i think everyone is grasping at God in some way
be they a sikh, christian, hindu, etc.
am i talking about pluralism?
no, because this has nothing to do with religion.
God is too big and wonderful
to be contained by any one man made label, construction, or nomenclature.
if you have a passion for Truth
i do believe that all else will follow in time
and ultimately it is one’s desires
shaped by one’s choices
that reveal the heart.

i often wonder about what heaven will be like.
when people arrive into union with God
will He welcome them as his adored muslim?
christian baby? buddhist beloved?
no, i am confident He will simply say
welcome back, my child.

all religions are a vector towards God
but not one has an entirely full grasp on His complete and indisputable nature.
first and foremost
God is Love.
some people understand that better than others
but still they all dwell on the edge of who He truly is
and each nudges one another to get a little closer to the great Mystery.
these are but the fringes.

on january 23rd he’ll be leaving for africa
on his way to begin training for his 2 year peace corps commitment, in the country of zambia.
i’ve always admired people who could
leave all that they know to pursue an ideal that really moves them.
his program will deal with rural education development
and he’ll be living on the bare minimum for food
housing, transportation, and hygiene.
everyone who knows abe knows that he loves food
so the change in diet will only be one of the many challenges he’ll have to conquer.

over the years he’s become one of my closest brothers
through all the jokes, shenanigans, late night conversations
and honest ramblings about food, future, and faith.
knowing that people with his heart are around the world
trying to make it better
gives me a lot of hope for what’s to come.
i can only imagine how much he’ll grow and change in 2 years time.
shake and bake, you never know until you try!
so here’s to you brother.
you are an encouragement
and i’ll be rooting for you the entire way.

spend it with a less than interesting person or event
and it can’t go by soon enough.
yet when you spend it with someone you love
it seems as if even all the time in the world
is not time enough to be had.

even the slightest bits of reflection will tell you that
time does not slow down for anyone.
with that being said
in a life where time quite literally flies by
it pays to wait.

“nothing in life worth having comes easy.”
i think waiting for the things that matter most to you
is a way of coming to grips with the reality of being mortal
of being finite and ephemeral.
everything else in life is blazing by
so why not slow down in the parts that we can
and make the most of opportunities in the present.
for myself i choose to wait
to resolve to actively wait for that where the heart is.
find yourself a treasure worth resting on.

growing older is inevitable
though it is inherently different from growing up.
i wonder where we’ll be one year from now
with 2012 all but finished with.
sometimes it seems that the only thing faster than time itself
is my own imagination.
try to catch up if you can!

in light of the massive amounts of studying that characterize finals week
the idea of effort has been on my mind as of late.
an entire semester of classes, assignments, notes
and papers culminate in a few final exams
and it can definitely get a little nerve-racking.
ive certainly found myself asking at times
if all my hard work is worth the simple letter grade that i receive
just to show that i did it, that i completed the course.
you can extrapolate it a bit further
and wonder: “are these four years of college worth the toil and stress?”
yes, i think so.

i’ve gradually learned that nothing beats effort.
hard work and perseverance trump “natural intelligence”
and they build a ton of character along the way.
talent is great, but it’s not everything.
give me effort and i’d take it over talent any day.

i think this applies to all facets of life
not simply in our studies and academics
but notably as well in our future jobs, service, commitment
and relationships.
no matter how many times you may mess up
as long as there is heart and effort in your soul
and a commitment to those virtues
we’ll vibe just fine.
as im constantly being molded by experience and adversity
it’s undeniably true that the journey, every time without fail
is heaps more valuable than the end result.

do your very best
and shoot for progress, not perfection.
besides, in love
there is no room for condemnation and guilt.
my God taught me that.

on that note
i am now officially a second semester senior.
so surreal.

through all the heartbreak and disappointment
it is truly and still
an amazing place to be.
hopefully the pictures can show a bit
of the beauty that is chicago in the summertime.
one day i will go back and allow God to retell the story.
a collection of sorts.

Click to view slideshow.

—- -

Every truth without exception—no matter
who makes it—is from God.

If a bird got accused of singing too early
in the morning.

If a lute began to magically play on its own
in the square
and the enchanting sounds it made drove a pair of young lovers
into a wild, public display of
passion,

if this lute and bird then got called before the inquisition
and their lives were literally at stake,

could not God walk up and say before the court,

“All acts of beauty are mine, all happen on the behalf of love”?

And while God was there, testifying for our heart’s desires,
hopefully the judge would be astute enough
to brave a question,
that could go,

“Dear God, you say all acts of beauty are yours,
surely we can believe that. But what of all actions
we see in this world,
for is there any force in existence greater than the power
of your omnipresent hand?”

And God might have responded, “I like that question,”
adding, “May I ask you one as well?”

And then God would say,

“Have you ever been in a conversation when children entered
the room, and you then ceased speaking because your
wisdom knew they were not old enough
to benefit—to understand?

As exquisite is your world, most everyone in it
is spiritually young.

Spirituality is love, and love never wars with the minute, the day
one’s self and others. Love would rather die
than maim a limb,
a wing.

Dear, anything that divides man from man,
earth from sky, light and dark, one religion from another…
O, I best keep silent, I see a child
just entered the
room.”

cooking in bulk and saving up food is convenient
but inevitably within a few days it goes bad
and it must either be eaten or thrown out.
preserving foods in the freezer is even worse
because it can be forgotten and remain there indefinitely
only rotting at a less noticeable pace.

i never saw the show myself
but apparently there is a program on a&e called hoarders.
it follows the lives of several people who suffer from compulsive hoarding
and they perpetually keep everything and anything
often in the name of sentimentality
even though the items have little to no value.
it makes me think a lot about simplicity and saving.

refrigerators, boxes, storage rooms, bags,
pockets, closets, even bank accounts…
all places to hold things that we think we’ll need for later
and that are considered “important” by our standards.
I think God intended for these hands, head
and heart to do the job just fine.

the tighter we hold on to something
the faster it’ll slip through our fingers.
we’re constantly saving up and up
which at times may be necessary and good
but be sure to leave some room for contentment.

on that same token
there are some things that don’t change.
hold fast to the attributes and memories that you consider dear
and change that which is for the better.

i try not to exaggerate when i write
but it has been astounding to see so much heartbreak in the lives
of those i care for.
or maybe it’s just because i was never this aware.

here is a song for you
for whatever season of doubt or despair you may be in.
yes
you’re in a funk no doubt
and you’re not quite yourself
but take heart.

the sun will shine.
sleeping can be restful.
worry-free smiles and laughs do exist.
food will taste good again.
God will lift up your head
and He will pull you through.
a song for you.

—- -

Having lunch in a field one day, i troubled an ant with a

question. I asked of him humbly,

“Have you ever been to Paris?”
And he replied, “No, but I wouldn’t mind going.” And then he asked me
if I had ever been to a famous ant city. And I regretted that I
hadn’t, and was quick to add, “I wouldn’t mind, too!“

This led to a conclusion: There is life that we do not know of.
How aware are we of all consciousness
in this universe?

What percent of space is this earth in the infinite realm?
What percent of time is one second
in eternity?

Less than that is our
knowledge of

God.

How then can we ever
argue about

Him?