Strawberry Tigers

A traveler crossed a field and encountered a tiger

Beauty. It does not need to be searched for. It does not need to be seeked. Its just there. 

He fled, the tiger after him
It is that secret smile. The just noticed stare. It is that knowing glare. There, that casual touch. That glow when she walks on by. Beauty is that quiet landscape as the sun wakes the desert sky. It is song of the ocean embracing the missing beach. It is the quiet drive not needing to say a word. It is that song on the radio that we all sing so woefully off-key. It is that sidewalk musician on the Promenade that makes you pause and take notice. It is that old friendship re-newed. It is the picture on Facebook of a place one has been. It is the walk on the bridge knowing intimately her sways. It is the memory of that moonlit kiss recalled. It is dream of the future. It is everywhere around us.

Coming to a cliff, he caught hold of a wild vine and swung himself over the edge

The beauty we need is everywhere around us. It is in the people we meet, it is in the air that we breathe, it is the food that we savor.

The tiger sniffed at him from above
At times, we can crumble and fall. We can let our darkest despair take hold and we can self-destruct in that suicide misstep. That tumbling free fall, chuteless. Racing toward inevitability. We can lie prostrate to the gorgon stare and statued in the decay of self-pity. Self-loathing. Drowning in failed love and crushed under a broken relationship.

Frightened and trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, he spotted another hungry tiger waiting to devour him
Ugliness, everywhere. Ever lurking. It is there. It is. It is where you choose to put it. It consumes, you last. It is a hole. Digging away trying to self-preserve, you discover. It is a hole. You spend trying to uncover this weight. Before too long, you are waist high in fast sand. The more you struggle, the more you take out, the bigger it gets. This abyss grows until you are no more. A hollowed shell. Walking the streets empty and dead.

Only the vine sustained him. Two mice, one white and one black, appeared and started to gnaw at the vine
However, Love and beauty acts differently. The more you give the greater you get. It fills you. It grows exponential. It fills the spaces in between racing to inhabit all. It is Dark Matter. This one suspects it isn’t really dark. It was misnamed. Her energy is malleable. This is what the dreams are made of. It is the place where Gaiman’s Sandman roams. It is Anthony’s Nox. It is creation manifest.

Nearby, the man spotted a strawberry out from the cliff face Yes, imagery may be unfamiliar. That is its beauty. It is not meant to be. It is the discovery. It is the unknown. It is that awkwardness. It is the drive to understand, to be connected. It is the choice to find something we don’t know we are looking for. When we look outside, we discover within. We study the microcosm we discover that there’s a universe in the atom. We learn that eternity lies within every moment.

Grasping a sure hold of the vine with one hand, he reached out and plucked the strawberry with the other 
Danger is all around us. Faced with certainties it is up to you how you face it. The danger of not returning that smile. It is the danger of not getting that casual touch. It is the danger of not hearing that promenade singer. It is the danger of not. It is the danger of not living a life remembered. It is the fear of not reaching for that luscious strawberry. The Tiger above, the tiger below, the mice nibbling at our lifeline—these are just the nature of things.  It’s all perfect.

Ahh, how sweet that strawberry tasted!

We can choose to remain in trapped in the by tigers of self-pity and failed relationships. We can watch mesmerized by the tiny mice gnawing at our lifeline. We can choose to mountainize these anthills. Its always around. However, if the last act has to be something. How would you want to remembered? How would you want to live? Waiting for certainty or finding beauty. Choice has always been yours.

Lowliness to Holiness, From Grit to Grace...

Twenty-eight Days Into The New Year.
Where you at right now? I am sitting in the Lancaster Library reviewing the past events of this month. Goal-wise: Four more blog posts and I proudly will have completed 31 posts (whew). Went to Church at least once this month, not counting the Communion inquiry class, 2 times, thank you. Went to beach, took a cool pic of the surfer, seaguls, and sunsets. Doesn't look like I will I have 150 Nike plus miles these 31 days, I need 50+ in 3 days. (Not likely). Journalized everyday and six books read (Only 294 before the end of the year)

Now, the important stuff. Made steps to get things right with D and M. I am taking the Pharm Tech exam next month and I will seriously start eating smarter. Workouts have been relatively consistent. Fell off here and there, but I am not beating myself when I miss or when I am not feeling it. My original game plan of doubling up is not working out. The yoga thing, well, I finally went and I am not sure it will take. Sleeping better and waking more refreshed. Firebird promises is getting me up and I am thankful for that.


Facebook: The Multiverse Revealed
As I read the Facebook posts, I look at people's lives happening. I hear venting. I hear bragging. I see Vampire gifts and missions. I get pages for Mafia wars and Farmville. I see pictures that inspire. I snicker at the funny posts. I read other people's blogs and I comment on them. I take notice of more things. Changed my picture profile and changed my saying. Its not that I forget who I am, its just in order to be the person I need to become I need to give up who I was. Its not an easy task and its taking some work. I know there will be push back and let downs, but I see more peace.

Last night I finished a DVD. Its called Dark Matter. Kind of disturbing. Not the Hero's journey I suspected. No "feel-good" moments for me. Just a stark realization that people can make bad choices even through living a good life. Working hard, loving family, risking. Sometimes the picture in our head is not the one we are living. This is difficult to accept. Its not good or bad. Its an event. Its a cross-road in your life. Do you continue? Or do you course correct? Maybe the destination is not where you meant. Maybe its totally different than what you wanted, different than what you expected. Let me tell you, in a different universe I would be married to my soul mate, working at a job I love and having a great relationship with M.

Yet, its not that way. Its hard to accept that a different path was lived. The gist of Dark Matter is this. Young, brilliant Chinese student leaves home to study under a great professor in the US. A good son sending money home. A good worker staying after work. A good person not afraid to risk. Showing so much promise, he goes through the usual trials of rejection from a girl, from a PhD candidacy, from a better life. I was expecting some happy resolution, a toughening of the soul, that A-ha moment when that luck break happens and all is the well in the world. To my surprise, this was not the Chinese version of "Pi", it was more Columbine High school.

Dark Matters--I Have Seen Those Dark Cloudy Days
I looked into myself. I have taken steps away from the situations. I got perspective. I felt his pain. It hit home. Did not sleep well after that. It made me reflect during my times as Student Body President. It reminded me of my time when I left the fitness industry. Let me tell you, razing hell and providing a cleansing was how I felt to those that wronged me and betrayed me. Punisher-mode was a click away. I understood the main character's pain and disappointment. When choosing a path of destruction, when one's dreams are not fulfilled. . .I have to give pause.

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light.
Made my call to D yesterday. I was expecting to get blasted. I was kind of hoping that would be the case. She felt sorrow. She felt I missed out and I did. I can not go back to the past. Time traveler skills is not within me. Movies, like Star Trek (the latest one), where the distraught Romulan captain wanted to seek revenge on the Spock, the man, who did save his planet, his race, his family, it made me think of events not accomplished, of different roads.

Seven Steps to the Close: Big Smile Style
I look on Facebook and see friend, associates, new single-serving friends (thanks Fight Club) and I think wow my life can be so much different. I regret some. Others not so much. Guess, what I got to say is this. The movie made me feel rock-bottom, hole in my heart, dark despair. People need this. People need this terrible feeling.

In sales and I was good in sales, we need at times to hit that emotional chord. Don't even bother asking for the buy question until you made an emotional connection. We need to hit home. We need to embrace that void, that despair, that purgatory. I think of Annie's Hell, played by Annabella Sciorra, in the movie, What Dreams May Come.


Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to--Anonymous
Big Smile, Hit Me Hard. I know, I felt it. Not a pleasant experience, let me tell you.I am not a religious person. Never have been. Yet, I was called spiritual recently. I will take that compliment. Yet, I have been in despair for things done and not done. I know the psycho-babble. I read it, studied it, practiced it, pooh poohed it, I threw it away. So smart, that I got in my own way.

I asked in a dark room (bathroom blackout again) with no one around and I asked. I don't like to do that, it just seems silly. You make your own bed, you live with the consequence. If there is something wrong, bitch about it, then fix it. I was lost and I have seen people lost. Dark Matter reminded me of place that people have chosen to go. Well, I am not going to say pray. I am not going to say you should do this or that.

Asking for guidance and you may not like the answer. Big Smile answered me, Congestive Heart Failure. Not satisfied, let me give you some Hypertension and Diabetes. Not the answer I expected.I am just going to say. . ."Well, That's All I Got To Say About That. . .My name, its Forrest, Forrest Gump."

Heaven is not Heaven without you In It, M.
How will you know how strong you are, until you have nothing. If I die, then I will comeback and fix it. "If not in this life, then the next"--Maximus, Gladiator. I know my Soul Mate exists, she is married to another and has a son named Michael. I know that I will make this right. I promise to find you and do what is right. I will go through whatever levels of Hell to gain your Love. Everything is Nothing Without You.

Faith can move mountains, but don’t be surprised if God hands you a shovel--Anonymous
Daily battles. Little Victories. Setbacks. Closer To You

Well, I can't help but think, of what I wrote earlier. Twenty-eight days into the new year. Where you at right now? I am sitting in the Lancaster Library reviewing the past events of this month. Goal-wise: Four more blog posts and it will have been 31 day post (whew). Went to Church at least once this month, not counting the Communion inquiry class, 2 times, thank you. Went to beach, took a cool pic of the surfer, seagulls, and sunsets. . .

Daily battles. Little Victories. Setbacks. Closer To You


Faith is a bird that feels dawn breaking and sings while it is still dark.
Scandinavian Saying