I'm No Environmentalist, but I've Found Green Peace

I stand in the doorway to forever, on the threshold of eternity. There is so much I do not know.

The lights above were new to me. Not because I had never seen stars, but because I had never seen so many. Though the night was green in color, it was no less dark, and the distant flames I was watching were even brighter than usual. Not an inch of sky was without one of these beautiful, timeless lights. But they aren't timeless, not really. In fact, the light that I saw was hundreds and thousands and millions of years old. And suddenly, I found myself in an old, old place, basking in this ancient light. I was more isolated, more alone, than I've ever been. But I felt free, weightless. In that instant I began to truly grasp how insignificant we are, as a culture, as a species, and as a planet. With all those stars so far away, we could simply disappear and the universe would carry on as if nothing had happened. We could, all of us, cry out in agony, but who would hear us scream? In some strange way this, too, was comforting. To know that in the end, no matter what happens, the outcome is already clear. Life on Earth has existed for a long time, and how little it has changed! No matter the state of the world, there will always be equilibrium in all things, given time. Yet although we have not moved even inches, we have traversed many millions of miles to get this far. I take solace in the knowledge that I am to contribute to this beautiful, endless cycle, and hope that one day, you will, too.

I stood in the doorway to forever, on the threshold of eternity. There was so much I did not know.

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Currently listening to:
"Black River Killer" by Blitzen Trapper

Visions of Night

Been a while since I posted. Here we go again.

Even the mighty Sun requires a full moon for us to truely grasp at its brilliance. For a hunk of rock to reflect enough light as to illuminate even the darkest hours of the night is a testament to the source. But every light will create a shadow, and the intensity of the light is directly proportional to the intensity of the darkness. If not carefully placed, even the purest light source will cast a shadow over what could otherwise be a beautiful rose. In the absense of light, however, it will give in to shadow. It will wilt and rot and die, but so long as the shadow remains, nothing new will grow to take its place.

Interpret it as you will. I'd love to hear what you come up with, if you've got nothing better to do.

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Currently listening to:
"M4, Part II" by Faunts

It Just Keeps Blinking, Blinking, Blinking...

Every once in a while the artist in me notices something truly beautiful in everyday life. I had one of those moments a couple weeks ago on the bus ride to school, oddly enough. As we crossed the trolley tracks towards the four-way intersection near Spartan Pharmacy, I noticed something in the grass off to the side of the road. Lying in the weeds was one of those road construction signs with the orange reflective paint and the light on top. I can't even remember when it would have been used, but obviously someone forgot it there. Left it lying in the grass for God knows how long. But what caught my eye was the blinking light. Tossed aside, forgotten and left behind, the sign continued to blink its little light. On and off, on and off. I just stared while we sat at the intersection.

Obviously it has no choice in the matter. There's no way that it could possibly realize it had been forgotten and start pouting. It's a little plastic sign. I know this. But it was a brilliant example of perseverance, and I thought it was absolutely beautiful in its simplicity. But has anyone else noticed this little sign? Probably. But how many of them saw the beauty in it? How many of them got the message? How many of them stopped to wonder how long it had been there, and whether or not the little light would burn out or if someone would finally come pick it up? There's no way to know for sure, but I'm sure it's a depressingly-low number.

The question I want you to ask yourself, though, is one I'm still struggling with myself. Which way would you rather see it end? Where the sign, forgotten and left behind, does its job until it finally burns itself out? Or where the workers who left it finally come back and turn it off and take it with them? Don't decide right away. Think about it. Think about what each scenario implies in terms of the meaning behind the story, and what it implies in terms of how the world operates. Sleep on it, if you have to. If you feel up to it and care enough, post your answer as a comment. Explain why you decided on your answer, because I'd love to hear some other opinions on this. As for me, I think I'd want to see it burn out. I'd want to see it take the moral high ground despite the fact that no one is watching or caring. Those of you who know me can probably figure out why, or at least come to the same conclusion that I did as to why I'd prefer that. But now it's your turn. So think about it. Really think about it. And make sure you understand what that says about you, and what that says about how you view life.

And for the record, someone did finally come for it. Last I saw it, it was sitting on top of some other construction equipment, but the light had been turned off. Just in case you care.

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Currently listening to:
"Paint the Seconds" by Chevelle

I Was Born in a Bomb Crater

As some of you may already know, I'm more or less obsessed with an HBO special called GENERATION KILL. It was seven episodes long, and followed the Marine reconnaissance unit that spearheaded the majority of the invasion of Iraq. As an American, I think it should be required that you watch every minute of it. But that's a rant for another time, and believe you me, there will be a time for it. The reason I bring it up is because at the end of the final episode, during the credits, there's an audio clip that's playing of two Marines talking. From what I've been able to gather it's the real deal, and they only played the audio to keep the two men anonymous. Maybe not. It could be entirely made in a studio. Regardless, it's amazing. There's two parts to it, and I'll get to the second part in a later post. The initial monologue is brilliant, though, and I just figured I'd share it, as it's the perfect description of every Marine infantrymen.

“Ten November 1775. I was born in a bomb crater. My mother was an M16 and my father was the devil. Each moment that I live is an additional threat upon your life. I eat concertina, piss napalm and I can shoot a round through a flea’s ass at three-hundred meters. I travel the globe festering on anti-Americans everywhere I go for the love of mom, Chevrolet, baseball, and apple pie. I’m a grunt. I’m the dirty, nasty, stinky, sweaty, filthy, beautiful little son of a bitch that’s kept the wolf away from the door for over two-hundred and twenty-five years. I’m a United States Marine. We look like soldiers, talk like sailors, slap the shit out of both of ‘em. We stole the Eagle from the Air Force, the Rope from the Army, and the Anchor from the Navy. And on the seventh day, when God rested, we overran his perimeter, and we’ve been running the show ever since. Warrior by day, lover by night, drunkard by choice, Marine by God. Semper Fidelis.”
-Anonymous Marine

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Currently listening to:
"I Own You" by Shinedown

The Five-Meter Target

The five-meter target is the military way of saying "the shit that's right in front of your face". When you're on the range, you have targets as far out as 300 meters, and as close as five. Tactically speaking, you want to hit the one that's closest to you first, because that's the one that would most likely hit you first in a combat situation. This isn't a new concept. This isn't life-changing. Simply put, focus on the problems at hand, and you have time to worry about the rest of it later. But there's a fundamental flaw in that doctrine. The only variable you're given to keep track of is distance. But what if the target at twenty-five meters has a handgun, and the one at thirty meters has a rifle? What if one of them is a trained marksman, and the other has never fired a weapon before in his life? The key in this instance is being able to take in every possible variable not before you begin firing, and certainly not afterwards. You have to learn to think on the fly, as you move. The same thing applies to life. A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan later. Spend too much time figuring out how to do something, and you run out of time to actually do it.

So don't think, don't plan, don't decide.

Just move and react.

Just flow.

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Currently listening to:
"Shuffle Your Feet" by the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club