I came to the coffee shop to work but got sidetracked by a photography series called “Rust Never Sleeps.” It’s basically a very well-done series of crisp, defined pictures and angles of old rusty cars abandoned in fields with no purpose left to serve.  I love the aesthetics of it, but it also makes me introspective and sad.

These cars were once young, fresh, and new.

They were sought after, desired, status symbols.

Now they are an eye-sore, waste, litter.

DeSoto by Teresa Moore

The artist found a purpose for them, but no one else could. Most of us are too busy in the race for the next best status symbol that we give up on what we have – we throw it away – and we refuse to see the beauty in it until someone with the right lens prints a big enough, high enough quality picture of it to slap us in the face and say “look at the beauty that still exists in me.”

Psychedelic Rust by Scott Mais

I woke up today
Surrounded by madness
It’s never enough
Consumerism sadness
Driving the world
Promising happiness
Buying these things
To cover the darkness
Leaving a trail
That’s empty and callous
Hungry for more
We search for wholeness
Out in the world
Getting lost in the process
Refusing to look
Inward for greatness
Discovering in ourselves
The courage to face this.

Have you thought about changing your eating lifestyle to the Paleo or Primal diet, only to be overwhelmed by learning all the “rules”?  Or if you have been eating Paleo, have you come across something new and exotic in the grocery store only to wonder Is It Paleo?   Maybe you’re out on the hunt and wondering if camel meat is legal.  Enter Is It Paleo. 

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When I first put down Eastbound Sailing, I found myself reflecting on pivotal moments in my own life. During the emotional journey that unfolds, readers will undoubtedly identify with Aiden’s search for wholeness, making Eastbound Sailing timeless and relatable.

Letting Go

This first novel by Todd Foley is a redemptive tale of sorrow, remorse, discovery, and joy viewed through its characters different philosophical constructs. At the same time it is a coming of age story for a late-bloomer who is slowly learning to let go of his egocentricity and control, finding out how to simply “be.”

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If you live up to their expectations

will it make you happy?

If you find your hopes and dreams

will it make them happy?

Are they your dreams, or their hopes?

Lost between obligation and aspiration,
adapting to each situation
diluting your intentions with others ambitions;
a marionette operating under societal instruction.

A tug on the strings pulls on your heart.

Stepping away against your will…

Acceptance versus desire,

Which will you follow?
With which do you lead?

Never a passing moment too soon

saving me from rationality.

Escape my head, tear out my heart

for it hurts too much to beat.

Beat me to death if I would let it…

But where do I hide

with no sanctuary of the mind preserved?

In the early hours before daybreak

I am left trembling in the shadows.

Show me the way, for I will follow you…

Over the last week, my friend Joe and I have been discussing balance.  I was asking him if he found balance, particularly when applied to writing.  I’ve always liked to entertain the idea of balance – it sounds awesome – but it seems like an outdated concept when applied to real life.

This morning Joe sent me an email.  It was one of Keith Jennings’ Root Notes (you can subscribe here, I just did).  It talked about harmony instead of balance.

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Have you ever desired to change the world with your words?  To make your own dent in the universe?  If you know what I’m talking about, then we have something in common.

We want to be writers.

We want to be communicators.

We want to be influencers.  But…

Wanting is not enough.  How do we remove the shroud and become writers?

Enter: You Are a Writer by Jeff Goins.

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I’ve been doing some of these handwritten images on facebook and twitter.  This one had a particularly great response, so I wanted to share it here and see the discussion it sparks.  Please share how your dreams have changed or been let go of and why.

It’s no secret we are having a boy.  It has been an awesome pregnancy so far, and one of the things we wanted to do before our progeny enters the world was have a song to remember this time – just like how couples have their “song” that stirs feelings/memories/love.

While there are many pregnancy songs out there, when I narrowed it down to boy specific I found very little to go on.  Undeterred, I pressed on.  After hours of digging, I came up with a baker’s dozen songs to choose from that were meaningful and fit our musical taste.

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