Listen to the Music

Alright lovers, we're going to play a listening game. If you've read this far, participation is mandatory.

Step 1: Copy and paste the following link into a separate tab and pick one of the songs listed (they're all the same song so it doesn't matter too much, with the exception of the awkward song entitled 'jealousy rides with me') - http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/songs/?query=soul%20meets%20body

Step 2: give thanks for Grooveshark.

Step 3: let it load completely.

Step 4: while listening, read the lyrics below (courtesy of AZlyrics.com).


I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me

And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing

And feel, feel what its like to be new

Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they’re far more suited than here

And I cannot guess what we'll discover
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another’s
And not one speck will remain

Chorus:
And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Where soul meets body (x2)

Chorus.

There's a lot of songs that go straight to my heart. And the other day, I discovered that this was one of them. I've listened to this song countless times, but for whatever reason, as I was sitting on my bed, struggling through writing a summary about Soussure (structuralism. yikes.), I started listening to this song and I felt myself falling in love with the lyrics, with the power of the instruments, with his voice, with everything. My heart was listening and hanging on every word; I listened to it about 5 more times and finally, I was able to go to the next song.

I wish I could better describe what I felt when I really listened to this. Maybe it's because it's so beautifully relevant to everything that my heart is feeling right now that I fell in love. My heart feels the sun all the time and there's nothing I love more, it feels a newness that's been missing for so long, a newness that cleanses and brings me pure happiness. My thoughts run wild with wonderful dreams- I only hope they find a more suited place and turn into the most fantastic reality. People can change the world by healing each other, by washing one another, by forgiving, by forgetting; I see so much potential in this world, I can't believe otherwise. I know that there are roads left in my shoes- I have so much that I want to do with my life and I have the talent, the energy, the support, the strength and the love to do it, nothing is going to stop me. And there is just one song I want to hear, for ever and always and I know that someday, I will and it will be a melody meant just for me softly soaring through my atmosphere.

End of game :)

Confetti rainfall in a quiet street: The beauty is in what you make it

It's 12:45. I'm supposed to be sleeping, but my mind is running instead so thus, I write. Have you ever had moments where there's nothing you want more than to just see into the future a bit? maybe 5 years? 2 years? 1 year? 6 months? just to know what lies ahead? I'm in one of those moments right now. I want to see where my life is going, how everything turns out and most importantly, when it all happens. I can make it through the now if I could just see the eventually.

Earlier this evening, I had a conversation that changed my life. I doubt this person knew it at the time (although I assure you they know now), but it was one of those moments where I saw something that I had never seen before, a glimpse of something that could be part of my future, something that I would eagerly work towards just to have, even if for a small moment. And now, I can't get it out of my mind (hello 1:15 am) and what's more, I don't want to. I'm content with dreaming my dreams, with thinking of what could be, because it makes me happier than I've been in a long time. As I was talking with this person, I felt myself live for the future, live for what I don't know yet, but will know when the time comes and live because I knew I couldn't let chance pass me by.I'm usually a fairly passive person and yet, my heart would not have passivity. I know that I can't throw in the towel on this one. My heart, my dreams refuse to admit defeat. There's too much at stake, too much that I want out of life and I'm willing to give up most whatever it takes for this chance, where I know I would find happiness.This same friend said something I found quite profound: day by day, our dreams will happen before our eyes. And as far as I'm concerned, he's perfectly right. There's nothing keeping me from living my dreams, absolutely nothing. Life is in my hands; it is whatever I make it. Yes, money is a beast, location gets in the way, people sometimes frustrate, and reality has a bitter taste. But those are just obstacles that I know I can overcome. I have lived my life solving it; now I want to live my life loving it, taking everything that comes and living out my dreams.

I still can't see into the future, that unfortunately hasn't changed. But this doesn't leave me helpless. I have no idea where I will be, but with these dreams, I have a fairly good idea of what I want to work for, where I want to orient my life, and above all, the happiness that I know is within my reach. And now, goodnight :)

My Act of Remembrance

Today, January 16, 2010, my grandpa passed away. It was expected as his health had been failing over the course of a few months. And yet, when I got the phone call this morning, I cried. The tears didn’t last long, but they still hurt and my heart knows that this is for the best, but it still cries. I love my grandpa. He was a wonderful and dedicated man, to his family, his country and to the gospel.

Growing up, I would spend many a weekend at my grandparents house and when we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s, it meant several things: staying up later, eating sugared cereal (which was strictly forbidden at home) and for me, going out to the base to ride horses because Grandpa knew long before I did that there would never be a pony waiting for me under the Christmas tree. I have so many wonderful memories of going up there- of going over to the Diggnin’s house to marvel at their fat cat Max; playing the Mother Goose game on the computer; watching the fish in the fish tank for hours because there were so many; listening to old time country music with Grandpa wherever we went; going out to Denny’s, Home Town Buffet, Spunky Steers or that one Mexican restaurant, all of which knew my grandpa by name; opening any door of the house to find a fully-loaded riffle in the crack; watching Grandpa take care of the fruit trees; playing down in the bamboo by the creek. This was a large part of my childhood.

I learned a lot from my Grandpa. He was a selfless man, always helping Grandma wherever they went with whatever she needed, even if he uttered a few swear words in the process. He loved little children and little children loved him, a Christ-like attribute that my grandpa easily possessed. Whenever we went somewhere, the question, ‘where’s Grandpa?’ would inevitably come up and when we would look behind to see if we could spot him, he was almost always talking with a little child who had caught his attention. They loved him and he loved them.

My Grandpa was the first to call me Kris, a nickname that has stuck; some people only know me by Kris. He also called me Grand-dolly, with that southern twang of his, and it was rare that my full name was ever used. Grandpa always had his camera wherever we went. And of course, we all dreaded it. Any family gathering, any restaurant we ate at, any thing- there was Grandpa and his camera, taking candid or more often times forced pictures. I love those pictures now. I’m grateful for his dedication to the camera- without that, I wouldn’t have some of my favourite pictures of my childhood. Grandpa also had a lot of random sayings that most of the time, I never understood. "Even blind hog finds an acorn every now and then" was one of his favourites. He was full of so many things to say and listening to Grandpa was always a treat, even if it was usually over my head.

I love my Grandpa dearly. He was my only grandpa and I was blessed to know him, to love him, to be loved by him and to know that this isn’t the end- I will see Grandpa again, I will hug him and kiss his cheek and he will call me Kris or Grand-dolly again. I know he is happy, I know he is whole and I know that he is waiting for me. I love my Grandpa.

Dreams and Ambitions to the Highest Bidder

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about life, how it really is worth living and how it's really meant to do amazing things. So I've decided that if reality didn't stand in my way, I would give anything to do the following with my life:


1- be a singer for Cirque du Soleil: I'm not a fantastic singer, I'm not just being modest, but to sing for Cirque du Soleil would be beautiful. The music for the shows that I've seen has changed how I hear music. To be surrounded by beautiful costumes, movement and dance and be able to contribute to that beauty would be surreal.


2- be a curator at The Louvre: the center of my passion. I spent 7 hours in this museum and only covered about a third. To be able to work in this magnificent home to hundreds of years of art... the idea is pure happiness. I have this passion for art that I want to share with everyone. Anyone who has brought the subject up knows this as I will gladly talk about art for hours on end. The amount of schooling needed to work in The Louvre is unfathomable, part of what keeps me from it, but to be able to walk around the halls, talk to people who actually want to hear me talk, to tell the stories and passions behind the works within is a thought I will gladly entertain.

3- be a food critic: I love food. I have a fairly able pallet. And I'm not a picky eater. I think those are valid enough reasons.



4- work for Rick Steeves in Spain or South America: After touring with Kristin this past summer in France, I realized that I would love to work in a tour company, showing people a city that I am in love with and help them fall in love with it too. I want to change people's lives and traveling does just that. I love Spanish and would be able to use this beautiful language every day. And there's nothing wrong with residing in South America or Spain for the rest of my life.

5- be like Francesca: in a similar vein to #4, Francesca was one of our tour guides while we were in Rome. And she was absolutely delightful. In Rome, to become a private tour guide is a rather extreme process; you must be able to name each specific street in the huge city, their historic significance as well as who tripped on the fifth cobble stone and how. But I would love it. And something more, I admired Francesca for who she was; everything about her was lovely. She was charming, funny, cute, beautiful and wonderfully human. We talked about everything, not just what we were seeing in the city, but about books, life, what we want to do, our favourite television shows, anything. I want to be like Francesca, not just because of what she does, but because of who she is and because of the respect I have for her.

6- write for aly's magazine: aly wants to start a magazine about great things in life. And I want to write for it. I love aly. I love to write. A promising future.

7- be a nurse: I've always been fascinated with the human body, how it functions, what it's made of, everything. One of the hardest decisions of my life was giving up the medical field for the Humanities. I don't regret this decision, the Humanities is my life, but I do miss it. If it weren't for the obscene amounts of chemistry that are required for nursing, I would be in nursing, but alas, my lack of compassion for atoms and fusion has gotten in the way. But beyond this, I would love to be a nurse because I want to heal people, I want them to feel hope, I want them to know how much I care about them and that I will do all in my power to fix them. I would love to be a nurse.

8- work in Africa: I want to serve. It doesn't have to be in Africa, just somewhere I can make a difference and somewhere I can lose myself and give all that I have to others. Africa is just on the top of that list, but it's certainly not the limiting factor. I would go anywhere.

9- dolphin trainer at Sea World: I love animals. I love the ocean. And I'm addicted to the Dolphin Show at Sea World, even though I know that the member of the crowd who falls into the tank is a trainer en cognito. I don't know what the qualifications are to become a dolphin trainer, but it's something I've always thought I would enjoy, having that close bond with such a unique and exciting creature. For those curious, I would also work with the penguins, the bottlenose whale and the sting rays. I would not work with sharks. ever.

10 (because all legitimate lists are in sets of 10)- hair dresser: I realize this seems a bit random compared to most of the others on this list, but rest assured, I have my reasons. For starters, cutting hair is cool. For anyone who has tried to cut their own hair, you know that it really is a talent. And it's incredibly useful- I can't tell you the number of times I've wanted someone to give me a quick trim or curl my hair because I'm completely incompetent in the matter. And there's something rewarding about being a hair dresser- people come to you with a change in mind and you help them become beautiful. Helping people see that they are beautiful is always rewarding.

And now, to dream :)

Love Today

I've not been much of a blogger. It is true that I have a few posts on a rather Legit blog, but aside from that, I've always found blogging to be a bit of a waste of time. There's an ego that goes with blogging that I find quite disdainful and upsetting. And yet, here I am, blogging. There's a reason for my conversion; simply because I want to write. I know this may sound silly, but that's why I'm sitting here typing now. I know I won't be able to change the world through this blog, I know that whatever influence I have will be incredibly minimal. To be perfectly frank, I don't much care who reads what I write, but my hope is that whoever does by chance (or fluke) will be happy and influenced for the good because of a thought or idea. I'm going to try my best to always be happy when I write; I can't guarantee this as we all have our pitfalls and whatnot, but that's the goal. I going to try to glean a lesson whenever I can, to see the good in life because life is good. There is no way I can think otherwise.

So here's to happiness, goodness and life- it starts :)