Being 25 is a weird age. My friends and I always talk about how we are in that difficult, in between spot. We are too old for the nightly partying scene, yet not quite in the place where we want to settle down completely. One thing we do want at this point are relationships that matter. Today I discovered what seems to great place to do that.
My brother asked me to go to church with him and his wife. We went to Sojourn Community Church, a warm and friendly place located near the Germantown neighborhood in Louisville. We went to the 5 PM service and I found it to be warm, friendly and full of vibrant young people. The church is very eclectic, with a stylish, progressive vibe (there is an art gallery in the lobby!). It was laid back with some pretty good live music too. It was not too big or too small.
I think its important no matter what you believe, that you surround yourself with nice quality POSITIVE people. A major key to happiness is to be engaged a community or group that are all moving together to grow in life. The older I get, the more I learn that life is about quality, not quantity. If you live in Louisville and are looking to connect with some young people with the above attributes, I recommend checking out Sojourn Community Church. They also have an East location off Westport Road.
Today I have a new obsession with the word “How.” Let’s look at some definitions:
–adverb
in what way or manner; by what means?
to what extent, degree, etc.?
in what state or condition?
to what extent, degree, etc.?
for what reason; why?
to what effect; with what meaning?
–noun
a question concerning the way or manner in which something is done, achieved.
a way or manner of doing something.
I think it’s important to recognize its not WHAT you do, it’s HOW you do it. How is a much more important word than what. Again, How is a much more important word than what. Here are a few examples I thought of:
1. BECOME A MILLIONAIRE: Win the lottery vs. manifest a fantastic, lucrative idea that spreads and changes lives.
2. COOK DINNER: Heat a microwave meal up vs. cook something delicious and organic from scratch.
3. SEND A THANK YOU NOTE: Type a two sentence email vs. writing a hand written note with a small gift.
4. RUN A STORE: Are you Walmart and everything is a statistic or are you the mom and pops shop where customers feel like family?
5. HUNT: Walking outside and finding a dead deer on your doorstep vs. heading deep into wilderness, sweating, strategizing, only 15 hours later be able to being it home and show off your prize.
Experiences are what people pay for, that is what we all want. How is the definition of experience.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
I saw this on a friend’s Facebook profile and had to repost. Sometimes I don’t understand why stuff happens, bad stuff, good stuff, forgetting stuff, missing someone, trials, triumphs, etc. The point is, we aren’t suppose to know why all the time:
There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the moment. A man’s whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there is nothing left to do, and nothing else to pursue.
To be clear, this is not a “let’s bash our government post.” Obviously I have no idea what it is like to run a country, nor would I ever try to claim I know how to do so. (At least, not any time soon. jk) Here are a few thoughts of some things I’m pondering as we surpass one year of Obama in office.
I am proud of what Obama has accomplished for race relations in America in such a short amount of time. I still don’t understand why people call him a black president. He is just as much white as he is black, but here is the revelation: IT DOES NOT MATTER. I think it is so awesome that kids of all creeds now see a multi-cultural man leading our country. It sends a powerful message that anybody can do anything they set their mind towards.
I also think it is awesome that our President listens to hiphop, embraces our youth, openly admitted to trying drugs, and just seems like an all around calm, open-minded dude. I would totally love to hang out and have a beer with him. But there is certainly a lot I would want to ask.
Recently, I got some economic advice from Mark Cuban, a tremendous entreprenuer I really respect. He told me that “cool doesn’t pay like you want it to,” and I absolutely agree. Obama is cool, but who is getting paid? We all know that America needs money and Obama has never run a business in his life.
Below is a great video I found on the hypocrisy of power. I am very grateful for everyone who is risking their life as a member of America’s military. You have courageous, brave souls and I appreciate you. I am a firm believer in the government providing structure, aid to the poor (not auto industries), and safety. But the issue needs to be the safety of all people. You have to count not just the American deaths and potential American deaths, but the deaths everywhere. Everyone counts.
To me, this is not a war on terror. It is a war to save American capitalism. Lack of money jeopardizes our system as much as any terrorist. Capitalism is a society ruled by money and those who possess it. Ok, but why should that involve our government? The wealthy hold disproportionate power and use it to preserve their interests, especially the ability to make more money.
Nas, a rapper who Obama likes, said it best in his song “Rule” in 2001:
“Look at what this country’s got
There shouldn’t be nobody homeless
How can the president fix other problems when he ain’t fixed home yet
The earth wasn’t made for one man to rule alone
To all colors increases, to home it belongs
I want land, mansions, banks and gold
The diamonds in Africa, oil in my control
The world’s natural resources, all its residuals
But then comes foes, I have to guard it with missiles
And I become the most wanted.”
America has been cooking a recipe for economic disaster for quite sometime. The real cake (money) we should be biting into is in America, not Iraq. The batter is waiting to be baked by entrepreneurs. The ones who have the ideas, passion and will to fulfill their dreams. The key ingredients are all around us, not at Walmart, but at your neighborhood mom and pops grocery. I am not sure why we need to invade the other side of the world and kill people to get the dough.
Yesterday my friend Felipe (www.alfonsofelipe.com) posted an interesting quote on his facebook page that made me think…
“He missed her call, she text’d him back, he PING’d her,she followed by poking him on facebook, she tweeted, he added her on asmallworld, they broke up via email.”
These days you can pretty much do ANYTHING online. I am pretty tech savvy myself, (hello you are reading my blog) — and I credit the internet for its convenience, and ability to stay close knit with far away friends.
However, I think it’s important to make a conscious effort for person to person interaction. Physical touch is so important. Nothing beats it or replaces it! You can’t ever get these days back.
jk) Here are a few thoughts of some things I’m pondering as we surpass one year of Obama in office. 