Life

Today is a good day to be alive

~ J.Lynn24 ~ 7 Comments

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Why?

Because this is another day
to do something you love
or to try something new.

This is another day for you
to randomly talk with a stranger
about tea and crepes and birthdays
(it’s not as unlikely as you’d think).

This is another day for you
to encounter a new friend
or to spend time with a cherished one.

This is another day for you
to listen to your all-time favorite song
or to discover a new one
that. just. gets. you.

This is another day for you
to lend a helping hand to someone
or to thank those who have lent one to you.

This is another day for you
to enjoy the vibrant green leaves
that have replaced the bleak brown branches
(even when you’re stuck sitting in traffic).

This is another day for you
to pick up a new book to read
or to finally finish writing your own.

This is another day for you
to color with crayons and markers
or to laugh at the child-like drawing you created
(of course that’s how you intended it to look).

This is another day for you
to turn your life around
or to keep staying strong on the path you’re on.

It’s a good day to be alive
because you’ve been gifted one more breath
and one more
and one more
to live this day.

So, what will you do with it?

Wrestling with rest

~ J.Lynn24 ~ Leave a comment

Prologue

When you are concussed,
they say you should rest.

Sleep, yes —
but not just that.
Rest your brain,
so it can recover
from the impact
of collision
inside your skull.

Rest:
No watching TV
No computers
No bright lights
So, basically, no screens
No physical activity
No critical thinking
No reading

I stare intently,
but the computer screen
I shouldn’t be peering at
still shows the same words.

Well, what on earth am I
supposed to do then?

I know, I know.
Rest.

Chapter

After another day of work that entails staring at a bright computer screen all day, writing, reading, and thinking critically, I sit down and finish the last couple chapters of my book.

Now, I will rest.

I open my laptop and bring up a blank, bright white Word document on the screen. I try to think of what I want to write, what I have to say, but nothing comes to me.

I sit in silence, eyes closed. And then, a thought emerges: Peace, be still.

Background noises come to my mind’s forefront. I hear the rain splatter on the roof. The vehicles in the intersection hum, squeal, and clank. They are not the only travelers on the road. Water droplets have taken individual journeys and now collect together in puddles, filling the potholes and crevices in the road. They rest together for a moment, until they are disturbed and displaced by a set of rubber tires — another vehicle in a hurry to get somewhere other than there.

Epilogue

Distraction
Commotion
Chaos
Turmoil —
Our worlds are filled
to the brim with it all,
making it difficult
to extract yourself,
to withdraw,
to slow down,

to rest,
to simply be still.

Reason, Purpose, and a bit of March Madness

~ J.Lynn24 ~ 2 Comments

IMG_1553Man, the month of March has flown away in a mad flurry, taking with it my perfect March Madness bracket. But, like Coca-Cola keeps reassuring me, it’s not my fault the teams didn’t cooperate with me. That’s beside the point, however.

So, what is the point?

To put it clearly: The point of this post is to contemplate the point of reason, the point of purpose, the purpose of reason, and the reason for purpose.

Confused GIF
Not clear enough?

Throughout the month of March, the word “reason” resonated in my mind and I jotted down phrases using the word as they came to mind. For example:

               Give me one good reason why…

               Let me reason with you…

               Without rhyme or reason…

               I found a reason…

               I am here for a reason…

The definitions for “reason” all pertain to the mind, as they deal with explanation, thought and understanding. Essentially, they focus around rationale and logic.

As humans, we tend to look for a reason in everything. We want a good reason as to why we should buy a particular brand over another one. We give reasons for why people, banks or companies should invest in us. The reasons, explanations and justifications we give are based on a process of logic.

For instance, while some people might fill out their March Madness bracket willy-nilly and hope for the best, there are a multitude of others who use reason to create the most likely-to-win bracket.

You consider each team. How have they performed in the past? Do they have notable injuries? Are they experienced? What’s their offense like? What’s their 3-point shooting percentage? How’s their defense? You attempt to logically account for unexpected twists, justifying a #15 seed upset over a #2 seed because crazy upsets happen all the time. In a process of reason and logic — and a bit of guesswork — you attempt to create a perfect bracket.

Isn’t that similar to life, sometimes? We go through life, logically assessing what steps to take in order to get to a certain place, to achieve a certain goal. We plan everything out, submitting to the fact that an occasional upset might happen that disrupts the process.

But we’re almost never prepared for those upsets. Just like there’s no way for you to know that Arizona (#2) will lose to Xavier (#11) and screw up your bracket, there’s no way of knowing you’ll tear your ACL in a college intramural flag football game, forcing you to learn how to walk correctly again (speaking from experience here).

March Madness GIF
When those upsets happen, we begin to question the reason behind it all.

It’s easy to wonder, “Why am I going through this?” We try to justify it, thinking there must be a logical reason for it. But it’s hard to understand why these things are happening to you. When that injury blindsides you, or a relationship falls apart, or you lose a job, or you feel alone, or…

There can’t be a logical reason for those upsets in life, right?

Maybe, reason needs to give way to purpose.

Purpose: The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

What’s the purpose in a March Madness bracket? Some do it for fun; others do it for money; and some do it for the promise of eternal glory when you — yes, you! — achieve that elusive perfect bracket.

Until that perfect bracket is shattered and your somewhat depressed, befuddled brain remembers the purpose of the entire March Madness basketball tournament — one team’s quest to successfully hurdle all of those upsets in its attempt to achieve ultimate victory.

Victory GIF
Maybe, the reason we experience upsets in life is to realize, remember, or reinforce our purpose… in life, in relationships, in your abilities.

When you finally heal from that injury, you no longer take for granted the ability to walk, sit, or sleep without pain. When you start a new job and are overwhelmed with training, you remember what is was like when you were overwhelmed while searching for a job, thinking you would never find one. Or, when you recognize someone who is hurting, you are able to help them because you went through the same hurt.

Maybe, instead of looking for a reason behind everything, we should be looking at our purpose in everything.

What do the Dark Side, Open Shortest Path First and Psalm 119:105 all have in common?

~ J.Lynn24 ~ Leave a comment

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To put it bluntly, I have been almost pathologically pondering paths.

Well, perhaps my desire to use alliteration and the word “pathological” makes that sound more extreme than it actually was, but let me semi-prove my point. A brief glimpse into Jen’s mind: Path. Paths. Follow the path. “You’re going down a path I can’t follow.” We all have paths we follow. Open Shortest Path First.  

Suffice it to say, if I had followed that original thought process, I would now be discussing either Anakin’s path to the Dark Side or Open Shortest Path First internet routing protocol. But I’m not, so rest easy.

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Instead, my thoughts turned elsewhere: Path. Paths. Follow the path. We all have paths we follow… “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Psalm 119:105 is one of those Bible verses that is so well-known, it becomes almost commonplace. I’ll be honest, I almost passed over it to focus on another thought. But then, I stopped.

Google, what is a path?

Google: A way or track laid down for walking or made by continual treading.

Continual treading. Those words intrigued me and prompted me to write the following words: A path indicates presence.

A path suggests that someone or something else has previously been in that same place.

Life snowflakes, we humans are unique. Our lives are unique. Yes, we can make similar choices and decisions, but our paths are all different. We have different experiences. You follow your path, and I follow my path.

“Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

If no one else has journeyed on my life’s path, how then can it be considered an actual path — if we consider Google’s definition and continual treading? If only I can follow my life’s path, then who or what has been there before me to create that path?

Let me turn your attention to the subject of Psalm 119:105 — word. More specifically, God’s word. How can God’s word be present to shine on our path? To answer that, I refer you to John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

God is the one who went before us, treading our paths. He prepared the paths that will lead us to the people we meet and the places we go. He even lights the way for us.

Will we choose to follow that path?

How writer’s block and an old poem resulted in thoughts on trust

~ J.Lynn24 ~ Leave a comment

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I’ll be honest here: I was having a brain fart. Or a writer’s block. Or something.

So, I put on my music and considered writing a poem instead. But when opening Word, I glimpsed a poem I wrote on December 20, 2016. I opened “The musical river” and read it. Reading that spawned another idea, which led me to my blog and prompted me to write the following words: “I’m still not quite sure how I want to get a point across. So for now, I have another exercise.”

Well, let me just take it from there, because my writer’s block went away.

If you would, go to iTunes or Spotify or YouTube and pick your favorite song to listen to. And I mean, a song that really, really gets you — every single time you listen to it. (If you’re at a loss for a song, here’s one from The Piano Guys.)

Now, lose yourself… in the music, the moment…

***

The musical river

One musical note
doesn’t seem like much —
as a single drop of water
doesn’t amount to much.

Perhaps this note is a B flat
or a C sharp —
and perhaps this drop of water
falls from the faucet
or drops from the sky.

On its own,
that one musical note
seems lonely and without context —
and the drop of water
seems small and insignificant.

But when that one tone
is followed by other individual tones —
and when that drop of water
is joined by more beads of water —

together they define a new creation.

The musical notes
support each other,
lead each other,
pushing forward with a sense
of purpose and perseverance —
as the drops of water
join together to become
a single entity
that flows with elegant determination,
until, at last,

the end of a new masterpiece.

***

I’ve been thinking a lot about trust recently. In fact, I’ve been thinking about trust for the past couple of months. And when I thought of trust, my thoughts turned to trust falls. I’m sure you all know what a trust fall is, but just in case:

Trust is scary. That moment you choose to let yourself fall is a moment when you place complete control into the hands of someone else. You trust that person to ignore surrounding distractions and catch you, support you.

So, these thoughts were lingering in my mind, when I turned on my music and read this poem again. That’s when the following thoughts passed through my mind: Each musical note does a trust fall into the next one. Without the next note to catch the one before it, the music ceases to be.

The musical notes in your favorite song rely on each other to create the final outcome. Without that trust, their existence and ultimate purpose would be undetermined and meaningless.

I’ll let you ruminate on that thought for a bit.

I will trust and not be afraid

~ J.Lynn24 ~ Leave a comment

img_4026-newIn my previous post, I left you at a ledge with a decision to make: Would you stay content in the darkness or would you move toward the light?

That ledge is daunting. You have no idea how far the drop is or what you might find below — if you survive the fall. To jump would mean losing control. It would be a leap of faith — belief without logical proof that there is more than the darkness you’ve been in, that purpose can be found.

You jump.

Your heart pounds violently, and your stomach flops as you fall. You’re terrified and utterly helpless. You have no idea what will happen to you.

You continue to fall, until, suddenly, you’re submerged in cold water. Water rushes into your lungs and you try to keep your head above water. You tread water, but the water is deep and you quickly get tired. You try to swim, but you don’t know which direction to go. You yell out for help.

Then, you hear a voice say, “Here, take my hand.” You reach your arm out to grasp the outstretched hand. The person is in a small boat that has a lantern attached to the helm. The lantern’s light emits a warm glow that contrasts with the icy water engulfing you. The person hoists you into the boat and wraps a warm, dry blanket around you.

You don’t know who the person is. You don’t know where the person is going. But the person has helped you.

The person turns to look at you and asks you a question…

… and before you answer, I want you to remember that Princess Jasmine wouldn’t have discovered a whole new world if she hadn’t first decided to answer the same question:do-you-trust-me

Do you trust me?

Thoughts on coffee. Yes, coffee.

~ J.Lynn24 ~ 2 Comments

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There are a lot of important things to realize throughout a person’s lifetime. Realizations like you can’t always please everyone, or communication is important in any relationship, or the simple fact that you need water to survive. I recently realized a startling fact about my own life: I have never made a pot of coffee before. Ever.

I love coffee. My dad first introduced black coffee to me when I was in second grade, and although I didn’t become a regular coffee consumer then (probably for the best — who knows how much shorter I would be), I grew up with an immense appreciation for the taste of black coffee.

Life passed by, and I dabbled in coffee drinking. Some coffee here, some coffee there, some coffee while I sat in a chair. Some coffee in class, some coffee at work, some coffee so I wouldn’t go berserk. Eventually and inevitably, coffee and I became quite close. It’s not like I depend on coffee or even drink it excessively, but I certainly look forward to it in the morning.

My workplace provides free coffee from both a standard coffee maker and a Keurig machine (what a beautiful, beautiful thing). I tend to go for the Keurig, due to the before-stated fact and topic of this post that I have never brewed a pot of coffee. You can be guaranteed that I would not try this whole process out for the first time at my work — I can easily imagine the number of things that could, and most likely would, go wrong.

So, I don’t have to brew the coffee at work. But, what if — horror of horrors — the Keurig machine broke, or the company ran out of K-Cups, or (hyperbolic situation alert) a gun was held to my head, and the only way the gun-wielder would let me live was if I could successfully make a pot of coffee? **music from Psycho shower scene plays** Would I be coffee-less? Would I die because of my inability to make a pot of coffee? Both are tragic thoughts.

I think I would be able to fake it ’til I make it. I’d like to think I’m a somewhat intelligent person, with enough common sense to be able to figure it out. But hey, with my life being threatened, I might not be able to. I mean, I’ve seen my parents, best friend, and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls make pots of coffee. But could I do it?

In case anybody else is in the same situation as I am (hopefully not the hyperbolic life-threatening situation), here’s a helpful YouTube video, posted by Levi Justin — what a life saver. The video is appropriately titled “How to make a pot of coffee.”

Good news: After watching this video, I realized I would have been able to make a pot of coffee. However, part of me feels like I am not officially an adult until I actually do it, so I should get on that. But this realization about my life makes me wonder: What else should I know?

Random side note: “Conglomerate” is an extremely fun word to say.

“Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first I came among these hills…”

~ J.Lynn24 ~ Leave a comment

–William Wordsworth

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Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m awful at this whole keeping-the-blog-up-to-date thing. But I might as well post something now, while I’m thinking of it.

Here’s a blurb from my previous post on change:
“I have been experiencing a lot of change in my life recently — moving out, becoming independent, more responsibilities at work and life in general, my impending senior year of college, thoughts about where I’m going to end up in the future — and I have grown to realize that I actually like change.”

In an ironic way, you could say that I’m in a very similar situation this very day (uncannily almost exactly a year after my last post). Here I am, facing another life-changing time in my life. I graduated from college, and in a couple of weeks, I’ll be moving into my very own apartment (so very independent). I started a new job in the field that I wanted (I even get some spiffy business cards). Suffice it to say, I am very much encountering the realities of “adulting.” But here I am, still enjoying the changes that I have been through, and looking forward to the changes I will be going through.

But that wasn’t the main reason why I wanted to write a post today… Did I mention I got to travel to Europe this summer? For three weeks, I got to explore the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, with a very good friend. And it was absolutely amazing and beautiful and eye-opening and so, so cool.

While I took hundreds and hundreds of pictures throughout the trip, I decided along the way that I wanted to take portraits of locals in each town/city we visited. Thankfully, when I wanted to back out (because I had no knowledge of the language and would probably seem like a bumbling idiot), my friend told me to just do it. She taught me the Czech phrase I would need, and the portraits began (I eventually realized that I tended to gravitate toward intriguing old men… that’s not too weird, right?)

I mean, he was sitting at a cafe outside, sipping wine… I couldn’t not take his portrait — Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Vienna, Austria
These palace soldiers weren’t supposed to smile. And he didn’t — Prague, Czech Republic
Salzburg, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic
He wanted his portrait taken of him on the ground; so here it is — Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Vienna, Austria
The whole gang — Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Yes, I know her eyes are closed… ugh… but she was a classic — Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
So sweet and loved to talk — Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Salzburg, Austria
While obviously not a portrait of a person, this Dachau monument represents the many people who suffered and died there — Dachau, Germany
The first portrait, Peter — Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Vienna, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic
Chilling in the palace gardens — Vienna, Austria

Like I said before, I have so many pictures from this trip. And these are obviously not the most professional or masterful portraits ever. But, to me, these portraits will always be special. Because they were random encounters with real people living individual stories, during a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Some of them may have a hard life; some of them may have a simple life; and some of them may have a happy life. But I think I was drawn to these people because, unconsciously, I wanted to capture the wisdom they’ve earned, or their quiet enjoyment of life, or their continuing pursuit of living a full and free life.

And, in honor of those whose lives were cut short, I want to be sure that I look forward to the life I am blessed to live and the changes that come my way.