remember who you are

Please do not forget that being physically sore is a good thing.
Days off are things that are earned.

Every moment of every day is influential beyond your wildest imagination. I encourage you to be present in conversation and continually enrich people's lives through listening. Do not be afraid to say the wrong thing, as often times the wrong path will lead you to the right one.

Your journey is important, regardless of the course. 
Learn something from everything, even if the lesson doesn't exist.

CELEBRATE all triumphs over ANYTHING, be them small, big, or ASTRONOMICAL.
Surprises are good. Let people surprise you.

Walk, do not run. Enjoy your surroundings and make the best out of everything.

Do not be afraid to be selfish.
Do not be afraid of other's selfishness.

Encourage people to feel. 
Do not try to solve anyone's problems, for their issues are far more rooted than you could ever know. Instead, help people to find the truth in their own life and encourage them to invest in the findings.

Be approachable and follow the things that are true in your heart.
Be open. Period.

Do not ever feel like you are alone. It's easy to feel disconnected but it's important to understand your personal connectivity in your disconnect.

Call on people when you need help. Life is more difficult without a community.



YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD ONE PERSON AT A TIME. AGE DOES NOT MATTER. WISDOM DOES NOT MATTER. 

losing my breath

i'm afraid to let go because you're all that i have.

you're already gone. already gone.

the ghost of you haunts my dreams

silk linens wrapped amongst your bone.

we're drunk off of wine in separate rooms alone.

my head is spinning in this world.

stuck in the desert with an imaginary map.

something always takes the pessimist and beats him in me.

wondering if there's hope; it's been lost and it's not where it should be.

something always takes the pessimist and beats him in me.

i don't think i see all the muck and the mire that you see on me.

i walk along your side with our hands intertwined.

you're feet leading mine. feet leading mine.

i've drank your blood in hopes of a cure.

it was the only romantic thing i could think of.

i'm driving drunk in your grace and i'll never lose time.

my head is spinning in this world.

stuck in the desert with an imaginary map.

something always takes the pessimist and beats him in me.

wondering if there's hope; it's been lost and it's not where it should be.

something always takes the pessimist and beats him in me.

i don't think i see all the muck and the mire that you see on me.

all the lonely kids are kept company by their loneliness

all the lonely kids are kept company by their loneliness

i'm here, lonely, searching for you

wandering through the darkness. are you lonely too?

all of these thoughts make me dizzy.

will you come around to straighten me out? straighten me out.

crude conversation always comes with the following dawn.

you're always the greatest listener

but it seems that you lost your voice the day that you told me you love me.

something always takes the pessimist and beats him in me.

wondering if there's hope; it's been lost and it's not where it should be.

all the lonely kids are kept company by their loneliness

i'm here, lonely, searching for you

wandering through the darkness. are you lonely too?

three-oh-wuhn ey.em.

what are you supposed to be...

a sensation that transcends the grasp of time.

an impulse based on the intake of adult beverages.

a connection that is forever fervent in it's growth.

an i do.

a promise to heal and grow.

a crutch with no load capacity.

a person always in your corner.

sex.

a safe embrace.

what will you live up to be?

I'll be honest. I know I'm not the best, the brightest, the most creative.

But I'm exclusively me; an ever evolving, constantly moving character. I may not be leading from the front but I'm definitely innovating from the rear.

If you're into that sort of thing, feel free to join the ride. We'll have plenty of stories to tell, that, I assure you.

april 6, 10

i always find myself staring at you through an old rusted fence.

the sunrise highlights the curves of your hills which billow elegantly to the horizon, graciously dropping like a feather through the morning mist. your fervent green complexion is plush.

you are blemish free.

here, the hills have dried. the earth no longer has the ability to give and has cracked under the pressure, leaving it's soul exposed to the wind. the drought has brought famine. the famine has skewed reality.

the hope of you keeps me alive.

i long to pick flowers with you. to compare the beauty of spring sprung dandelions with your eyes only to conclude that it's like comparing the tan grass that blows in the fields to your skin; they are one in the same. your hair, like the leaves of fall, spirals downward toward your collar bone. i rake it back from time to time to kiss the fertile soil of your neck.

you taste like honey.

we speak of a day when the fence will be torn down and our lands can meet. time will struggle to stay at the pace of our to-dos:

we'll carve our names into our forests.

we'll draw hearts on our beaches.

the starry night will be our blanket and the universe's universe will cast new constellations.

we'll be married by the man in the moon!

but for now, i really like the way you look through that old rusted fence.

jeebus, i love you.

well, here goes nothing.

yet another adventure, yet another month of around the globe. am i stoked?

OF COURSE!!!

but sometimes it's difficult to gear myself up for another month of traveling. i enjoy spending time with friends, working at my own pace, and just doing nothing. i'll miss my bike and the abnormally beautiful arizona spring. it's really kind of stupid how well the weather has behaved, and for that i am grateful.

here's another shot at communication through the digital rectum of our society*. blog you must. blog i will.

here's to hoping that it lasts this time.

*too offensive/explicit maybe? it's okay, i'll still love you.

Sacrifice

For Dan.

Greetings everyone.

I write to you from the sky above DenveAriNebrawho the hell knows where. I’m currently en route to Nashville from Los Angeles to start another tour for 3 weeks. The plane that I’m on only has 58 passengers so I decided to treat myself to an entire row. I threw my bag in the aisle seat and plopped down in the middle. My broad shoulders did the rest of the work while the occasional act of gagging flashed over my face to distract any curious onlookers. As the planes wheels so elegantly lifted to the sky I pulled a brown notebook from my bag that I frequently travel with. From time to time I write letters in this notebook that I never plan on sending. Just letters to myself, from myself, expressing my thoughts and emotions, asking questions, and remembering times that were happy, sad, or any combination of the two. Chances are these letters may have my favorite memories of you, things that you have said that have been encouraging or thoughts and dreams that we have shared together that have deeply resonated my inner being. On the first page of my notebook is a letter that I wrote around a year and a half ago about sacrifice and the role it plays in our life.

“My time on the road thus far has left me in deep contemplation of sacrifice and the role that it has in my life. Sacrifice has appeared to me in many forms; relationships at home have been sacrificed to further relationships on the road, cleanliness has been sacrificed so that the band can be on budget and on time, and I feel at times that life has been sacrificed for career advancement. The question that has frequently been crossing my mind is how much must one sacrifice of themselves before they sacrifice themselves entirely? To speak vaguely, when does too much of a good thing become a self-destructive bad thing?”

It’s interesting to think of these questions and think about the things that I’ve sacrificed for what I have. My career is advancing in so many different ways than I could have ever thought of. I feel very happy with where I am as a person and how comfortable I’ve become with myself. Although I do feel that my happiness is worth a large sum of sacrifice, I can’t help but question whether or not I’m sacrificing the right things for the right thing.

I feel that as of late I’ve made some very inappropriate sacrifices, which have left me distraught and unfocused on the things that matter most. “Through all of my thinking, I’ve developed quite a close relationship with the concept of sacrifice. I feel that love and sacrifice are two mutually reinforcing acts of grace and kindness. Ultimately, I’ve concluded that in order to give and receive love in the purest of manners, one must first sacrifice his/her greater goals for the greater goals of relationship.” These are words that still resonate with my soul and call me to refocus my sacrifices on things and those that matter most.

To those who are reading this, I miss you very dearly. I continually hope and pray that our love and sacrifice be mutually reinforcing to our relationship. May we continue to care for each other forever.

I love you. More than you will ever know.