Pwetty.
Pretty Neat.
This is only $185? It’s by Ralph Lauren’s new Denim & Supply sub-brand thingy. Not sure how sold I am on it yet, but here it is.
And here’s somebody wearing it:
Thoughts Today
Interpretation, meaning, and explanation are the first steps down a path of un-understanding.
How do we interpret a puzzle piece by itself? How do we give meaning to one line of a book? How do we explain an ocean by a glass of water?
We don’t see the whole picture. Our past resolutions and present tensions have no power over us. We are not who we imagine we are. Our purposes and callings are beyond purpose and callings. Life is not a path. Life is a field to run through.
Life is summer nights after a long day on the water; being surrounded by people who make us laugh. Life is holding your kid for the first time. Life is being hurt and mad at someone. Life is not doctrine or law or codes or theology.
For now on, let us not ask what the purpose or meaning is, but where the life is. We’ll find the purpose or meaning to be unimportant, because life is all that matters. We are valuable beyond measure; we are precious beings, caught up in a violently grand storm of love and understanding.
Trust the Spirit inside you. Set your False Self on fire. Show the Ideal Man the door and ask him to leave. All the power you will ever need is inside you. Believe it and you can do anything.
I love you.
Mr. Joey
Lunchtime floor sitting. Jessica Lea Mayfield songs are in the distance. Broccoli cheddar soup. Pretty ill.
Frnds4Lyfe!!!!1
My roommates, Joey and Trey, have been away in NYC for the past few days to celebrate their anniversary. Which, is awesome. They return tomorrow, and while I am missing them a lot, their absence taught me a lot about my friendships.
I’ve written this before, but one of the reasons I think friendships are so important is simply because my friends remind me who I am. When I am alone for too long (which, I haven’t been yet), I get stuck inside my mind and all I can see is my thoughts. I get trapped and run in circles, trying to make sense of things. Soon enough, all I become is my mind, or my thoughts. I need my friends to snap me out of that every now and again, because the truth is, I am not my mind or my thoughts.
When I am with my brothers, they show commitment to me through a vibrant love, and this makes me want to do the same for them. In a sense, when I am shown love like this, my reaction is to live for them. In the same way they let me be who I am (with all my ranting), I can let them be who they are (even when they don’t want to talk for a few days).
The freedom that is found in the commitment of a friendship is indescribable, but I’m sure I’ll write about it for the rest of my life.
Recurring.
There’s been a constant question this week in the life of Mr. Joey: What are we made to be?
It’s tempting to talk about what we’re not supposed to be, because tangents of untruths could be expressed forever. But this is the problem when talking about the meaning of life, because there is so much evidence, knowledge rather, of what we’re not supposed to be, that what we are meant to be is easily missed (though it is in plain sight). So I could type for days, in intricate detail, about the mark that’s not quite hit or the never-enough feeling of emptiness we all experience. But that will only keep us in the garden, beneath that daunting tree.
Perhaps the best way to answer this question is to start with myself.
First, I know that I’m made to be with other people. If there’s anything I’ve learned since I decided to follow Jesus, it’s that, in order to operate in a way that’s conducive to experiencing life, I need to surround myself with people who will love me for who I am and are not afraid to tell me when I’m being an asshole. I need people who will listen to me, even when I’m not speaking truth, in order for me to work out my salvation. Life is such a complicatedly easy matter, and as I unwind and unlearn everything I’ve been taught that isn’t true, I need people who are patient to hear me out so I can come to the dead end on my own terms. I need people who abstain from phrases like “I told you so” and “What you should do is…” I need people who aren’t here to fix me, but commit to standing by my side even when unthinkable problems arise.
Second, I’m made to spend time by myself. I might learn the most with other people, but I come to the point of understanding when I am alone. Not everyone is like this, but don’t be afraid to turn off your phone and spend time with yourself. You don’t have to go into nature or journal your thoughts. Just do stuff for a day by yourself. Don’t look for anything in particular.
Third, I’m made to have an outlet. An outlet for what? Into what? From what? I don’t know. I guess the best way to describe “outlet” is being able to have something that I am free to do with no agenda; a space where I don’t trip over myself and where I am in total expression. For me, it’s music and writing. For others, it could be cooking or hiking or counseling or whatever thing that pulls them into a groove of effortless effort. Let us not limit our outlets, because there are many.
Fourth, I’m made to reflect who made me. This needs no explanation. The more disconnected, confused, irritated, impatient, unforgiving, accusing, and irrational I am, the truth is, the more out of touch with God I am. Life feels like I’m walking through wet concrete. My mind feels like a trench surrounded by a mechanical darkness. These are the times I walk down the tangents. These are also the times I can ask in honesty, “lead me beside still waters.” If I ask for bread, I will not be given a stone. If I ask for the Spirit, I will not be given a snake. I am made to remember this always.
Fifth, I am made to experience healthy food and activity. Outside of these two things, the other four will suffer severely. It’s amazing how clear and simple life is after a long swim. There’s a reason for that.
So, I’ll start with those five and maybe you can too. Make your own amendments if you need to, just don’t forget to stay connected, breathe, and not be afraid to be yourself. If you allow yourself to be yourself, you will allow others to be themselves.
Revised.
I was going to post something entirely different, but here’s all I have to say tonight: If you are aiming for something that can be given to you by the hands of men, then aim higher.
In light of expectation and approval, we will never be good looking enough, smart enough, strong enough, or quick enough.
We will never value who we are if we keep pretending that success means getting something or becoming someone. Success is selfish selflessness.
Take joy in your strength and what you are able to do because of it. Take joy in your weakness, because you know that He will be glorified in it.
If we never learn to love ourselves for who we are, we will never be able to love others. Ever.
