Tattoos on this town

My senior year in collage I was apart of an art show - every senior interior design student did a display of a concept we learned during our four years in the program. I used shadow boxes in part of my display and finally got the out of storage from Utah (5 years later). Ever since July I've been trying to think of something to do in them. I finally settled on this for one of them:

Some of you know I LOVE tattoos and graffiti (not that I'd ever get one or actually take a can of spray paint and paint a wall around town) but I love seeing it. On my train ride from Albany, NY to Baltimore, MD I saw lots of awesome street art and took tons of pictures so I decided to own up to my secret and display some promenently in my art room.

I have another idea for my other shadow box ... it's going to be amazing, but you'll just have to wait to find out what it is.

Demigods

Demigods – the mortal offspring of the Grecian gods. Born with the powers of their divine parents and the frailty of mortality. There's something something fantastic about the thought that pulls at each of us. How awesome would it be to have the wisdom of Athena or the green thumb of Dionysus? The right to claim divine heritage and meet with the gods?


But what if it really isn't a myth? What if we all really are the offspring of deity? Every last one of us. What if instead of being half-gods we were full blooded legitimate children of a god – the God – Our Heavenly Father. Endowed with divine gifts to nurture and improve. What if instead of being destined to become mere “heros” we are destined to becomes gods. What if we were gods in trainging, learning the necessary skills and attributes so the someday we can stand as kings and queens, gods and godesses under the Most High God?

That is not a myth. That is reality.

PS Can you tell I just finished reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

Never Fly as Cargo

Kermit the Frog once said, “I really do believe that all of you are at the beginning of a wonderful journey. As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you're going to are never on the map. And once you get that map, out you won't be able to refold it no matter how smart you are.

So forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can, pull over and have a picnic with a pig. And if you can help it, never fly as cargo.”

Sound advice – take time to look at the world around you as you travel through life and don't plan too far in advance because the unexpected detours is what make life interesting. And don't ride through life in a windowless cargo hold. Live!

To Grandma

Every year around August I ask my Grandma what she wants for Christmas (why ask so early? you'll see) Every year she says the same thing: "A painting" This year I asked her to be more specific and she said a self portrait. I laughed. I don't paint people - I'm a perfectionist (kind of) and I have a really hard time with people. So I got a little creative because she insisted. So when she opened her gift from me this is what she found:

A nice family tree of her oldest son. Can you guess which one's me? If she asks for another self portrait next Christmas I've got another idea so I won't have to actually draw myself. Or maybe I'll continue the family trees and do her next child's family.

Together

One of the songs I love by the 10 Tenors is “Together”. The chorus of this songs says:

“We'll grow together, if we rise up together. We'll be stronger together, for much longer together, and we'll make it together we'll go on forever.”

This is a beautiful message that I think in our competitive nature we tend to forget. We all need each other. To quote High School Musical “We're all in this together”.

Why is this?

I'm a very independent person – I like to do things on my own, it's sometimes easier that way. However, I have learned in my work that bouncing ideas of my coworkers always leads to new and better ideas. We need each other to broaden our horizons.

I am also a loner, on most occasions. I am perfectly happy by myself, for a while. But I know that if I become a hermit for to long I will very easily spiral into depression. Heavenly Father made us social creatures for a reason. So we can build and uplift each other. So we can draw each other closer to Him. So the human race can live on. (Can you imagine if we all were hermits? Humankind would have died out with Adam and Eve.)

Another song by the 10 Tenors states: “We stand together, yet we stand alone” Ultimately how our lives play out is up to us. I have control of me - just me- I make my own decisions. But I need others to help me make the best decisions and to use their strengths to cover my weaknesses.

Look for the Bare Necessities the simple Bare Necessities

I grabbed my keys, cell phone, and ipod and I went for a walk in the crisp afternoon air, I took my usual route down to the park a few blocks from my house, one loop around the park and out the far exit. As I walked I jammed out to Disney Mania 3 on shuffle and learned an interesting lesson.

About half way though my route the song “The Bare Necessities” you know the one – ol' Beleu extolling the virtues of life in the jungle to young Moblie and being happy with the bare necessities and forgetting about your worry and strife. In essence finding joy in your world.

In stark contrast the next song that started was “Part of You World” in which the Princess Arial sings about having everything – gizmos and gadgets a plenty, woozits and whatits galore – and yet still wanting more.

It made me wonder if after Arial got what she wanted – a life out of the sea, married to Prince Eric – was she really happy or did she still want more? Was life on land all she imagined it to be? Did she miss her carefree days with Flounder? Did she miss her family?

That's the problem with always wanting more – you have to sacrifice something to get it. Is the sacrifice worth it? For somethings I'd say yes. Wanting more isn't inherently bad, it pushes us to improve and be better people, but if in the wanting and dreaming and scheming to get more you can't see the amazing things right in front of you – you sacrifice being happy in the hear and now - I'd say the sacrifice is to much.

This year I'm going to focus on “The Bare Necessities” and being happy with the circumstances and life I have been blessed with in the here and now. I have an amazing life that I sometimes take for granted. I still have dreams and wish things were different but what I have is enough, and that's good enough for now

Born From a Boombox

Dancing- I love watching is, I love doing it – I'm just not very good at it, I'm tend to think to much and can't get out of my head. I love watching "street dancers" hip hop dancers - you know the ones that have dancing in their souls. The ones that hear music and just can't help but moving. Who are so aware of themselves that they have no inhibitions. Their moves are instinctual, sometimes seemingly unnatural, sometimes gravity defying and always inventive. They amaze me. They inspire me. Maybe someday I can learn the technique and moves and– with a whole ton of work – I can move like them. But I'm not sure I'll ever be completely like them because I wasn't "Born from a Boombox."

Perspective

Have you ever looked up into the night sky and wondered at the beauty of a starry night. The view from earth is incredible. The stars arranged just so sometimes light years apart but appear to be mere feet and form the most intriguing shapes. I've often stared up at the big dipper or Orian with his belt and marveled at the design of the universe.


I often wonder if I lived on another planet and looked up at those same stars would I see the big dipper or mighty Orian. Or would I see other shapes, other constellations that our angle from Earth hides from us.

If I traveled among the stars would I recognize the north star -the guiding star - when I came upon it. I doubt it.

As we change the perspective from which we see we often find ourselves in unfamiliar territory - staring up at the same stars and not recognizing them for what they once were to us. Even those who study the stars most ardently would be lost if they were placed among them far from home.

In life there are many perspectives to look from: the hopeful perspective of the eternal optimist; the gloomy perspective of the hardened pessimist. The whimsical perspective of a child; the adventure filled perspective of youth; the dutiful perspective of adulthood; the solemn perspective of old age. I could go on the list is as varied as the stars I'm so fond of.

What perspective do you see the world through? And are you brave enough to view the world from different angle.

I'm not sure I am - but I sure am going to try.