Reflecting without mirrors

Things said in passing often come back to teach me. When they are spoken I just carry on with the conversation and almost forget their meaning. Somehow, small pieces of the conversation stay alive in my pinball-machine-head. The letters and words bounce around, almost falling into the world of forgotten things. But my subconscious keeps pushing the button that flips the flipper, and the words survive until I have time to understand them. Those passing words bounce around until they have taught me what I need to know. Then, they are never forgotten. “I’m just trying to focus on what I can give instead of what I can get.” That’s what she said (that wasn’t a dirty joke, that really is what my friend, Kelsey, said). Those were the words that bounced around. Those were the words that kept flipping the flipper to stay alive. Those were the words that took me time to understand. Life is unfair, so it can seem like there is a lot to complain about. But anytime we comp

I'm not an expert on this subject. Making somebody's day is a very basic form of creative, artistic expression. It takes practice, thought, effort, and time. I am only a beginner at this point. All too often I've settled for smiling at a stranger as my way of making a difference. I don't mean to undercut the value of being nice and doing small things for people, but we shouldn't excuse ourselves from bigger things simply because we are already nice. There is so much more we can all do to brighten the lives of others. I realized that I was doing almost nothing in terms of EXTRA effort (yes, I am saying that smiling at strangers, holding doors, or other day to day nice things are essentially effortless). When I realized this, I took initiative. I set some goals and decided on some things that I was going to do that would take extra effort. I set weekly and daily goals that would require me to do more than just be friendly. They required time, thought, creativity,

“ For he is like a refiner’s fire… and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier… and he shall purify…that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:2-4 Every once in a while we can be given an opportunity to see the grace that surrounds us. There are moments where we feel deep appreciation and gratitude. There are other moments where we feel deep understanding and come to know undeniable truths. There are moments where our hearts fill up like a balloon that’s about to burst (American Beauty quote). There are moments where we understand our purpose, meaning, and most of all­­—our potential. Then, sometimes we are lucky enough to have a moment where all of those feelings culminate into one experience. This post is about a moment where all of those feelings came together for me. It was with undeniable clarity that I came to see that God knew me and was directly involved in my life. *          *          * One day, I thought my house was go

It is easy to be pessimistic about love and relationships. Divorce surrounds us. Break ups and the woes of relationships seem to fill conversations all around. It’s easy to lose hope; it’s easy to stop believing. I write this so that you won’t lose hope, I write so that you won’t stop believing. This post is because one of my best relationships recently ended before it even had a chance to begin. I have every reason to feel broken hearted, earlier today I did, but then I thought for a while, then I prayed for a while. Now I am filled with light. I have promised myself that anytime I receive light that I would try to share those thoughts. I want hope to spread like wildfire. I want it to heal all those that are in need of healing.  I think about love and relationships a lot. Probably because many of my friends are married, some divorced, and all have dated. At this stage of my life it’s something very critical to consider. I have a lot of thoughts about why we have gotten so

This is my first attempt at fiction, it's a short story. Immanuel “There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.” George Bernard Shaw          I didn’t like the way he looked at me from across the desk. We sat in silence as he clicked his pen again and again, occasionally putting it between his teeth and spinning it in his hand. My boss of 5 years was staring straight at the papers in front of him as he casually flipped through them. He was avoiding eye contact and trying to reassure me that this wasn’t personal. When he would glance at me it felt more like relief than sympathy. I tried my best to give him a confident smile; like I knew what was next after this conversation was over.             “Okay, that about does it. Jim, look, I’m really sorry but we’ll recommend you wherever you go, this just isn’t the place for you. It’s a rough time for us and we’ve had to let a lot of people go who’ve done n