent in much of my thought lately, because that's what i want to do--that's what i want to be--someone who is a part of the fight against that oppression seeking to bring freedom in unfree places. i know that is where my liberation will be found in some way, for our liberty is truly collective.

but about that question regarding the best way:

later in our conversation, paul said, "i think if we enter a community with an intention to change the world, it can corrupt our love for those around us. but if we love those around us, and change the world because of it... that's what i want. we don't have all the answers. it is arrogant to assume that what we are doing will ever be noticed or that we are even doing the right thing at all, but we have to act as if every second could be the difference in life or death for one of our loved ones."

the motivation must be love, and the way must be filled with it.

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it: Always."

-Gandhi

love wins.

and another random thought (this is one of those songs that puts words to my thoughts):

i feel like i've been living in a city with no children in it
a garden left for ruin by a millionaire inside a private prison
you never trust a millionaire quoting the sermon on the mount.
i used to think i was not like them, but i'm starting to have my doubts.
when you're hiding underground, the rain can't get you wet."

-the arcade fire in "city with no children"