Cynicism my old friend,
It’s time we part ways,
You’ve kept me safe for long enough
It’s time I take a risk.
Art
Reflections on the Immersive Van Gogh Experience
Recently I visited the Van Gogh immersive experience in Nashville with my wife Jacelyn. We loved it. Then I went a second time with the team I work with and I loved it all over it again. They were both unique experiences. The externals were the same, but internally I processed the visits very differently.
A Table for Two
There’s a table for you that sits on the edge, in the clear.
You sit and know the seat.
I Need to Know There is Justice
Music is one of the few experiences we have in this life that is truly magical. By some miracle, a collection of words and sounds can be combined to utterly transform our mood, our thinking, and overwhelm our soul with emotion. At times, our entire perspective can be altered as we inhabit the thoughts and emotions of another human being through the power of music. “Citizens” by Jon Guerra, I believe, is one of those experiences.
Spirit-fermented, Kingdom-culture
“I will not dishonor
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace.
I will honor all life
—wherever and in whatever form
it may dwell—on Earth my home,
and in the mansions of the stars.”
~Diane Ackerman
Praying
It was late summer of 2017, the sun was just starting to sink, although still well above the horizon. Golden hour. A warm breeze filtered through the car as I drove home from a long day of work. The radio host of the local top 40 radio station announced a new hit single from Kesha. My temptation was to change the station, assuming a newer variation of Your Love Is My Drug was about to play through my speakers. But I didn’t, and instead a slow, somber, piano began to play. The first lyrics of the song told a story that felt oddly familiar to me.
Beauty Amongst Poverty
It’s not always the easiest to see,
But when you look, it becomes clear
That beauty lives amongst dirty air.
May We Never Lose Our Wonder
When I think of the word wonder I think of a kid walking into Magic Kingdom at Disney World for the first time. Their faces express an overwhelming feeling of awe that this beautiful place they’ve heard about for all this time is actually real. When expectations and reality match, that’s wonder.
Fire & Rain
It was something completely contradictory to what I had imagined. There was a group of people safe enough where I could share the weaknesses that kept me limping along for ages. Up to this point, my experiences had taught me not to trust. To let people see what was happening underneath would mean that from that point forward, I would be seen as damaged goods, and there was no coming back from that. But then, something remarkable occurred.
Stop This Train
I was introduced to John Mayer in 2007 by my son. Mayer had just recently released the Continuum album and the lyrics on “Stop This Train” moved me. I was intrigued by how relatable they were. He sings about him being “scared of growing old” and wanting to “get off (the train) and go home again.”