I’m not the biggest fan of going to the theaters to watch movies, but hot damn, these are two movies I will be watching once they come out.
(Source: climbing-up, via hungryidahoan)
“God knows you are going to be messy, God knows that you are going to screw up often… Thats what the cross is all about.. You’re going to fail and you’re going to stumble.. The cross is the picture of how far God is willing to go just because He loves you.”
“When the deepest currents of our life no longer have any influence on the waves at the surface, then our vitality will eventually ebb, and we will end up listless and bored even when we are busy.” -Henri Nouwen
Vitality- power to live or grow
I love good books… When I find a good book I almost feel guilty because I read them too fast. Im terrified that I missed something, but I just can’t help it. I also love how I stumble upon these so-called great books; it is always a friend who knows me and where I am in my life that suggests them. For example, explaining to a friend on Monday night at a dinner party why exactly I want to join the Air Force. After explaining that it’s the challenge that excites me and gives me a sense of purpose, he immediately suggested I read “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller. All I can say after having read half of the book (ive consciously been trying to read and digest it slowly..every bit of me wanted to finish it last night) is, “Fuck, all of my crazy thoughts might actually make sense.”
The book is basically about our lives as stories and what kind of story our life is telling at any given moment. We all want to live epic stories; sadly not many of us do because an epic story requires a ton of sacrifice and suffering on behalf of the characters (i.e., us). That leaves us settling for mediocre stories because it is in those stories that we find ourselves most comfortable. It makes perfect sense, we inherently don’t like taking risks, especially the kinds of risks that result in epic stories.
I posted a while back that I don’t want to lead an easy life and that I wanted a life with risks in it, even if those risks were as risky as risky can be. I knew then what I felt but I didn’t necessarily have a real reason for why I felt that way. I don’t want a risky life to fulfill my own adrenaline cravings; I want the chance to change other people’s lives through my actions. Reading this book has taught me a lot about stories. People respond to stories that involve a character that is taking risks; risks that he or she may not be able to survive but is going through for the greater good of someone or something else. Whether I’m retrieving a shot down pilot so he can see his family again or I’m being vulnerable and sharing personal experiences with others, I will be happy so long as I can contribute to other peoples lives in some special way.
All of that was an attempt to articulate some of the realizations I have had while reading this book. I think now that my desire for risk is born out of an unconscious desire to live an epic story; the catch is that I cannot have one without the other.
If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery—isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.
(Source: fuckyeahdannyguttridge)
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…As we allow our own light to shine, we unconsciously give other people the permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fears, our presence automatically liberates others.”
This year is going to be full of brand new challenges; challenges I have no idea whether or not I can even survive. However, I wouldn’t know unless I did it. Here’s to another year to continue healing and growing.
(Source: chicksandbikes)
(Source: theohpioneer, via windblownwildabeast)
