I sat perched on my black cushion, legs crossed. My wife, Holly, sat next to me on her own cushion. A few other people sat with us on their own cushions. All of our cushions lay on a hardwood floor. We sat in silent meditation.
Pierce asked us to think about traveling to the moon together. Once at the moon we realize that our transportation back to Earth doesn’t exist. Pierce asked, “What will you miss?” and he left us to ponder for a few moments.
The first thought that came to mind was nothing. I made the quick assumption that since Holly was sitting next to me that she too would be trapped on the moon with me.
I was satisfied with my answer but I continued to think about being trapped. I thought about my parents and brother. I simply wanted to tell them that I loved them and I wanted them to take good care of my fish and tortoise.
After thinking for a few more minutes I came up with one material possession that I would miss, my laptop computer. The only reason why I missed it was because of all of the stories and ideas I had ingrained into the hard drive. In my mind I asked my parents to try and get my works published. I didn’t miss anything else. What would it matter if I had material processions back on earth, I was never going to make it back there anyway.
After we all pondered for awhile, Pierce added to our visualization that now we had figured out a way to get back home. He asked the question, “How do you feel about planet earth now?”
I thought about how I should live my life like it’s my last day on earth. I shouldn’t be afraid to take risks. I shouldn’t have any regrets and I was reminded that a friend of mine once said, “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” when asked about having any regrets.
It felt wonderful to be reminded again about what is important in life and how to live life in the moment.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Salted Love
How many of us have ever liked someone? I mean really liked someone. I think it is pretty safe to say that most of us have liked someone at some point in our lives. Well, this story is about two teenagers who really like each other and their names are Sodium and Chlorine. For those of you who haven’t heard these names before Sodium is a boy and Chlorine is a girl. Sodium and Chlorine are in high school and they’re both on the swim team. Sodium and Chlorine are both extremely passionate about swimming. The two of them are constantly at the pool working on improving their skills. The two of them are so dedicated that both have become key members of swim team. Sodium is the star freestyle swimmer and Chlorine is the star diver.
Sodium and Chlorine really like each other but… well like any relationship there obstacles to overcome. Think about it, was there ever a little something about a person that you liked that bothered you? Maybe the person has a weird laugh or they never let you finish a sentence. I’m sure that’s true for most of us. You see, Sodium has this little, tiny problem with Chlorine. Now think about it, where is Chlorine used? We all know that chlorine is commonly used in swimming pools. Well, anytime Chlorine gets to close to anyone she tends to kill them with her poisonous gas…a minor problem for Sodium. Needless to say Sodium is a little nervous about getting too close to Chlorine.
Chlorine on the other hand, is a little nervous about Sodium. What do we know about Sodium? Sodium is a metal that reacts violently with water, so anytime he gets into the pool he burns everything around him. Let’s just say whenever he’s competing against someone from another team, he always burns the competition. Well the two of them decide that they really, really like each other so much that they are going to try and put aside their differences.
Of course no relationship comes without its share of ups and downs. Typically after practice Sodium would walk Chlorine home. They walked hand in hand all the way to Chlorine’s house. Walking home, Sodium was so choked up he could barely breath. Only after Chlorine entered her house would Sodium suddenly feel better. Sodium thought it was because he really liked her. He didn’t realize that he was getting choked up because of her poisonous gases.
Then came the day of their first kiss, which was unlike any other first kiss. One day after walking Chlorine to her house, despite being choked up, Sodium leaned in for a kiss. The moisture on Chlorine’s lips caused Sodium to react and Chlorine felt a sharp burning sensation on her lips. Chlorine slapped him and stormed off.
The next day at practice Sodium apologized profusely to Chlorine. He said that he hadn’t intended to hurt her. Chlorine knew that he didn’t mean it and she quickly forgave him. She learned to keep her lips dry so she wouldn’t get burned so easily.
In college their relationship had begun to affect others. There was one time when Chlorine and Sodium had an argument over the phone. Sodium was stressed out so he decided to go for a swim to try and relieve some of the tension. There were a few people in the pool and one girl was sitting on the side of the pool. Sodium dove into the pool hastily and began swimming. The water splashed and bubbled and when Sodium came up for air he caught a glimpse of the other people jumping out of the pool. He stopped to get a better look as to what was going on. They all had burn marks on their bodies and were glaring at Sodium. Sodium had completely forgotten about the fact that he burns people every time he gets in the pool. Sodium apologized profusely but they all stormed off. He felt bad but at least now he had the pool to himself.
On that very same day when Chlorine got off the phone with Sodium she went headed down to the pool to practice some of her dives. After diving for a few hours the other people began to complain about their eyes, nose and throat burning. Chlorine knew, unfortunately, at that point that it was time to go before she killed someone. Sodium and Chlorine worked through their differences throughout college and once college was over they decide that it was time for them to get married.
There they are on their wedding day. Chlorine is dressed in a beautiful white gown and Sodium is decked out in his tuxedo. Sodium is standing up at the alter as Chlorine walks down the aisle. When the time is right Sodium gives a ring or what he calls an electron to Chlorine. From that very moment they are bonded through holy matrimony. What ends up happening when they bond is they become something completely different. Sodium no longer burns anything when he goes swimming and Chlorine no longer kills people with her poisonous gas. They put aside their differences and become something brand new and much less harmful. That’s right when Sodium and Chlorine bond they become, Salt. How many of us have ever eaten salt? I’m sure once again that all of us have. Was anyone every killed by poisonous gases while eating salt? No, of course not. Has salt ever literally burned your mouth? I think not. So because these two bonded they now have a new set of characteristics and the original characteristics no longer exist. The Salt couple lived happily ever after.
Sodium and Chlorine really like each other but… well like any relationship there obstacles to overcome. Think about it, was there ever a little something about a person that you liked that bothered you? Maybe the person has a weird laugh or they never let you finish a sentence. I’m sure that’s true for most of us. You see, Sodium has this little, tiny problem with Chlorine. Now think about it, where is Chlorine used? We all know that chlorine is commonly used in swimming pools. Well, anytime Chlorine gets to close to anyone she tends to kill them with her poisonous gas…a minor problem for Sodium. Needless to say Sodium is a little nervous about getting too close to Chlorine.
Chlorine on the other hand, is a little nervous about Sodium. What do we know about Sodium? Sodium is a metal that reacts violently with water, so anytime he gets into the pool he burns everything around him. Let’s just say whenever he’s competing against someone from another team, he always burns the competition. Well the two of them decide that they really, really like each other so much that they are going to try and put aside their differences.
Of course no relationship comes without its share of ups and downs. Typically after practice Sodium would walk Chlorine home. They walked hand in hand all the way to Chlorine’s house. Walking home, Sodium was so choked up he could barely breath. Only after Chlorine entered her house would Sodium suddenly feel better. Sodium thought it was because he really liked her. He didn’t realize that he was getting choked up because of her poisonous gases.
Then came the day of their first kiss, which was unlike any other first kiss. One day after walking Chlorine to her house, despite being choked up, Sodium leaned in for a kiss. The moisture on Chlorine’s lips caused Sodium to react and Chlorine felt a sharp burning sensation on her lips. Chlorine slapped him and stormed off.
The next day at practice Sodium apologized profusely to Chlorine. He said that he hadn’t intended to hurt her. Chlorine knew that he didn’t mean it and she quickly forgave him. She learned to keep her lips dry so she wouldn’t get burned so easily.
In college their relationship had begun to affect others. There was one time when Chlorine and Sodium had an argument over the phone. Sodium was stressed out so he decided to go for a swim to try and relieve some of the tension. There were a few people in the pool and one girl was sitting on the side of the pool. Sodium dove into the pool hastily and began swimming. The water splashed and bubbled and when Sodium came up for air he caught a glimpse of the other people jumping out of the pool. He stopped to get a better look as to what was going on. They all had burn marks on their bodies and were glaring at Sodium. Sodium had completely forgotten about the fact that he burns people every time he gets in the pool. Sodium apologized profusely but they all stormed off. He felt bad but at least now he had the pool to himself.
On that very same day when Chlorine got off the phone with Sodium she went headed down to the pool to practice some of her dives. After diving for a few hours the other people began to complain about their eyes, nose and throat burning. Chlorine knew, unfortunately, at that point that it was time to go before she killed someone. Sodium and Chlorine worked through their differences throughout college and once college was over they decide that it was time for them to get married.
There they are on their wedding day. Chlorine is dressed in a beautiful white gown and Sodium is decked out in his tuxedo. Sodium is standing up at the alter as Chlorine walks down the aisle. When the time is right Sodium gives a ring or what he calls an electron to Chlorine. From that very moment they are bonded through holy matrimony. What ends up happening when they bond is they become something completely different. Sodium no longer burns anything when he goes swimming and Chlorine no longer kills people with her poisonous gas. They put aside their differences and become something brand new and much less harmful. That’s right when Sodium and Chlorine bond they become, Salt. How many of us have ever eaten salt? I’m sure once again that all of us have. Was anyone every killed by poisonous gases while eating salt? No, of course not. Has salt ever literally burned your mouth? I think not. So because these two bonded they now have a new set of characteristics and the original characteristics no longer exist. The Salt couple lived happily ever after.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
God Tests Us
Sometimes God throws us a variable that we don’t expect. We begin to question whether or not to go against our established norms. In some cases it is just a test to see if we stay on the same path resisting temptation. In other cases the variable is brought to our attention to lead us in different direction. The battle is deciding what is truly meant for us.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Dancing is All That Matters
Now, I love to dance! After a long week of work there is nothing better then going out and hitting up a nightclub. It is Friday and I am going to get all decked out in my best threads. I call up some of my buddies and we head out for a night on the town. I cannot wait to hit the dance floor.
We headed out to one of our favorite clubs. Picture this: the lights are way down, strobes are flaring, swirls of red, yellow and blue swing across the floor, and the music is bumping! There are so many beautiful babies all over this club. The only problem with the Solid Sizzle was that it was packed. There are so many people in this club that we could barely move. I saw this girl that was so gorgeous. I gave her an eye and she smiled back. I tried to make my way over to her but I couldn’t get through the crowd. All I could do was bump, up and down, and that was it. After a minute or two of not being able to get to her, I saw she was talking to another guy. I was so pissed. I looked at my buddies and said, “Let’s get out of here.” They nodded and we bounced.
We walked on down the street to another place we liked, the Liquid Lounge. This place was off the hook. The Liquid Lounge was so much more laid back than the Solid Sizzle. We could flow through the crowd, talk to the beautiful ladies and, best of all, we could dance. I was cutting a rug like the end of the world would come tomorrow.
We were at the Liquid Lounge for about an hour and we thought to ourselves even though this place is banging we have got to at least check out the Gas Grill. The Gas Grill is a restaurant but at 10 o’clock the tables get pushed aside and the DJ starts spinning some tunes. We knew since it was just after ten there wouldn’t be many people there yet we so we could probably get in for free.
Sure the Gas Grill didn’t have as many people as the Liquid Lounge or the Solid Sizzle but I was extremely happy because I had almost the entire dance floor to myself. To our surprise, at 11 o’clock there was a break dancing contest. There were four or five guys whipping around the dance floor. I couldn’t believe how they could move their bodies the way they did. One guy did some robot moves and, man, he was good! Another guy was spinning his legs up in the air like a tornado and somebody else was spinning around on their head. This night could not get any better.
After the break dance contest, my buddy leaned over to me and said, “Hey they just opened up a new club downtown, let’s go check it out.” I was game and so where the rest of my boys. When we approached the next spot we could see the name of the place in neon lights, The Plasma Place. This placed looked hot! There were all sorts of honeys in line waiting to get in. I said to myself, this is it! This is the place!
We didn’t have to wait long to get in maybe twenty minutes. My buddy Carlos walked in first but what I saw next would scare me to death. I stopped dead in my tracks before entering and I held my friends back. Someone took Carlos by the arm and flung him up against the wall. People started slamming into one another at full speed. It was a huge mosh-pit. I saw Carlos get slammed into the wall again, his arm flew off and hit some girl in the head. It was mass hysteria. The bouncers rushed in to try and break up the fighting but they were getting tossed around just as bad as anyone. One of the bouncers got slammed into the bar and his head went flying across the room. People were smashing into one another and body parts were flying everywhere. I felt the urge to vomit. All I could do was stare and watch as the horror unfolded.
The violence played out until the police arrived and the place was covered in tear gassed. When the police found Carlos he was dead. His limbs had been ripped from his body. My friends and I couldn’t believe what had happened. The night had been so awesome until Carlos was killed. I think it can go without saying that ever since the incident at the Plasma Place, I just haven’t had the urge to dance anymore. I advise anyone planning on going out dancing to steer clear of the Plasma Place. It’s located in Matterson City in the State of Matter. Please whatever you do don’t make the same mistake that my friends and I made, don’t go to the Plasma Place!
We headed out to one of our favorite clubs. Picture this: the lights are way down, strobes are flaring, swirls of red, yellow and blue swing across the floor, and the music is bumping! There are so many beautiful babies all over this club. The only problem with the Solid Sizzle was that it was packed. There are so many people in this club that we could barely move. I saw this girl that was so gorgeous. I gave her an eye and she smiled back. I tried to make my way over to her but I couldn’t get through the crowd. All I could do was bump, up and down, and that was it. After a minute or two of not being able to get to her, I saw she was talking to another guy. I was so pissed. I looked at my buddies and said, “Let’s get out of here.” They nodded and we bounced.
We walked on down the street to another place we liked, the Liquid Lounge. This place was off the hook. The Liquid Lounge was so much more laid back than the Solid Sizzle. We could flow through the crowd, talk to the beautiful ladies and, best of all, we could dance. I was cutting a rug like the end of the world would come tomorrow.
We were at the Liquid Lounge for about an hour and we thought to ourselves even though this place is banging we have got to at least check out the Gas Grill. The Gas Grill is a restaurant but at 10 o’clock the tables get pushed aside and the DJ starts spinning some tunes. We knew since it was just after ten there wouldn’t be many people there yet we so we could probably get in for free.
Sure the Gas Grill didn’t have as many people as the Liquid Lounge or the Solid Sizzle but I was extremely happy because I had almost the entire dance floor to myself. To our surprise, at 11 o’clock there was a break dancing contest. There were four or five guys whipping around the dance floor. I couldn’t believe how they could move their bodies the way they did. One guy did some robot moves and, man, he was good! Another guy was spinning his legs up in the air like a tornado and somebody else was spinning around on their head. This night could not get any better.
After the break dance contest, my buddy leaned over to me and said, “Hey they just opened up a new club downtown, let’s go check it out.” I was game and so where the rest of my boys. When we approached the next spot we could see the name of the place in neon lights, The Plasma Place. This placed looked hot! There were all sorts of honeys in line waiting to get in. I said to myself, this is it! This is the place!
We didn’t have to wait long to get in maybe twenty minutes. My buddy Carlos walked in first but what I saw next would scare me to death. I stopped dead in my tracks before entering and I held my friends back. Someone took Carlos by the arm and flung him up against the wall. People started slamming into one another at full speed. It was a huge mosh-pit. I saw Carlos get slammed into the wall again, his arm flew off and hit some girl in the head. It was mass hysteria. The bouncers rushed in to try and break up the fighting but they were getting tossed around just as bad as anyone. One of the bouncers got slammed into the bar and his head went flying across the room. People were smashing into one another and body parts were flying everywhere. I felt the urge to vomit. All I could do was stare and watch as the horror unfolded.
The violence played out until the police arrived and the place was covered in tear gassed. When the police found Carlos he was dead. His limbs had been ripped from his body. My friends and I couldn’t believe what had happened. The night had been so awesome until Carlos was killed. I think it can go without saying that ever since the incident at the Plasma Place, I just haven’t had the urge to dance anymore. I advise anyone planning on going out dancing to steer clear of the Plasma Place. It’s located in Matterson City in the State of Matter. Please whatever you do don’t make the same mistake that my friends and I made, don’t go to the Plasma Place!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
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