It's Being Human

The Winded Leaves

drudgeons:

This. All of it.

(via Davis)

I heard a story today about how a long time ago in a certain city there were two fire departments. And so as it goes, whenever there was a fire, where people’s lives and homes were at stake, the two departments would rush down to the scene and then begin to fight over who would put the fire out. They would yell back and forth until they were red in the face. There were probably even a few fists involved. 

“No! We deserve to get credit for this, we heard about it first, and we arrived a few seconds earlier than you did!” Yelled one department

“That’s ridiculous! We are better fire fighters, WE should put it out!” Exclaimed the others

And so as they fought, the fire would burn and burn and burn.

And people’s lives were lost…

All because they forgot what and who they were, fire fighters.

“Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”

-Mary Oliver, Summer Day

Sometimes I feel like I try too hard to express myself

That isn’t really expression then, is it?

It’s as simple as this;

I am not better than anyone else.

bossbattle:

12 Days of Boss-mas: Day 2

Andrew here. I’m going to do at least one indie/small press item on the days I’m playing Santa Cox. And I’m not sure if you all picked up on the fact that the 12 Days of Boss-mas is your chance to win absolutely, shipped to your house,

FREE STUFF

A reblog of this post will get you in the drawing for the following:

• J. Marc Schmidt’s Eating Steve graphic novel
• Hazel & Cha Cha badge
• The Vision Tokidoki charm 

Remember to have the /ask option enabled on your blog so we can contact you if you win.

And congrats to hoveringbadger, who took home the Mass Effect 3 inflatable multi-tool laser sword thing. I mean, Davis is gonna be up shit creek if aliens with a fear of fake inflatable laser swords ever attack Brooklyn, but you know, have fun with it. 

So goooood

When you get a chance, look at somebody

Anybody, really

And I mean REALLY look at them. Look hard (obviously try not to be too creepy) but look

Look at their skin, look at their hair, their eyes, their wrinkles, their sweat stains, their whiskers, their boobs, their butt

Look at them, and I mean REALLY look at them

Look at their gestures, how they act, how they talk, listen to them, watch the inflections in their face

Look at them and remember they are a human

Look at them and tell yourself that they are beautiful

If you don’t think they are beautiful, do your best to convince yourself they are beautiful

Because they are

Humans are beautiful

Take a good hard look at someone

Anyone

A close friend, a stranger, someone walking in the mall or on the street, a beggar on the street

Anyone

Look at them and do your best to find the beauty in the them

Not to prove anything to anyone else 

But to prove to yourself that humans are beautiful

Then, if we all do that

And only then,

Will we be able to START to understand grace

We can forget it so easily because we see ourselves and we see how we hurt ourselves or how we hurt others, and then we think we are all alone and that no one else goes through the pain and suffering and all the secrecy and wicked, judgeful, thoughts that fly through our heads

We can so easily start to forget that we are beautiful

Who knows we might be able to see other people as beautiful

“But me? No way, I am not a beautiful human being.”

That is not right

Let me tell you right now, anyone who is reading this

You ARE beautiful, not because I say it, my words are frivolous

But I say it because it is true, because God calls you beautiful

Because Jesus came to you

He came to us

He is the cement between the bricks

Even better, He is the springs in our trampoline of a world

When we see people beautiful

When we really believe it because we KNOW it

Then, and only then will we be able to LIVE in grace

Because whether we want acknowledge the beauty in others or not

Whether we acknowledge it about ourselves or not

We are still beautiful

And we are still loved

And grace is still abundant

Why wouldn’t we want to be a part of that?

Salem covering “Better Off Alone” by Alice Deejay

I don’t understand why some people make fun of the phrase, ‘Love wins.’ Do they not believe it or something? Or are they just ascribing that phrase to a book that they don’t like?

I am in no way trying to put anyone down. I am seriously asking and wondering about this.

Has love been that abused and misused that when we think about it or hear it being used in a sentence or phrase such as, ‘love wins’ we don’t believe it, or don’t understand what it is? And if we CAN actually abuse it and misuse it, is it really love at all? Or something we think is love? Have we created a false love and slapped it onto God?

Have we turned love into a measly little table scrap that we throw to the dogs because the real meat and potatoes are correct doctrines?

I am seriously wondering.

What happened, where did it all go wrong?

I have heard people mockingly use the phrase, ‘love wins’ only to say afterwards, ‘Actually, Jesus wins.’

What?!

Are Jesus and love two separate entities? Is love just a tool? Is it not a life changing force?

What happened?

I remember reading/hearing that “God is love.”

Does that not mean that ‘Jesus wins’ and ‘Love wins’ are actually one in the same?

I would say that they are very much the same.

Which would then mean that the way we have been thinking and viewing love has been misguided.

But by what? Who or what is at fault?

All of us, most likely.

Because to tell you the truth I don’t even know what real love looks like. I like to think that I know, and sometimes I do get glimpses of it, and when I do it brings tears to my eyes and I want to share it with everyone, I don’t want to pretend I know what it is anymore.

AND

Why are we so afraid of it?

Are we too caught up in our beliefs and correct thinking to maybe ever consider that we may be wrong?

Have we really gotten to the point where a phrase like, ‘love wins’ can be mocked by the people who are supposed to be the epitome of love? And only because there are disagreements on supposed doctrines of the faith?

Have we become that arrogant and puffed up?

Again, I don’t mean to be chide (well maybe I do, just a little) but what happened?

I’ve asked that a lot, and maybe I don’t want a answer after all…

Maybe I want to find what real, true love is, by living this life. I don’t know where I am going, so thank goodness for great friends and a wonderful Savior.

Maybe I don’t care if you are right or wrong because I feel that love is bigger than trying to be right or wrong.

And maybe, just maybe, I will catch more glimpses of what love actually is, and those glimpses will be enough, another piece to the puzzle, another reason to live this life as best as I can.

There will be hard times, there will be more people who agree or disagree, and I may fall short, but hey, that’s life.

Because I know that love is bigger than anyone of us, and more powerful than anyone of us could ever imagine, and I refuse to mock it, or deal dirty with it, because it won’t let me. Real, true, love cannot be mocked, and if it can, then it isn’t really love, is it?

I believe that,

Love always wins

Reminds me of trying to get through a work week sometimes, ha

(via influent)

Great minds, in fact, do not think alike. If they did, they would then cease to be great. For a mind to be great it does not claim to possess a knowledge that only it and a few others have, but instead lays waste to the walls of indifference and says,

“We are all equal! The door to knowledge is open to everyone, for we are equals, we all have minds, we are all capable. For “greatness”  was invented by fear, the fear of losing power. The truth is, we are all great.”

Indeed, a great mind, a truly great mind, is one that sets out to be different not by knowing more, but by realizing it doesn’t really know much at all. 

A truly great mind realizes that everyone is unique, all the while being able to maintain a unity through what really matters most,

Our humanity.

This is one of the most calming songs, just in general.