Is Life Really So Boring?

Why is it so easy for us to spend time doing things that aren't productive or meaningful?

We get lost in a television series and then we do it again (and then again); we search the internet for something (anything!) of interest; we play computer games; we go to the mall for no good reason.  And it doesn't end there, does it?

Over the years, I've spoken to many people that expressed a disinterest in life, telling me that there's "nothing to do."  "I'm bored," they say.  And more often that not, I've taken time to ask questions about their life and interests and we've discussed the options they have.  We don't need to be "bored" all the time because there's plenty to do!

Here Are Some Beneficial Ways To Spend Time

1. Spend quality time with the people you love

Enjoy your friends and family.  Have meaningful conversations and do meaningful things together.  This is vital because no matter how we spend our free time, life will always be a little colorless without them.  So drink lots of coffee together and tell lots of stories; become comfortable expressing your truest self and your hopes ... your deepest desires.  Be intentional and don't hide.

2. Read something that interests you

Read a book that you actually like.  Find articles that'll engage your mind and expand your horizon (news or otherwise).  Study poetry.  Go to the library.  And with whatever you read, do it thoughtfully and take your time.  Apply something new to your life and tell someone about it.  But there's a lot of garbage out there so be wise.  What we read can have a great impact on our lives.

3. Climb a mountain

It doesn't really matter what you do, actually ... just do something active.  Go for a walk, throw a ball with your dog, explore the city, see the sun rise, search for a new park, climb a tree, swim in a lake, find something beautiful to tell your friends about and then go tell them (in person).

And while you're at it, exercise.  We all know how good exercise is for us!

4. Get to know yourself

My guess is that you're really good at something and that, maybe, you don't know what that thing is.  If this is true for you, you're not alone.   There are countless people out there with talents that they don't know about.  For my friend, Sam, it was volleyball.  He started playing during his sophomore year in college and is now playing competitively.  And he's amazing!  And he genuinely loves it.

So get to know yourself and begin crafting something.  Learn how to do something new or rekindle your love for something you once treasured.  And then boldly pour yourself into it.  It's never too late or too early.  Learn an instrument or a language, write a story, draw a picture and then try painting one, try your hand at poetry or use it to build something, start a blog, teach a class, create a program on the computer, make a movie, fix a car engine.  There are countless things for us to explore!  

We just need to do it!

5. Help other people

Involve yourself in something that doesn't benefit you directly.  And not just so you can feel good about yourself, but because you love people and recognize the importance of their life. (Or maybe do it because you want to learn how to love people.)

Adopt a rescue mission and visit often, walk the streets and spend the day with someone less fortunate, raise money for a needy family, help a friend struggling in life, counsel a troubled teen, buy groceries for someone.  Begin thinking of creative ways to love people.  And don't be afraid (or, even better, do it afraid).  You got it!  You're going to do great.

6. Share what you like

Starting with the people you know personally, tell us about them!  I'm talking about the musicians, the bloggers, the artists, the poets, the innovators, the photographers, the builders, and anyone else exploring their talents and abilities in some way.  Let's encourage them, let's support them, let's tell other people about them.  

And let's do it often!

7. Enjoy your life

Go to a concert, laugh at something silly, say nice things to people, smile often, explore.  Do something dangerous and live a little.  Think deeply upon the things that matter.  Listen to the innovative thoughts of others (TED Talks, etc.).  Relax.  Talk about meaningful things.  Dream.  Become a visionary or take part in someone else's vision.  Cut out time to consider subjects and ideas that you normally wouldn't.

And then, share it with us ... the world.  We want to know what you're thinking about, creating, and looking towards.  Let us get to know YOU!

May we release ourselves - and others - into the fullness of life!

Happy Birthday, blog!

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So Close, It's Scary

If I can be honest with you, it's been a fight for me to be open in my relationships.  To know somebody and to be known by them hasn't been easy.  And love?  Giving and receiving love has been even more difficult.

Why do you think that is?  Why are so many of us afraid to be ourselves in public and to stop pretending to be what we're not?  Why do we cringe at the first sight of vulnerability?  Why are we so often left feeling embarrassed or alone or afraid or disillusioned?  Are we afraid that our truest selves are unlovable?  Do we fear rejection?  Something else?  And if so, why do we go on romanticizing this idea of perfect love?

Have we simply been tricked by Hollywood or is there something more to this?

I believe that human intimacy plays a vital role to our physical, mental, and spiritual health, and to the health of our relationships.  This involves being known by those around us.  It involves receiving love from others and the ability to give love as well.

If we're being honest with ourselves, this is one of the central realities of our existence!  And it would do us damage to avoid it (I know firsthand that this is true).  I've spent so much time running away from relationships and it's never gone well for me.  Isolation has never produced the quality of relationships that I'm truly searching for... aching for.

That said, I'd like to tell you about Scary Close, a book I'm reading on intimacy.  It was written by Donald Miller and explores the delicate subject in a very personal way.  It's been described as Miller's 'coming out of public isolation' and has already been helpful in my pursuit of wholeness, openness, and my desire for healthy relationships.

Please watch the video below (it's just so important that we understand this).  Or if you'd simply like some free music from the book... a soundtrack of sorts... click here.

And finally, since it's Valentine's Day, I want to encourage you to explore the reality of the human heart.  Take some time to consider what in the world we're all doing on this planet together.  I believe it's all about intimacy, my friend.  But it's a narrow road ahead and there's still more to learn.

Finding my way out of public isolation... 

<The Power of Vulnerability

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Floorboards

For some time now, a certain idea has captured my mind ... one of "hidden things" and the mystery they evoke inside me.  I am encouraged to wonder and to explore, to consider and to search.  And it's as if I am being beckoned.

Floorboards

Under floorboards some things lie

Messages, secrets, old replies

Hidden in darkness yet full of light

Things unknown are yours to find

This interest has progressed beyond surface level romanticism's enticed by the big screen of hollywood and its stories.  It's produced a deep curiosity in me towards adventure and the longing for something real, which has been strengthened by the reality of my own existence.  I'm realizing that there's something far greater going on here ... and more true.

An invitation is being set forth - a treasure map of sorts - and rumors of its existence are circulating.  It's said that secrets are being disclosed and the treasure, well, it's from some other place - another world, maybe.  I've even heard murmurs suggesting that you need a new pair of eyes to see with before you can venture too far - something about catching glimpses of things unseen with our eyes.  I don't really know too much.  But whatever these things are, and whatever this place is, I'm eager to find out.  And I guess the clues are everywhere ...

Imagine a letter in an attic somewhere that was never found.  Or a message under some floorboards waiting to be discovered.  A message with the answers to our questions.

Looking under rocks, down holes, and in crevasses.

Happy Birthday, blog ...
"Floorboards" is a poem written by Brandon Salisbury on March 5, 2014

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Islands

I've been singing this song, "Islands," a lot lately and wanted to share.

It was written by Sara Bareilles.

Sara easily has one of the best voices I've ever heard (recorded & live).  I had a chance to hear her sing at a Jon McLaughlin concert in Denver, Colorado with my sister, Whitney, right before her music became more widespread.  I've really enjoyed her music ever since then and hope you'll like the song ...

... are you an island? ...

And here's another just for the heck of it!  I find this one to be quite unique, and, almost mesmerizing.  It's full of stunning vocals and great sounds.

Finally, I wanted to mention a friend of mine, Rachael Johnson, who use to sing with Sara in an A Capella group back in the day.  Rachael also has an incredible voice, which, I hope to hear more of in the near future!  I hope you're still writing, Rachael :)

Here's to great music!

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Whispers of Joy

This is a passage from a book written by one of my favorite authors, John Eldredge.

It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are alive.  There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them (George Eliot).

Whispers of Joy

It was the final evening of our summer vacation. We had spent nine wonderful days in the Tetons hiking and swimming, laughing and playing, enjoying rare and wonderful time together as a family in a stunningly beautiful place.  During our explorations, we had discovered a quiet pond in the woods, about a half hour's walk from camp, where wildlife would often come in the evening.  This night, we planned to arrive at dusk and stay until night fell to see what nature might reveal.  The sun was setting behind us as we arrived, and far off in the east massive thunderheads were building above the Absarokas, cloud upon cloud, giant castles in the sky.  The fading day was slowly turning them peach, then pink, then gray.

A pair of trumpeter swans were swimming across our little pond, looking for all the world like something from a fairy tale.  My wife and I sat together with our three boys on a spot of grass near the water's edge, our backs against a fallen log.  Across the pond lay a meadow, the stage for the evening's drama.  As light began to fade, a bull moose with a massive rack emerged from the willows directly across the meadow from where we sat.  He spotted us and stopped; we held our breath.  Silently, he disappeared into the trees as mysteriously as he had come.  Before we could be disappointed, a cow moose and her calf appeared from another part of the meadow, wandering along grazing.  We watched them as night continued to fall.

A cool breeze stirred the pines above us.  Crickets began their twilight chorus.  The cow lay in the tall grass, but we could still see her calf.  Sandhill cranes were calling and answering one another around the marsh with their haunting, primeval cries.  The boys huddled closer to us.  A beaver swam by our feet, making a V through the surface of the pond, faded with the light to a gunmetal gray.  Far off in the distance, lightening was beginning with those cloud fortresses, flashes of glory.  A small herd of elk came out to graze at the far end of the meadow, just as darkness was setting in.  Finally, as if not to be left out, a lone coyote began to howl.  It was one of the most breathtaking nights I have ever experienced in the wilderness, a living work of art. (Desire, pg. 9, 10)

Throughout my life, I've been fortunate enough to enjoy moments like this with family and friends.  Surely, they are rare and, therefore, special.  Everything in me wants to hold on to these times and to not let go.  I even find myself revisiting such memories now and again, feeling wonderfully happy and then a little sad.  Oh the mystery of the heart...

Is there something more to such experiences or is time just playing a bad joke on us?

We are never living, but hoping to live

Pascal

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Life in Music

I think it's safe to say that nearly everyone in the world has experienced the power of music.  It can be found in the beats of drums in rural China, the bedrooms of our young, on the stages of the world, in back alleys of the slums and the sidewalks of the wealthy, in the voices of our grandmothers, and of course, on radios and cd's, records and computers, iPad's and iPod's.

Music has traveled far and wide and has established itself deeply within us (regardless of one's social status).  It's become a part of who we are.

There's something so deep and true about it for each person that it's become difficult to separate ourselves from it.  For me, it has become a passion of mine to create music.  I began learning how to play various musical instruments at the age of fourteen and what a joy it's been!  There's just so much life to be found in musical notes, with each instrument offering something different from the last.  It's incredible.  Over the years, I've made attempts to capture certain sounds with the hopes of playing out what was in my head.  However, I was never satisfied with what I was able to produce.

♫ That is until now ♫

I invite you to come and experience what I've found so much delight in creating.  I've posted my music on SoundCloud, a music "scene" of sorts.  And if you have a pair of headphones, throw 'em on because it'll sound much better that way.

You Can Click Here To Begin Listening!

And please, leave a note.  Tell me which types of sounds you liked the most.  And share it with someone we both know.  Sing on, friends! :)

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Josh Garrels

He's quickly become one of my favorite artists. 

Josh is a storyteller, a lyricist, and an incredible singer/songwriter.  At times, the depths of his passion seems to reach out and touch you.

With a message in his lungs, he believes, strongly, in what he has to say, describing a story of life and love, faith and hope, disappoint and failure, and healing and freedom.  If I had to describe his music in one word, it'd be genuine.  It's honest and it's ... felt.

"It's about becoming like a child again," says Josh

Today, I ordered a copy of his latest project - a film they shot in Mayne Island, British Columbia.  I feel excited and privileged about this because it's going to bring me up close with stunning beauty and great music.  "What happens when the ever-narrowing gap between artist and audience disappears?" they ask in the film's trailer  And I'm thrilled to find out!  You can watch the trailer below.

Between the musical arrangements, warm vocals, and rare vulnerability, Josh is a special artist.  This is they type of music that should be encouraged, shared, sang, and meditated upon.  It's music like this that teaches you to appreciate life and the people we share it with.  It brings hope.  It inspires.

My personal favorite!

I hope you find this music to be as unique & special as I have.  It truly resonates deep down and calls to life that which was dead inside of me.

www.JoshGarrels.com

www.MasonJarMusic.com

www.TheSeaInBetween.com

"JAW DROPPING ... A POSTCARD WITH A SOUNDTRACK"

The Village Voice

"A CAPTIVATING TABLE BEHIND THE ART OF MUSIC"

Billboard

[you can add your own quote below]

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