Lovelifegodandbeer’s Blog

So recently I’ve been thinking about karma. And I think I dig it. I’ve been trying to live my life lately with good karma. I think it’s a healthy way to live. It’s kind of a selfish way to be selfless… now here me out. Selfless would be to do something just to be kind, selfish would be to do something so someone owes you something. With karma you don’t really do things so people owe you, you just do things with the idea that good things will come to you. If I help someone out at work I don’t expect them to help me, but I’m starting to think that if I help people out just to help them, things start turning out well in the end. Think about it. I think it’s a good first step to selflessness.

So tonight after playing some great music with some friends, and listening to some great music of a friend I was driving to my girlfriends house. Because of the rain and the calmness of playing artsy music, I was in the mood to kind of chill. The basic of good chill, is good atmosphere… which starts with music. So check through the cds in my cd player… Bluegrass, shiny toy guns, worship, hotel california, funk and old jazz. (weird i know) All have their moments, but this was definitely an old jazz night. I always forget how much jazz moves me, and how much it means to me. It doesn’t take long while listening to just a little bit of Ella and Louis singing summertime to come to this realization. I’m still kind of in that mood and that’s probably why I’m writing. I just feel like writing.  I think chaucers, my book and some jazz are for sure in my near future! And I’m sure that will inspire some great writing, so get ready.

So tonight reminded me of something that I heard about a year ago. It’s something that has always stuck with me. It’s one image that pretty much encompasses everything I believe. Well the way I look at faith and how to live that out. It means, that it doesn’t really matter where you are, what you’re doing… it matters where you’re going, where you want to go and what you’re doing to get there. I think it’s the same with life in general. No matter what we are going to screw up, it’s going to happen. I’ve accepted that things aren’t going to be perfect, and it’s okay to screw up. We must think of our faith and our life in general not as an event but as a journey. An adventure. We don’t know where we’re going, but we can pick a direction.

This picture pretty much breaks down the black and white of faith. It doesn’t matter how close you are to the center, it doesn’t matter if you’re in the circle or out, it matters which way you’re pointed. Life’s a journey, it doesn’t matter where you are now, it matters where you’re going.

So I didn’t know how to show the picture other than drawing it and taking a picture, so I’m sorry this is ghetto. p.s. Thanks James

I wrote something I want to post but don’t know how to attach pictures in my post, which i need for it to make sense. Any wordpressers want to lend a brother some advice.

So I had a great night tonight! Not only did I get to play music with people I love I also had some great me time. Went for a walk after band practice, sat at Chaucers, had a St. Bernadus Tripel (quite smooth for an 8%, a different abbey beer, wanted to try this for a long time, glad i did) and read my book (refer to last blog). It was awesome! A bunch of people who looked like a bunch of late 30 early 40′s people came in looking like some kind of office get together. They were really loud, and talking like they knew beer. Definitely didn’t. I was kind of frustrated that they sat beside me. But it did make me realize how I was totally like an old man. Reading at a bar, by myself, wearing a scarf and vest, and complaining about the loud rowdy group! I’m not going to lie, it made me feel good…. cultured.

P.s. if anyone is wondering about the book…. AWESOME! A lot of books like this are way over my head, but it is what it’s title says, a guide for people that don’t know a whole lot. And also hilarious!

See ya

I bought a new book today. I’m really excited. It’s called “the sinner’s guide to the Evangelical Right”. I will probably blog about it at some point so just warning you. Just to give you a taste, it defines in the back…

Megachurch: An evangelical church with two thousand or more regular attendees and/ or a Frappuccino counter.

Liberal: Sinner. Someone who wants to raise your taxes and prevent you from being able to afford that big-screen TV from Sharper Image. Similar to the way Eskimos have multiple words for the word “snow” evangelicals have many for the word “liberal”. Here are a few: New York Times Reader, Card-carrying ACLU member, Intellectual, latte drinker, Yankee, city slicker, MoveON.org supporter, sushi eater, moral relativist, windsurfer, secular elitist, secrular humanist, Hillary supporter, French, faggot.

Not my words, but I did laugh at them a lot.

WOW, I don’t know how guys that blog everyday do it. I’ve been so busy I’ve barely had time to think. But today I had an hour and a half alone to think with nothing else to do so it reminded me to write. And I got paid for it! I know you’re saying “what Mark? Tell me more.”

So today I showed up for work at Starbucks and was just goofing off in the back room having a conversation when our managers calls, starts talking to our shift when our shift hangs up and yells we need to close the drive thru now! So we run out and close it, and she explains there’s a gas leak outside and the fire department is coming. Long story short, 2 fire trucks, 9 fireman, a union gas truck and a repair man later I was standing outside telling people that the drive thru was closed.

I did this for an hour and half. I actually didn’t mind it at all. Time alone to think is always good for me. The thing that amazed me and what I wanted to write about was how lazy people are. I understand if it’s raining and you don’t want to get wet, or if you’re in a hurry and think it’ll be faster, etc. and you want to use the drive thru. I get it. But it was amazing how many people drove all the way to starbucks to get a coffee and then when they were told they had to get out of their car to get the drink said either “I’ll come back later when it’s open” or “Well, then I don’t want the coffee”. Really? Really? We’ve come to this? We won’t walk 50 feet to get a drink.

Well, that’s all I had to say. I want to write more, and I’m going to try to write more. So stay tuned. And THIS TIME I mean it! haha

P.s. I don’t have time to edit or read this over so I’m sorry if it doesn’t make sense or there are typos.

So… apparently I haven’t written a blog in a LONG time. Between, starting a new job, going away for a week, finishing a self taught biology course and trying to have a social life things have been crazy. All I wanted to talk about right now though is music. I don’t know why it hit me recently, but man, you gotta love the stuff. The other day I was at Canada’s Wonderland. By around 6 I was done like dinner. Probably because of any one of: exhaustion, sun stroke and feeling sick from a bad pizza/roller coaster combo. I headed back to the car and just sat by myself for half an hour while people finished riding. I happened to find an ipod in the car, popped it in and just listened. It took me to another world, just sitting there, it relaxed me so much. After 2 songs I kind of came out of my trance for a second to find that 2 of the 5 cars surrounding me were gone. I didn’t notice anyone come and get in, or them start, or them drive away. I’m so glad we have the gift of music and that I have an opportunity to participate in such a great thing.

So recently I spent a couple days up a a buddy’s cottage at Rondeau Provincial Park. Although we stay at a cottage we walk through the camp sites everyday. We call it affectionately “the zoo”. You can walk up and down the rows watching people in their natural habitats. And as funny as that is, it got me thinking. I really do love the attitude, culture and the behavior or camping

I love the fact that you see people walking to the bathroom in the morning in their PJ’s with messy hair not caring at all what other people think. People don’t dress up to camp, they don’t bring their jewelry, they don’t spend hours on their hair in front of the mirror. There is no superficial part of camping, it’s just being in nature as yourself.

It’s refreshing to see families all sitting around a picnic table eating a meal together in community, especially in today’s day and age where we don’t always see that. People talking to the people beside them, not chatting on facebook. It’s really brilliant in how simple camping is. It’s something that I really think our society needs to look at before we lose the ability to communicate normally with each other.

I love the trusting nature of camping too. The fact that you go to the beach, leave all your stuff in a pile beside your fire pit and don’t worry that it’ll be stolen. People trust their neighbors that they met only a day ago and will only know for the week. I wish that this happened more in our own neighborhoods. These days the “living in community” term is everywhere. Well maybe a good place to start is in our actual communities, sharing with neighbors, helping when we can and watching each others backs.

And in closing, as my friend Brad often says…..

That’s all I got

Recently I have been struggling with, what is other peoples business? Recently I’ve been bothered by some stuff and I’m struggling if I should do something about it. Like really it probably isn’t my business but it’s kind of influencing the way I am around certain people. A part of me is thinking I should just write a quick email and just get what I’m thinking off my chest, another part is I should bring it up casually, and then the other part is I should get over it and deal with it on my own. It’s just hard, I don’t know if I’m being selfish or if I’m not being selfish enough. If anyone has some general advice, I’d love to hear it.