Chronicles of a Sojourner #2

I find life and its participants to be a great source of amusement and fascination. Sometimes to the point of objectifying those around me, just to see their actions from a different perspective. The friends that I hold to be the most dear are those who listen and smile as I rant and muse about my stream of consciousness.

I am unique, just like everyone else. I keep on absent-mindedly returning to the phrase -"We are not physical beings in a spiritual world, but spiritual beings in a physical world." It is a curious and intriguing frame of thought for me. If I am a spirit, then the logical consequences of my actions could be defined as spiritual interaction. The way I choose to invest my time will reflect and shape my spirit or soul.

There are some moments in life in which I find that an emotion appeals to me at a deeper level than usual. At these spaces in time I am faced with a decision - do I want to savor the intricacies of such a mood, or should I pull back in a show of self-control and root myself in reason. Such self discipline will be needed as a part of the character that I would emulate to become.

However, the times when I feel moved cause me to passionately pine to do more with the skills and time given to me. I am in a formative time in my life. Will I build a practical foundation for my future, or merely enjoy and exercise my freedoms to amuse myself in the present. (To live in the moment.)

The ideal is for a balance of both measures in an attitude of moderation. Today, I find the greater temptation is to spend what you are given while you still are in the condition to do so. To trade your money for time, rather than your time for money. Both of these routes have their pros and cons. Both are allowed freedoms that, taken to an extreme, can become a subtle form of bondage.

Your habits can form a cage around you that is comfortable to your needs, you may even be unconscious of your captivity. The bars serve to protect yourself from the aspects of life that are unpleasant or exhausting to consider. Their function is to keep the world at an arms length until you feel like inviting others inside the boundaries your personal realm.

Unfortunately, all it takes is one observant person to see through your absorbed view of the world and find it to be false. That the exorbitant price to pay for your perspective is not worth the price of admission. Cages will collide, damages will be sustained, and the repairs can be either forgiven or used as an excuse for a pity party.

I try not to fall into this caged frame of mind that has been re-branded as a "comfort zone". I do not always succeed, I am at fault more times that I care to admit, but that is not a deterrent from skirting the issue. I do not want to be either mediocre or self-important.

I want to have the ability to see the truth of things as they are, not as people try to shape them to be. I have not mastered the art of discernment, it will take years of concentration and dedication. The motivation for this is not to mock the world for being, as Holden Caulfield put it, "Phony". I want to be able to understand and coax others into being freed of their constructed filters and to see the wonder of life as if through the eyes of a newborn.

This earth has so much to offer, and I take too much for granted. It gives me a delightful chill of gratitude to realize that I have all that I need before me. Money will come in time, it need not be a worry. My family loves me unconditionally, whether I merit such favor or not. My true friends will treat me as I deserve to be seen, their eyes see through my facades that I instinctively raise as part of the everyday. What I really admire about my friends is the undisguised joy that they exhibit when encountering the everyday existence of life.

The Beauty of a lily, the Music of the songbirds, the Ability to labor for their sustenance, the Sigh of satisfaction after knowing that you put forth your best effort. Friends are not given, they are to be courted, encouraged, and acknowledged as a special part of your life. With the way my friends live their lives, it inspires me to venture beyond the walls of what I know, into the glory of the untrodden soil.

This post is somehow dedicated to my friends to whom follow this project of mine, and put up patiently with my petitions for readership.