Ugly Humanity...

This is something that has been on my heart for a while now... I have found that I enjoy culture... not culture that you find on the Travel Channel, but culture that you find in a coffee house where teens stand up and read awful poetry, or in a food court in the mall where people struggle to feed their children or woo that new girl friend... Even the ugly humanity that has been cast aside, knowingly or not, and just is... Take the Mexicans for example... It's funny how in America, we will get shot for talking bad about a black person or a homosexual, but for some reason, people can treat Mexicans like last weeks garbage and it is not only justified, but not even quesitoned... I use Mexicans as an example because I worked at a place once where we dealt with a lot of them and it disgusted me the ways they were treated... But it is not just Mexicans, there are those teens that nobody wants to deal with, there are those homeless people that are "unclean" becuase they are not all there... The list goes on... Now, how did I get from coffee houses and food courts to crazy homeless people? I really don't know... But I do know that they are all people; bad poetry or not, english speaking or not, even bad smelling or not... It is funny how 'ugly humanity' becomes beautiful when they become human to you... Have you ever tried to stop and talk with that old homeless woman that sits outside Walmart at night and reeks to high heaven? Have you ever offered to take her to Subway and chat? How about a rose? Have you ever thought of that? It made her smile... It gave her a friend, even if it was only for a short time... It gave me the opportunity to get to know someone who wasn't the most interesting person in the world (and the stories she told weren't exactly great either), but it was wonderful to be able to be a friend to one who has no friends and may never... Now, should we all jump out and talk to the first homeless person we see? The answer is pretty simple: "No, stupid, there are dangerous people out there." But, it is nice to slow down once in a while and hear an angst-ridden teen spill their heart through a crappy hate poem, or listen to a lonely person's stories... Ugly Humanity really does become beautiful when they become human to you...

Such Beauty...

I have found such a one with beauty as I have never seen before... She is so dynamic that my heart races just to think of her. Even her beauty is dynamic... in such a way that she becomes more beautiful with each glance and every look. Her beauty is not like that which you would find on the television or in a magazine; it is not simple or frail as one which paints herself to be something she's not. Rather, her beauty needs no addition, because her beauty itself enhances her beauty. Even her eyes... they are always changing, yet they are always equally stunning. And her heart... oh my gosh, her heart... she is willful and bold, yet so incredibly sweet... This is all so evident in her friendships and when she talks about her family... I love hearing her speak of her family because I know that is where her heart is and that is where she draws this amazing strength... Her smile, her laugh, her converstaion... It is all so sweet to me.

Welcome To My Life...

Welcome to my life... I know pain, I know heartache, I know peace, I know joy that surpasses all the pain this world can muster for me. I know that there are many, many lies; I know that there is firm truth. I know what it is like to wish for death, to beg for death, to strive for death, and yet be delivered unto a life that could not even be dreamt of... not a life without pain, not a life without struggle, but a life with hope, a life with substance... a life that is more than a job and a paycheck to party with; a life that is more than a vain religion with pictures of Christ and Buddha on the wall to pray to; a life that is more than the richest of all men could ever hope to buy... A life that is not sheltered from reality, but a life that IS reality. A life that does not ask the question, "What the crap am I here for?" but instead knows for certain. A life that does not question it's existence when everything around it falls, but knows that it's existence is not based of the frailty of the world around it. I know that Christ is reality and that nothing in this world has stood against the tests of life as He has. I know that as some may read this, they will shrug me off as a fool, or "one of those church people," and I also know that it doesn't phase me one bit, becuase Christ is alive, I am alive, and all your heroes are dead...