“In the end, our society will be defined no only by what we create
but by what we refuse to destroy.”
[John C. Sawhill]
Came across this phenomenal quote over on Stephen Brewsters blog (which you should read, by the way). It’s got me thinking deeply about the things we need to fight and kick at until they are destroyed, both collectively and individually. It’s deeply challenging me.
Have been listening to a lot of Paper Route over the last few months. This song is my favourite from their most recent album, Absence.
Where have I landed I don’t quite remember
I fell to pieces one night in December
Pictures in boxes remind me of something
I miss the days when our fingers were touchingThe memories of losing you, you’re like a ghost
Tracing where I said to youI wish you would listen,
I wish you would listen,
I wish you would listen,
To get through itAll my decisions were just second guesses
Looking for love like a bride looks for dresses
Every mistake turned to some sort of yearning
A heart that was hollow has filled up with meaningThe memories of losing you, you’re like a ghost
Tracing where I said to youI wish you would listen,
I wish you would listen,
I wish you would listen,
To get through it[Wish – Paper Route]
This. Blew. Me. Away.
Thanks, Ben.
Over dinner last night my flatmate & I got talking about films & music… and ended up on the slippery slope known to many as IMDB to Wikipedia to Youtube…
Shooter, a film I recently saw with my parents, stared Mark Wahlberg, who along with his big brother Donny was a member of New Kids on the Block, before leaving to start his own rap group Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch.
They had an interesting social commentary that I think stands strong today as we persevere through this global recession we’re all in together…
Last week I saw a few films, one of which was Glorious 39. This is easily one of the best films I’ve seen lately! The film itself was beautifully shot, and the soundtrack is excellent. The storyline was what had me most intrigued though – stuff like this always makes me wonder if any of it is based on reality? It doesn’t appear to be from what I can find out, but it’s certainly a storyline you could imagine having its seeds in truth.
Anyone else seen it? What did you think?
“Sure Coco Pops are basically just chocolate-coated puffs of air; you’re practically losing weight by eating them!”
[My good friend Phil]
A month later I am still digesting everything that happened over the two days I was at Story Chicago. Here are a few of the things running around in my head…
We’re not tired because we’re doing too much;
we’re tired because we’re doing the wrong things.
[Chris Seay]
These are they who have a story to tell.
[Stacy Spencer]
Beauty is God whispering “I love you”.
[John MacMurray]
We’re censoring our stories when we only talk about our successes.
[Mike Foster]
The enemy tell’s us to be fearful & scared of our pain,
but the Gospel tells us it’s all about our pain.
[Mike Foster]
About a month ago, I set out on a trip to the US, which inevitably began with lots of hanging around in airports. Wasted time? I think not. A few hours in Heathrow gave me ample time to read Don Miller’s latest book, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years. Like all of Miller’s stuff, it’s ridiculously easy to read, and ridiculously hard to read at the same time. It’s easy because I read it in a couple of hours. And it’s difficult because I’m still wrestling with putting it into practice.
And that’s the truly beautiful thing about it. It inspired me to live a better story.
“If Steve was right about a good story being a condensed version of life – that is, if story is just life without the meaningless scenes – I wondered if life could be lived more like a good story in the first place. I wondered whether a person could plan a story for his life and live it intentionally.”
It’s easy to get caught up in reading about other people’s exciting stories, their exciting lives. But the truth is we can just as easily have our own exciting story. We will have to choose to endure pain and hardship to get there no doubt, but joy does not (nor should not) come easily.
“Part of me wonders if our stories aren’t being stolen by the easy life.”
Returning to Glasgow after 3 weeks of being on the road sometimes feels anti-climatic. Yet my story is just turning a page, starting a new chapter. I’ve been inspired (again) to live a better story. To not just talk about the stuff I dream of doing, but actually do it. That means actually changing something, doing something differently. For my part, I’m learning French again, and starting to navigate what it means to be a photographer full-time.
It’s scary. I might fail. It might not work out.
And that’d be ok. It matters that I try.
“Sometimes when I watch [Lucy, the dog] I think about how good life can be, if we only lose ourselves in our stories.”
What are you doing to lose yourself in the story? What would you do?
This is a post for Jonny. But it’s also a post for me, and for you. Maybe it’s as much for me as it is for Jonny.
We all need reminded that we matter. That your story matters. Your life matters.
There will be days when it doesn’t feel like that’s true. When the darkness crowds in and overwhelms us. Harvey Dent taught us that the night is darkest before the dawn. I try to remember those words when the darkness falls for me.
Because hope is real.
Healing is possible.
It might be a long, painful journey, but it is possible.
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