My Blogworthy Life

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the death of my granny. She was an extraordinary woman who had such an immense impact on me in my life that her death had much more of an effect on me than I may have initially thought possible.

This will be a sort of “part 2” of that post.

  A Looming Presence

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? Or maybe you feel like someone else is in the room with…

What is it about death that kind of brings everything to a halt and forces you to deal with  your own existential meaning and purpose? It seems to freeze any future of goals you may have had, and makes you stop and consider the journey all together. What does that mean for us; the living? How can we truly examine our own life and the decisions we make and move forward confidently?

  A New Way

I…

The Value Of Art And Appreciation

What is art? Can you define it? Webster’s dictionary plainly defines art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination”, but that doesn’t really define what art is, does it? There is good art and bad art. But how can one decide what goodart looks like? What does good art sound or feel like? Once someone has decided if a piece is in fact art, and has come to the conclusion that it is…

The Questioners’ Creed

I wrote about my own journey through deconstruction and leaving Church ministry last year. You can find that post here. Later on, I wrote a follow-up post titled “Faith Reconstructed“, where I tried to clear up some questions some of you had about where I was.

Since that post, I’ve had multiple people ask me more specific questions. You’ve asked me what I think about things beyond church, like…

Let’s Catch Up

It’s been a while. I haven’t kept up with my promise to you and to myself to post something every two weeks.

So let’s catch up and let me tell you what has been going on.

I am currently drinking a cup of coffee on a hot Sunday afternoon. It seems like the perfect time to catch up with friends, wouldn’t you say? So I will imagine you are also drinking a nice hot beverage.

When I moved back to…

Sinking: What it feels like when you take on too much too fast. Where do you go from there?

Its been too long since I’ve posted. In fact, this is the first time I’ve missed my two week mark in a year and three months. I’m not proud of it. But the reality is that I have just had too many things to juggle for the last few months as I began in a new direction in life. Mostly for the sake of posting something, here is what I’ve been up to, and what I have learned in the process.

 A Ship…

The Very Real Dangers Of Nationalism

There are many threats to society today that often get overlooked, but one that the average person doesn’t pay attention to is the sub-culture of nationalism. Nationalism is dangerous means to get a large group of people to do what you want them to do if you can get them to identify with a nation (or your version of it) so deeply that they are willing to do anything for that nation. Many…

How I Unintentionally Became A Liberal

I’m not sure how it happened. I’m not sure when it happened. But somewhere along the way, I inadvertently transformed into something I once hated. I woke up one day, and suddenly I was labeled by my family and peers.

I. Am. A. Liberal.

I didn’t ask for this label. I still don’t consider myself one. but biased truth sounds a lot like the truth when it’s said over and over. So let’s look at how…

La La Land: A Message For Millennials

In a world bogged down by realities such as a President Trump, Brexit, shootings, bombings, ISIS, protests, social injustice in so many forms, and an ever growing hatred and dissension spreading to the farthest reaches, we are invited to La La Land. A place that director Damien Chazelle describes as a film that “should feel like something magical could happen at any time”. But what if it doesn’t…

Why Happiness Is Dangerous

The pursuit of happiness is one of the major foundations of America. We all are engaged in the search for what makes us happy. We spend our lives looking for it. But what if the very thing we work out entire lives to obtain could be the very thing that kills us?

  We all want to experience happiness. In our mind, happiness is this place, this oasis in a dry desert. It’s hard to tell if its real…

What Will Our Kids Think?

My entire life, at any crossroads of differing opinions when it came to how I felt, compared to how my parents felt about something I was doing, they would always say at the end of the conversation “When you have kids, you’ll understand”. But what about what we think of older people and their opinions? Have we ever stopped to think about the implications? Have we ever considered what the next few…

The Cultural Injustice Of Women

When I was a kid, I was taught to respect people and act accordingly. I was taught to be gentle, loving, and sensitive to women. But culture also taught me that women are insecure about their looks. That a woman’s beauty is what means the most to men AND to women.

Culture taught us a lot. But that doesn’t make it correct.

  “You’re Pretty”

Men often are attracted to women physically before…

The Cost Of Living Differently

For my last post in this format of creative non-fiction and self-discovery, I thought it might be nice to sum up what I’ve learned thus far. What I’ve learned is this: When one chooses to be unapologetically, unashamedly themselves, it’s not only difficult, but it comes at a cost. So what does it cost? Well…everything.

    The Cost Of Thinking Differently

I’ve always been one who is almost…

Accepting A Life Of Doubt

When I was a kid, I was thought in church that doubt was bad. It wasn’t so much directly taught, but rather implied by the words and actions of those in leadership. Doubt was considered this thing you experience when you are weak or unhealthy. If you doubted what you believed, you were “backsliding” or are probably living in sin. I learned very quickly that if I doubted something, I never talked…

In what has become the most difficult year of my entire life, the theme throughout this year is that I was very much alone in facing each part. No one was there for me during the hardest and darkest parts. Not because no one wanted to be, but because I felt that I needed to deal with it alone. It was during this time that I stopped being afraid of life, and started embracing a story of adventure,…

A Seat At The Table

When we stop to consider the constants of life, we are drawn to the table. We eat multiple times a day, but for many of us, the constant is the dinner table. The place where we all come to share in the act of nourishment for our bodies, while feeding our souls with the company and conversations of our loved ones. It’s no surprise that during this time of year, this is the place we return to when…

What If You Were Meant For More?

Ever wonder why you can’t seem to be happy doing what you’re doing? That job just isn’t what you thought it’d be. That new city isn’t as great as it seemed to be. Sure you make good money, or have a nice place, or do cool things, but something is still missing. Is there something wrong with you? Or are you just meant for something more?

  Where It Starts

One of my good friends was recently…