LeadSTRONG

I came across some notes that I took during an event in college that was appropriately titled the “Leadership Institute”. What I found was simple but it reminded me of what true genuine leadership should be...

A COMPLETE LEADER MUST:

REST
PLAY
CHALLENGE
ACCEPT
CRY
LAUGH
ENCOURAGE
RISK
LEAD

We are just breakable…

Dear Ingrid:

It was so amazing seeing you live the other night. The weather that evening reflected the current state of my life. The rain was coming down which made it difficult to see where I was driving. I have wanted to tell you for a while now just how much your music inspires me. I was captivated by your presence and like many shows that I go to I imagined that it was just you and I. I lost myself in your lyrical masterpiece. Your voice was angelic and brought me joy. The best way that I can describe what your music means to me is that, when I listen to your music I feel as if I’m not alone. I feel like you understand me because I feel we have shared many similar experiences. I am not just another Ticketmaster customer trying to entertain myself on a Thursday night. I truly understand why you are writing and performing live shows. I understand why you cried all the way on your long drive to Los Angeles that day. People mistake you for “emo” but they’re wrong. People like us hate labels and as you song says you just want to be taken for “The Way I Am”. I feel the same way. So many people think they are “strong” when in reality they are just numb to emotion. Not you, your emotion is a characteristic that exemplifies true strength. Thanks for understanding the struggle and the tears, for the hope and the will to persevere. I wish I could tell you this in person but I guess that I can only hope that you stumble across this blog.

Love,

Jonathan

“And we are so fragile,
And our cracking bones make noise,
And we are just,
Breakable, breakable, breakable girls and boys.”
-Ingrid Michaelson

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

I was lying in my car as I sometimes do before walking into my apartment. On this particular night I got the opportunity to experience the beautiful sound of the rain drumming against my windshield. I love reclining my car seat back and meditating and reflecting on the day, the week and life in general. The rain helps to drown out the noise that many times tries to pull me down. I took my iPod and played a combination of Postal Service and Owl City tunes and thought…

Nights so divine and so simple like this one hold so much beauty reveal hope from above. Sometimes I get so caught up in the noise of life and am distracted from the true beauty of life. Like a hug that brings comfort. A Look that gives hope. A smile so powerful that it just makes you want to be a better person. A presence that lifts your heart. Cold hands, warm heart. A coffee shop conversation that will go down in the books as EPIC. This is what life should be about. I often take the simple joys of life for granted, but not tonight. Thank God for the rain.

“Everywhere I look I see green scenic sublime. And all those oceanic vistas are so divine”
-Owl City

The Art of the MIxed Tape

I remember often being asked the question, “So if you could grow up in any decade which would it be?” My answer is always unchanging and that is “Going to high school and college in the 1980s would be rad”. Things seemed to be so much more simplistic back then. I was a kid back them, way too young and too focused on Thundercats to truly appreciate the joy that was the 80s. There would be no cell phones, well unless I was a stud and had a huge piece of junk like Zack Morris. Imagine no MySpace or Facebook drama. Affordable trips to movies see The Goonies or Stand By Me. Going to shows to see The Smiths, New Order or Echo and the Bunnymen. I want to visualize myself this really cool dork such as Lloyd Dobler who would hold a boom box over his head all night long just to tell share his true feelings in a romantically exaggerated way. Band shirts, slim jeans, fresh kicks and all I would carry a “this charming man” demeanor and live every moment to the fullest. If only…

There is just one thing that I would do if I could go back in time and that would be to craft the perfect mixed tape to display an immense amount of affection for someone I truly deeply cared about. It saddens me just a little that the cassette tape is more or less extinct. In the 1980s mixed tapes were a huge part of the youth culture and are what I feel is one of the most romantic gestures one could possibly display to another.

“A mixtape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a theme or mood, to a highly personal statement tailored to the tape's intended recipient. Essayist Geoffrey O'Brien has called the personal mixtape "the most widely practiced American art form,"[1] and many mixtape enthusiasts believe that by carefully selecting and ordering the tracks in a mix, an artistic statement can be created that is greater than the sum of its individual songs, much as an album of pop music in the post-Beatles era can be considered as something more than a collection of singles” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_tape).

There is so much time, effort and concentration that goes into creating the work of art that is a mixed tape. The songs must reflect at least a small part of the creator’s personality as well as that of the recipient. It is necessary that each song reflect the message that the creator’s heart is trying to communicate to the intended recipient. Many hours and tears are often spent in developing this work or art. The art form is far more simplistic these days with new technology such as iTunes playlists and burning tracks to CD’s. Although, the cassette is virtually extinct, modern day “mixed tapes” can be equally as moving as long as the heart is in it. The mixed tape can often say far more than words can. If you can craft a mixed tape for someone and leave them breathless, make their eyes smile or make them blush then you have created the most beautiful symphony of sound they will ever remember.

The Mixed Tape by Jack’s Mannequin

This is morning

That's when I spend the most time

Thinking 'bout what I've given up

This is a warning

When you start the day just to close the curtains

You're thinking 'bout what I've given up

Where are you now?

As I'm swimming through the stereo

I'm writing you a symphony of sound

Where are you now?

As I rearrange the songs again

This mix could burn a hole in anyone

But it was you I was thinking of

I read your letter

The one you left when you broke into my house

Retracing every step you made

And you said you meant it

And there's a piece of me in every single

Second of every single day

But if it's true then tell me how it got this way

Where are you now?

As I'm swimming through the stereoI'm writing you a symphony of sound

Where are you now?

As I rearrange the songs again

This mix could burn a hole in anyone

But it was you I was thinking of

And I can't get to youI can't get to youI can't get to you (you, you)

Where are you now?

As I'm swimming through the stereoI conduct a symphony of sound

Where are you now?

As I'm cutting through you track by trackI swear to God this mix could sink the sun

But it was you I was thinking of

And where are you now?

And where are you now?

And this is my mixed tape for her

It's like I wrote every note

With my own fingers

The Designer's Skyline

Like many individuals I am often looking to find hope in a fallen world. Life has obstacles and sometimes they are rather difficulty to overcome so I need assurance that everything will be okay. I often find myself looking to the stars hoping that God would simply strike up a conversation with me and give me some answers to life’s great mysteries. It’s hard to “see” or even “hear” God sometimes amidst all of the day-to-day “noise” that is so distracting. Christian’s often seek out God in prayer, meditation and silence. Other times God speaks in other ways. To use a phrase in Christianese (language and terminology often used in the Conservative Evangelical circuit), God often chooses to “reveal Himself” to an individual through “His Word”. Meaning I came across a meaningful passage in the Bible.

About a month ago God put a passage on my heart. It was Revelation 21. At first I thought to myself, “How could a passage in the most apocalyptic book in the Bible apply to me in my current state?” I didn’t take the passage seriously until I walked into to church today soaking wet from the rainy Southern California sky. The worship band was playing the song “Rain Down”. Singing “rain down Your love on us, rain down your peace and cover me” instantly brought me comfort. I was very into and ever a little emo during the worship because I swear ever lyric applied to the way I was feeling tonight. I faded a bit during the talk but what I needed to hear was at the end. Francis (the pastor) wanted to end his talk with a message of hope and he read from Revelation 21. I think then it really hit me. I was so overwhelmed with emotion. It’s the sensation of feeling “broken” but at the same time overwhelmed with joy and comforted. Something was going on and it was grabbing a hold of me. Now to the words of comfort… The passage reads:

Revelation 21:1-4
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Imagine that. No really close your eyes and try to visualize it. Can’t? Because I couldn’t either. I’ve tried and my three pound finite mind cannot grasp how great this new city will be! I try and imagine a glorious skyline on a NEW EARTH crafted by the Great Architect. God dwelling with us is hard to grasp. I try and imagine God taking his hand and wiping the tears of sorrow from our faces and brining us everlasting joy that only they Creator of the universe could bring. If things aren’t going so well and life feels overwhelming or depressing take comfort because HOPE lies in the Designer’s Skyline. NO CRYING. NO PAIN. NO DEATH. Take comfort in that. It’s all so overwhelming and so beautiful at the same time. We all have access to live in this new city if we choose to. This was just something that I know God put on my heart that I felt that I needed to share.

I was prepared to write this blog on this passage weeks ago. I hesitated but tonight I got that extra push. This will be the first of many blogs/poems/thoughts/photos/lyrics. I write genuinely honest thoughts about the way I view the world. I tend to write about theology, girls, boys, music, coffee, driving in the rain, good, evil, skylines, beauty, emo shiz, darkness, and superheroes. If I make you laugh, think, cry, or piss you off I’ve succeeded in bringing out some kind of emotion in you. You make have noticed the title, “December Skyline”. To me that is the most beautiful combination of words in the world…