Decriminalization in GR

This is a blog to congratulate the city of Grand Rapids: the officials as well as the citizens. This is a blog to congratulate democracy for working as it should. This is a blog to congratulate a core group of people who had a vision, and made a change.

On August 14th it was announced by DCGR (Decriminalize GR) that they had received enough signatures to officially hold a spot on the local ballot. Months later, the people of Grand Rapids agreed with DCGR, by voting to make the possession and use of marijuana a civil offense, with a maximum fine of $100. This is an accomplishment by DCGR, the city of Grand Rapids, and the ideals of democracy that have the potential of making this country great.

Once again, I say congratulations to the core of DCGR, to those who signed the petition, to the officials who heeded the voice of their citizens, and to the citizens who voted to pass the decriminalization of marijuana in Grand Rapids.

Joy

Everyone has life to deal with. Difficulties and hard times to process daily. But I promise that today can be a good day if you let it. I promise that it can feel good to be a part of the human race. I promise that it can feel good to look in the mirror and see your own face looking back. I promise that that face can be filled with joy and happiness. Step aside, and let today be uplifting. The only person that can stop me from having a good day today is me.

Welcome to the only day, the current day, the best day: welcome to Today

-Evan

Animal

What if all of the standards of our society were lost? Would you still have any power? Would you survive? Darwinism exists in our society, but in a different way than it has in the past. I want to be powerful beyond politics and money. I want to be powerful through the sharpness of my mind and the fitness of my body. I want to fight someone and win. I want to exert physical force that is greater than my enemy's.

I am a man existing in a spiritual state, but I am also an animal existing in a physical state.

I want to master both.

Welcome to Today

-Evan

Power

Bane: [to Stryver] Leave us!
Roland Daggett: No! You stay here, I'm in charge!
Bane: [puts his hand on Daggett's shoulder] Do you feel in charge?
[Stryver leaves]
Roland Daggett: I paid you a small fortune.
Bane: And this gives you power over me?

(Quote from IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000208/quotes)

Roland Daggett thinks that his money give him power over others. Bane knows that his physical strength, intelligence, and the loyalty of his men gives him real power. The wealthy feel entitled because of what they have done with their money, but there is no power there. Power comes when people understand the power of your will; the integrity of your soul. Money can buy an army of mercenaries, but only loyalty can create an army of comrades.

Where do you draw false power?

Where can you draw real power?

Reach into your soul.

Be powerful.

Welcome to Today

-Evan

Writing Music

Lately I have been trying to learn myself about how to write music. It's harder than I thought. I am jamming on a few different riffs, and making some rad beats, but the lyrics and catchy melody are so difficult to make natural. I know what sort of message I want to send with my first album, but I don't know how to say it all in an artistic way, full of flow without the weight that I've come to know in this life I live day to night and this love I live tomorrow or later tonight.

I want to ask the same questions that I ask in this blog, but I need a lightness to be mixed in. I need some songs to be crushingly emotional while others are whimsically releasing. I need my personality to be embodied in song. I want to create a real, perfectly authentic expression of my soul.

If I can do all these things, I can do anything.

But first I must be responsible to both the life I have lived and the life that I want to pursue. The past me has created some baggage that I need to fell, and the present me can't help but look towards the future and towards my dreams. The past will be handled on the way to the future. I have a plan, and it will be marvelous.

Welcome to a dark, wet, but surprisingly warm Today

-Evan

Falling

In the same fashion that feathers fall from birds, so too do we fall. We are all united in origin, but fall in such different manners: one straight down; one flipping end over end; one being swept away by the wind; and yet another floats gracefully down. We all fall from the same origin, and land at the same end, but my fall will be magnificent, and I will land where I love. The wind will sweep below, above and around me; falling in spiraling swirls.

I will fall and be felled, as will you. I will move and be moved, by and with you.

Today I shift my weight and fall this way; tomorrow I hold my weight and fall with the wind.

Welcome to Today

-Evan

Hump Day

Today I had no obligations until 4:00 pm. I was excited at the opportunity to get a lot done: clean my car, clean up around the house, and write some music. I ended up sleeping until 2:00 pm because I didn't set an alarm clock.

How often does that happen?

I'm 21. I have plenty of time to accomplish what I want to. Unless I sleep in.

What kind of alarm clocks can we have in life?

What sort of urgency does it take to accomplish our dreams?

How can we ensure that we won't sleep past our windows of opportunity?

It's hump day. What can you accomplish by the end of this week?

Welcome to Today.

-Evan

Evan

I filled a glass with sand. There were a few pockets of air, but other than those, the sand formed perfectly to the glass. I relocated the sand into another glass, one of completely different shape. The sand once again formed to the glass. I then brought the sand back to the original container. As predicted, the sand formed back to the original glass. Always the same sand, but always forming to the container around it.

This is a story of Evan.

I lived 21 years in the exact same containers: West Michigan; Grand Rapids; Christian Church; Ripley Family; Benjamin. Always the same containers, so on the surface people would see the same sand. But something subtle has changed. I have encountered different people, different glasses of sand, and I have acquired some of their sand while leaving some of my own. By encountering these people, we have shared ideas and we have influenced each other. So now there is a different set of sand, but it is perceived the same because it is in the same container. The new sand even acted like the old sand some times.

It was time to change the container.

I love my family; I love Grand Rapids.

Benjamin embodies Benjamin's ideas. Evan embodies Evan's ideas. They are different.

After experiencing some life, and learning from the people I came in contact with, I changed many of the things I believed about the world. Benjamin believed certain things, Evan believes different things.

Welcome to Today.

-Evan

Cold and Dark, all the same

We live in a society that tells people who they should be. We live in a society where people can take their personal, political and religious beliefs, and push them upon others. We live in a society that preaches community, but is just as cut throat as any that has ever been. We live in a society with slaves and castles. We live in a society with wars tearing people apart (some known, but many unspoken). Nothing has ever changed in the human race, and I doubt anything will.

Corporate greed is a real thing.

Those with money own the poor.

If a poor man changes his stars, and "makes it" in the standards of this society, there are other who benefit by his success significantly more than he does. The producer of the artist, the CEO of the business man.

Politicians ride on the backs of their enslaved armies. It is a war, a battle that tears this country in two. Democrats hold office, and then His Majesty Romney comes forward, armed with an army of republicans. The republicans seek to take back Washington as if it were Jerusalem, and tear down the idols left by the democrats. They wish to change this country to fit their ideals.

Democrats are holding up inside their castle walls. They hope to destroy Romney and his army.

There are wars between races and socio-economic stati. These are unspoken. The bottom rung of the ladder resents the rung just above it. The rung just above it feels as if it is just as far down as the bottom. The rung in the middle of the ladder feels it is at the bottom. The rung at the bottom of the top 1% of the ladder feels it is at the bottom.

Today I am cold. Jacket, blanket, hat. Cold.

In California, the state signed a bill into law that prohibits doctors from practicing gay reversal therapy for people under the age of 18. Good work California. Parents who make their youths go through this sort of therapy are hurting their children. Imagine if everything inside your body told you that you were a hat, but everybody in the world told you that you had to be a shoe.

In America, we think that our philosophy of freedom is so much better than everybody else's. We are wrong. It looks like freedom, but is just as controlled and twisted as any other culture in the world.

I don't know if everything that I think is true, but here is what I know to be true:

Freedom will never be presented to you by a society. It will never be presented to you by a family or a friend. Freedom is something you must take. It is there for everyone, and it must be seized. It is YOUR freedom. Nobody can give it to you, and nobody can take it from you.

In your darkest moments, you have the freedom of choice. It is yours, and nobody can do anything about that.

Benjamin was a slave.

Evan is rising in freedom.

Cold and dark, all the same; welcome to Today

-Evan

A New Look; A New Name: post 100

When I first made this blog, the title was just a clever title, but it has evolved since then. "A Thousand Thoughts From Here" is a description of my subconscious condition. I am constantly following trails of thoughts that lead me one way or another, but I rarely acknowledge the thoughts to the people around me. The blog has a new sub-title too: "the deep end of my mind." This thought is an expansion of the blog title, and in this new look I will venture into the deep ends of my mind; in this new chapter of this blog, I will show you how far the rabbit trail leads.

The ultimate idea that my mind dwells on right now is the idea of the phoenix. When the phoenix dies, it bursts into flames, but from the flames a new phoenix is born. The idea that my mind dwells on is that life is hard, death is a part of existence, but the world continues, and even with all the negative (the flames, and the ashes), there is always a flower blooming, or a new life being born. In the depths of our suffering, there are other energies, there is an upward motion for every downward motion.

I hope that this journey focuses on the positives, while acknowledging the negatives. I hope that this journey takes me and my readers through a set of difficult questions, and makes us better for it when we emerge.

Welcome to today.

-Evan

P.S. I also decided to go by my middle name: "Evan." I will cover that in a later post.

Unplugged

This summer I decided that I would not return to Calvin in the Fall. My original plan was to attend GRCC and do some core classes during the Fall. However, after even more thought and even more life I decided to take the semester off entirely and work full time. So during that special time of year, when all the students are returning to town to prepare for classes I was not. I was working.

Around the same time I decided to go to GRCC, I deleted my Facebook. As far as many of my Calvin friends were concerned, I simply disappeared. A vanishing act. But I feel that leaving Facebook was good for me. It helped me to be less plugged in to the meaningless meanderings of my friends and acquaintances, and helped me to be more plugged in to the world that truly surrounded me.

I think that my life is better without Facebook.

Then, two nights ago, I lost my phone. I had to wake up this morning and send my friends e-mails instead of text messages. It's as if I am living in an earlier time: a simpler time.

But the strangest thing is this: now that I do not have a phone, I notice everyone else on their phones. It's crazy how plugged in everyone is. Always on their phones. Always looking down, when there is a whole world of colors and sounds to greet them if they would just look up.

I'm not about to say that phones are objectively bad, but loosing mine for this short time has made me notice some things.

Being unplugged has been a good thing.

We take convenience for granted.

Maybe you should try it some time.

-Evan

What if Alcohol was Made Illegal?

<p>What would you do if the government, on a state or federal level made alcohol illegal? You would protest and fight until it was legal again. Why would the government get to decide what I, a 21 year old person, get to ingest? Why do they get to tell me that I cannot drink alcohol?</p>
<p>Now, alcohol is a drug. It effects people's state of mind. When people foolishly decide to drive under its effects, it often causes accidents, sometimes leading to death of both parties. Alcohol is a depressant. It causes people to be numb to the world, and exasperates many people's already difficult depression. It also has many recorded instances of dependence. So much so that many families have been ruined, and other negative effects have come from it. Not to mention that detoxing from alcohol can lead to seizures, brain damage, and in some cases, death.</p>
<p>Step back. </p>
<p>Marijuana is a drug. It has many proven medical uses (numerous of which have been proven by research funded by our federal government, findings that our government does not want you to know about). Marijuana has no proven negative side effects: it befuddles the mind, and relaxes the body.

Marijuana has no lethal dose.

Marijuana does not encourage, or cause crime or violence.

Marijuana is a street drug, funding the Mexican cartels, other gangs and drug dealers. Marijuana prohibition has been going on for nearly 80 years, and marijuana on the streets has been easier to come by than alcohol.

Marijuana prohibition costs tax payers money, and fuels gangs and drug dealers. It has failed.

Legalize, regulate and tax in order to get it off the streets and have it benefit America instead of hurt America.

Think about it,

-Evan

Federal Government Uses Tax Dollars to Destroy the Jobs of Law-Abiding Citizens.

In California, there are medical marijuana dispensaries that are being shut down by the Federal Government. This is infuriating and scary because the issue of medical marijuana is supposed to be a state issue. Not only is the federal government micro-managing on inappropriate levels, but it is using tax dollars to destroy jobs. Let your voice be heard. Marijuana prohibition has failed. Decriminalize, legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana on a state level.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/us/hundreds-of-california-medical-marijuana-shops-close.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

Perfection

Perfection is not clean or easy. Perfection is not light or whimsical. Perfection is heavy and potent. It is dirty and difficult.

Perfection is progress; arrival is defeat.

Progress is cyclical. It moves upwards, forwards, down, and backwards. There is life that creates death, and death that creates life.

The hero isn't the one that wins, the hero is the one that lives.

Marijuana prohibition does not work.

Great article on the failed marihuana prohibition, and why it is better for marijuana (like alcohol) to be legal and regulated:

Editorial: Approve Initiative 502 — It’s time to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana | Editorials | The Seattle Times

The Facts... bro

Ok, so this eats me. People are closed minded, stubborn, and ignorant. People form ideas, and then cement them in as if any falsity of the idea would destroy everything they believed in. Here is the truth: an idea that does not hold up under fire is flawed. Here is another one: you cannot understand any idea in its entirety.

I'll start with the latter.

Gravity. It pulls us down (or pushes?). How?... oh.

"I know one thing, that I know nothing"

Signs lead us to believe that the universe is constantly expanding. Research finds things that are smaller and smaller. I'm not even sure what the smallest particle is anymore.

The universe was created by an explosion. Then it evolved over billions of years. Or was it God? And in that scenario, did it happen in just one week or over billions of years?

Democrats are wrong.

Republicans are wrong.

The universe is filled with contradictions because we cannot possibly understand indefinitely. There is too much information to behold. I trust that we may never understand it all.

An idea that does not hold up under fire is flawed. I believe that to be true... care to prove me wrong? The unfortunate thing is that my idea might be flawed. Of course, it will only ever be a theory because it is impossible to prove it.

The scientific process begins with a hypothesis... a guess. Then it tests the guess. If the guess passes the test we have a theory. Then someone else comes along and tests the theory under different circumstances. If the theory does not hold up it is flawed, and must be altered or thrown out entirely.

Philosophy works much in the same way.

If you have a theory that you are afraid to put under fire, then ask yourself what you are afraid of. If you are afraid of being wrong then you better damn well put your theory under fire, because if you are wrong then you are believing in a lie. How many other people will you spread your lie to? Who will you hurt? Who will you take advantage of?

Here's what it comes down to. Stop believing everything with an iron grip. Hold your mind with an open palm. Let yourself evolve. Stop telling one sided stories. Stop pretending that you are right, and start believing that WE are flawed. When someone disagrees with you don't write them off.

Listen when someone talks; ask when you don't know; try to see it from their point of view. Do all of this as one who only knows one half of the story.

This is a plea from the depths of my soul.

-Ben

Honey Notes: a double rainbow

Last night I saw a double rainbow. It was all the way across the sky... it was full on.

Anyway, I saw it, and got a picture. Then the second rainbow faded, but the first rainbow grew. I could see the entire spectrum of colors. What a cool sight.

What's more, all the hundreds of cars that dry by on the East Beltline saw some hippie staring at the sky, smiling and mutter something to himself about a double rainbow.

Good times.

-Ben

Honey Notes: a new series

So this is a new idea I'm going to try. "Honey Notes" is a series of blog entries that I am starting where I reflect on the simple, subtle, sweet things that happen in my day. The name comes from coffee, wine and beer tasting vocabulary. A "note" of flavor is a very subtle thing that you taste amongst the predominant flavors.

From the simple, and perhaps the mundane, to the extraordinary notes of brightness, I will do my best to share them all here.

Today I had a long day at work. I opened at 5:30 AM, and the whole morning I felt as if I were separated from the world by a layer of plastic. I would touch something, but it wouldn't feel like I remembered. I would taste something, and not be able to taste what I remembered tasting. Anyway, the day dragged on, and at the end of it I had an epiphany of sorts.

I have been thinking for a while about playing a set at the coffee shop where I work. I have wanted to, but just haven't been able to think of what I wanted to play, or when. Then today, as soon as I was off the clock I got my idea. I would play a set called "songs from my past." Performed by "benjamin and Friends." I will play and sing, solo and in ensemble, songs that have been significant to me through the last 10 or so years.

I have spent the last hour reminiscing through these songs, and now I have a brightness and energy that is carrying me through my day.

Share your "honey notes" with me by commenting back, and perhaps we can all benefit in each other's joy.

-Ben

Sustainable trade, better product, fairer world

Today I went to an event held by the roaster for the coffee bar that I work at. I learned a lot about coffee: about brew methods, equipment, taste profiles, and farming/importing. It was fun and informative, but most of all it was very encouraging.

Coffee is the second most legally traded commodity in the world. The only thing higher is oil. An incredible amount of that traded coffee ends up in a can on a shelf at Meijer, and brewed at Starbucks or bigby. But there is an amount of it that ends up in the hands of a crafter of sorts. That is my role. I take a product that was planted and raised to be an excellent bean, and roasted to be an excellent coffee, and I do everything I can to ensure it's excellence in the final product.

In the last five years there has been a culture of excellence surrounding specialty coffee. More and more coffee shops and roasters have popped up that invest extreme care into the product, as well as home baristas and roasters. I myself have only entered into this world in the last two years, but after joining this culture of excellence, I have found something that comes with it which may excite me even more: a culture of fair and sustainable trading.

In the world today, the farmer is almost always the little guy. But the same people who come around the product for excellence come around the process for fairness. The roaster I was visiting today has a few partnership farms, where they buy the entire crop of the farm, and after working through the international trade stipulations, almost write a check directly to the farmer. They regularly visit the farmer, and work with the farmer, exploring technology and other means to create a better product and trade in a more fair way.

I also had the opportunity to talk with a guy who works for a micro-loan company that works for coffee farmers. The company works in a way that tries to get the farmer the best deal for the beans. The process is something of a meritocracy, where the farmer with the best quality beans gets the best price. One farmer he worked with told him this year was the first year he was going into next season's crop without already owing money on it.

All of this gets me excited at the effort of many, and makes me want to educate those who do not know. So with my blog comes a challenge: first, next time you buy a cup of coffee, ask the barista about the care that he/she invests in the product and the process and second, feel good about yourself when you spend an extra buck on a cup of coffee that not only tastes great, but is the product of a process that tries to fairly reward all those involved.

Grace and peace,

Ben

A Little Rant About Silly Things.

Politicians play a game: make myself look good and make other people look bad. They are very good at it. People like to play that game too. They take the politician they like the best, and focus on the positives of that person and the negatives of any opposing. Another thing that is sort of funny is this: before ever learning true, unbiassed facts about a politician, almost every voter already knows which politician that they will vote for, and very rarely does their mind change.

It is a game. It shouldn't be, but it is.

Think about this: if there were two football teams taking the field for the Super Bowl this year, and one of them was your favorite team, you would most likely think that they were going to win. Even if the other team had proven itself to be statistically better, and all signs ultimately pointed to them winning the game.

With sports we form a connection with a team that stays strong despite the rise and fall of the team. This is fine for sports, for a game, but should not be the same way for politics.

I cheer for the Packers because I have always cheered for the Packers. I started cheering for the Packers because my next door neighbors cheered for the Packers. Whenever they go into the game, I have a huge bias that they will emerge the victors. Despite numbers, despite statistics. Last season Packers were ranked 32nd (of 32... that's last) in secondary defense, but I still believe that they will have a miraculous turn around and end up with an awesome defense next season.

Do you view politics in the same way you do sports?

Maybe try it differently this time.

Also, please do not tear down people because of their political views. You are not always right (neither am I), and grey areas do exist, and you never know the full story...

I hope that in this upcoming election we can all come to the ballot with a decision that was made based on unbiassed information, and respect the people who disagree with us.

Nice Things

Today I was surprised by two random acts of service and kindness from complete strangers.

First I was at Lake Michigan Credit Union, because I was informed that I had a negative balance on an account that I thought I hadn't used in about 2 years. So I went in to fix the problem. It turns out I had accidentally used the wrong card when I got my hair cut early May. Lake Michigan has a service that they pay for my overdraft, but the service costs $30. The lady there took the $30 off my account, and what I thought was a $35 inconvenience was only a $5 inconvenience. Maybe she does this for a lot of people, but I sure appreciated it.

Then I was in twisted rooster ordering my $3.00 roo-burger to go (their all day Wednesday special). After a bit of a wait, the waitress who had taken my order told me that it was taking longer than usual, and I should just go back over to clique and she would bring my burger when it was done.

Neither of them had to do either of these things for me, but they both did. It just made me smile, so I thought I would share it with all of you.

What nice things have people done for you today? What nice things have you done for people today?

A Tiny Effort.

I am not always a responsible member of my community. I often place my selfish desires - or more often laziness - in front of the interest of my immediate or global community.

Today I was at Costco buying a lot of various fluids. I unloaded my cart of heavy cases of water bottles into my car, and I just did not feel like walking all the way across the parking lot to dump my cart in the cart corral. I paused for a moment, and looked around the parking lot. I saw about 4 carts sitting next to the parking spaces of irresponsible members of this community. I nodded my head, and walked my cart across the parking lot to the cart corral. I took care of my stuff, and now nobody else has to.

Tiny effort. Incredibly significant moment.

Think about all those things that annoy you. When your co-worker doesn't do that little thing that would make a world of difference. When a selfish man spits his gum in the urinal when there is a trash can three steps away. When you turn on your blinker, but nobody lets you in.

Now take a day to be intentional and see how you are impacting your immediate community. How is your community blessed by you? How is your community inconvenienced by you? Then add that tiny effort to make somebody's day that much better.

Blessings,

-Ben

What do You think?

Ok, this blog is not a political blog. This blog is intended to be a source of challenging questions and inspirational messages. But today that question and that message are intertwined with a political event.

Today President Obama did another one of those bold things that he does. Things like authorizing military action in Libya, or says that whoever is responsible for the oil spill is going to get their asses kicked. Well, rather then saying what he said I will just quote him:

“I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together; when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama told Roberts in an interview to appear on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday.

Is Obama saying this to get votes? Yes... of course he is. He is a politician. It is a bit of a gamble, because he will certainly lose some votes as well. He has likely done all the math and calculated that it will yield him positive results by making the announcement.

All that said, I think that there is still good that can come from it.

What do you all think about this? Do you think that he is just using this topic to get votes? Is that such a bad thing?

Here's my take: I do not think that this is an issue for the government to decide. Remember this: the separation of state and religion is a good thing. For me it just boils down to people. No matter what I believe about anything, if I cannot love people, then the fault does not lie with them, but with me.

What do you all think?

-Ben

Grace? Maybe.

I am standing on the brink of being done with my junior year of college. That is insane. At the end of every semester I remark about how it was the most difficult semester yet, but this time I will make a different remark: this was the worst semester yet.

Drama, stress, business, etc...

Same story as everyone else.

I am beginning to think that college is just hard, and that is why every semester is really hard. hmmm... novel concept.

Anyway, this semester I held one idea in my head that sort of kept me going no matter what mountain I stood at the foot of. I met with Dr. Shangkuan earlier this semester, and in our conversation she told me this: with every endeavor, we can expect grace. Simple, easy, grace.

Yesterday I was cramming, as I always do at the end of a semester. I was writing a paper, and I worked on the paper from 3:00 PM to 3:00 AM. When I was satisfied with the progress I was making, I decided to take a nap and then keep working after my nap. Well, none of my three alarm clocks were able to pull me from the strong arm of sleep. So I slept until my sister woke me up. Upon waking I had a terrible realization that I would not finish my paper on time.

I e-mailed my professor to ask for an extension. He e-mailed me back soon thereafter to remind me that the paper was due a week from today... not today.

I laughed for a while.

Grace? Maybe. Either way, I embrace today with gratitude and a smile.

-Ben

Strength and Weaknesses, Person to Person

For a while now I have been reflecting on the idea that man-made social structures are not made for people to function in.

This thought began when I was processing through some particularly frustrating requirements that I have to fulfill at Calvin. Would a school function better if it evaluated the needs of its students (educational and otherwise) based on the individual? Would students graduate more equipped for their field, or further education if they were able to create a customized plan that addressed their weaknesses while bolstering their strengths?

In the social structure of an educational institution, students are no longer people. The institution views each student as a piece to be assembled, and each student moves through the production line, no different than an engine block or a plastic doll. The teachers/professors stand by and try to fix the broken, or otherwise disabled pieces, and if they cannot fix them, then they throw them out. The administrators decide what it means to be a functional product, and once a student has passed all of the tests then they are able to move from the factory into use.

This frustrated me because I was an engine block struggling through the tests made for a plastic doll.

Get it?

Then I had this reflection. The problem is larger than school. The entire western world is fixated on this factory line production model. Efficiency is God. If you get in the way of the people's God... well, we all read about the crusades.

This model has been pushed so far that it permeates every aspect of our world.

But this is what I propose: Human beings need to be treated as human beings: micro organisms that have strengths and weaknesses; each unique; each an individual.

Man-made social structures need to be treated in the same way. Nobody is perfect, so nobody’s ideas are perfect. Social structures are macro organisms (they are living, organic beings) that will reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the creators in flux. If we cut out every organism in its moment of failure, we will take away every organism’s ability to thrive. In this model ingenuity can't happen, in this model you will never see the true potential of a human organism.

Strengths need to be bolstered, and weaknesses addressed appropriately for each individual.

The best You you can

Sometime last week I posted a C.S. Lewis quote on my Facebook wall that I felt was an accurate assessment of my life this semester. The quote is from his book The Screw Tape Letters, and is a reflection from a man with a wasted life: "I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked."

For me, these events include (but are not limited to): sitting on Facebook, browsing random web pages, watching youtube videos, and playing games on my phone/iPod. These kinds of activities are the ones that will make me fall into my life's greatest fear: complacency.

The interesting thing is that I did nothing to make any change to my life, even after realizing I was spending so much time doing "neither what I ought nor what I like." I think that it took the inspiration of a friend who was excited about something. A friend of mine who works with me at the Fish House (coffee shop) has gotten extremely excited about making Latte art. His excitement was contagious, and I found myself excited about it too.

They call this "inspiration"

From that spark of excitement, I was no longer just going to work and serve coffee, but I began "working on my Latte art." I was (and am) working to offer a better service to people, and to improve myself. This little idea took flame into my entire life: it rejuvenated my practice time; it made me decide to get my hair cut; it made me excited about the idea of doing things in my life at a higher quality; it made me realize that I could be a better me.

It seems to me that we are either improving ourselves, or we are falling into complacency. Where can you work to improve yourself today? How can you work to make your immediate world a more beautiful place? What can you do to make the people you see today smile? Who can you inspire today?

Be the best you you can today.

-Ben

Leaving For a Bit: My Ode to Capella

So tomorrow - or rather later today, because it is already Wednesday the 4th of January - I am going to drive, bus, and fly, and according to some very reliable sources I will end up in Hong Kong. The choir that I sing in will be touring Asia, singing in Hong Kong, China, the Philippines and Singapore. I have known about this tour for somewhere around a year and a half now, and have been anticipating it as if it would be the highlight of my life thus far. The odd thing is how my perception of what this tour is, and what this tour will mean for me has changed so significantly over the past year and a half.

At first it was this glorious event: this choir was going to be traveling around and performing, and our audiences would be wowed to the point of demanding an encore at every performance. We were going to be superstars. I imagined something to the grandeur of Chanticleer. However, Chanticleer happens to be a professional ensemble, and we are only a collegiate ensemble. Regardless, we were going to be great.

Then my perception shifted, and the tour became about seeing the world. I was going to four different Asian countries! What an extraordinary opportunity. I would see all of the sights, and engage in the culture. I would experience the day time splendor and the night time fiesta of these different countries. Most incredible of all, I would be visiting Manila with THE Joel Navarro: pop star extraordinaire. It was going to be absolutely life changing.

But earlier today (or... yesterday, rather), I was sitting in the lobby of the CFAC next to one of the tenors in my choir, and all of the Capella members (save the ones who we are meeting up with in California) began pouring into the lobby. I was filled immediately with some sort of joy, or jubilance that was life giving. These were people I had missed, and it seemed to me that life was once more returning to my body after a long drought. This is truly going to be something extraordinary.

This tour is going to be a glorious event of performances; this tour is going to be an extraordinary opportunity of world travel; but the thing that makes this tour one of the highlights of my life thus far is that I am doing both of these things with around 40 of my closest friends.

With love and anticipation

-Ben