Love.
Faith.
Hope.
People.
Joy.
Encouragement.
Courage.
Emotion.
Victory.
Beauty.
Solitude.
Community.
Music.
These are the things that are important to me. These are the things I want to share while I am still here waiting for my freedom.
It's hard to see where you are walking when you can't look forward because of the blinding snow. My inadequate shoes trudge through the traffic-churned slush on my way to class. Others around me pull their coat tighter around their neck, trying to halt the biting wind. We are all on our way to or from class, we are all pursuing a piece of paper that will give us a leg up in life.
I smile to myself, thinking about everyone's different stories, their different motivations, their different dreams. A taller guy with buzzed hair in a thin hoodie walks by, hands in his pockets, trying not to look very cold. Another girl walks by, you can hardly make out her eyes under her floppy, furry trimmed hood. Life is full of these moments. People go about their own business as the world flies by in a flash around them. Who are you? What is your life story? What is your passion? I don't have time to ask them; they are gone.
I believe with all my heart in the extravagant. No, not the kind which can be bought, but the kind which is priceless. The comfort of a friend, the towering massifs of an icy mountain range, the breathtaking colors of fall, the unconditional love of a parent, the generosity of a stranger, the liberating emotion of music. It's these things which color our world and give life a yearned-for quality. For these are the elements that take us from merely living, to truly alive.
Our lives are invaded with the negative: a murder on the news, the terrorists in the Middle East, don't fail this test, don't miss this deadline. Stress and worrying are familiar friends. Pay the bills, buy more things, get a higher paying job. Material things.
More things.
Just a little more, then I will be happy.
Me.
Can you make me happy? No? Good day then.
I can't do this. I don't know why. I wasn't always this determined and I still have my moments, but I believe there is more to this life than what our society says is important. This is my counter culture; my cultural rebellion.
Sometimes I get frustrated with myself. I want to throw off the bonds holding me here. I want to wander and find a need. I am here, though. This piece of paper everyone is racing to get is two years behind schedule. I value my education, but not the paper. It is a stepping stone, a tool, but if it weren't for the merits of critical thinking I would be long gone. So I am patient, or I try to be. I wan't to shake everyone by the shoulders and shout, "why do you care?!" But I know the blank look on their face: "you're here too, why do
you care?"
I have plans. I have dreams. Huge, monumental, epic dreams which terrify me, but it is the affirmation I see in my life around me which holds me on course. These things I write about renew my vigor and remove my complacency. While I am here, I will share these passions. Most people won't care. Few will follow closely, being of similar mind. But if I can give a little hope or encouragement to someone when they need it most, well then, every single second of toil was justified.
1 Cor. 13:13
