Musings of a Younger Man

Recently I've been feeling extremely nostalgic and have decided to look back at some of my old pieces of writing. Most of it is drivel, but hidden amongst the trash I have found evidence of a few interesting thoughts. So, for today's blog - and for your consideration - I have decided to revisit a few of these past musings.

ON SETTLING (December, 2006)

Recently, I decided to check in on some of my old classmates - see what they’ve been up to since I last saw them. And it seems...they’ve all settled.

Everybody settles. It’s the nature of the world. We have the ability to imagine the infinite, but at some point we find a comfortable spot and we stop striving for better. We decide that, yes, this is a good place for me. I don’t need the infinite, and I really don’t need any more than what I have right now.

These two paragraphs were originally followed by another paragraph about the pointlessness of settling...the necessity of forward thrust. Now I'm not so sure. I can still imagine the infinite, but find the finite so much more palatable.

Excerpt from ON INDECISION? (December, 2006)

I am part of the go-anywhere, do-anything, become-anyone generation. And I’m lucky. But, I have come to realize that inside every silver lining there is a cloud.

We all know the old saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Well, yeah, of course you’re going to make lemonade. If lemons are all you have, it’s really your only option. Now, for a whole generation of 20-somethings, we’re facing a different problem. Life didn’t give us lemons. It gave us a warehouse of wholesale goods, a library of cookbooks, and a cheering section, telling us that we’re responsible for feeding the hungry, the elderly, and future generations. But, not to worry...we can make whatever our hearts desire.

Most of us are stuck standing around, looking at each other with our hands in our pockets - not sure what to make, and not wanting to disappoint our fans.

Nothing much has changed here.

And even though I fear I'm boring most of you, here's a children's poem from November, 2007.

WHERE IS THE DARK?

Where is the Dark
When you turn on the light?
Where does it run to?
Where does it hide?

Where is the Dry
When you jump in a lake?
The Sleep that you slept
When you suddenly wake?

Where is the Sadness
When everyone laughs?
The Whole
When your sandwich is sliced into halves?

Where is the Hunger
Just after you’re fed?
The Cold in your bones
When you're tucked into bed?

The Empty
Just after you fill up your glass?
The Clean on your jeans
When you roll in the grass?

Where is the Calm
When the wind starts to roar?
The Lost
When you know that you’ve been here before.

Where is the Dark
When you turn on the light?

I haven’t found it
But some day you might.