I try and keep up to date with people’s lives.
Where they’re going.
What they’re doing.

My friends who I’ve lost contact with, I still like to know what’s going on, and how they’re living their lives.

Ironically, I don’t get excited about the things that I should.

When people talk about their relationships, or their future dreams of marriage and kids and owning a house.

That’s what people want in life right?
That’s the ultimate goal…to settle down and be…”living”…
Right?

Somehow, I really don’t care.

Is it weird that, when I hear someone talk about their passions, I get very excited?
When I hear about someone WANTING to use their talents and gifts, I become proud of them?

It seems people put too much emphasis on the ending goal.
The American Dream.

But I just don’t see the point in that.

Sure, I’m happy for you.
You have a current person that you love and you want to spend the rest of your life with, and that’s something to be admired.
You’re lucky…and that’s alright.

But what happens once you’re “settled down.”?
What did you do with your life before that?

What happened to your passions?

Why are we fed these guidelines of:
Graduate
Go to College
Get a Career
Get Married
Have Children
Retire
Die?

Everytime I hear you say, “I can’t wait to get married, have kids, and just own a house.”
I feel sad for you.

Because it doesn’t seem like there’s anything beyond that for you.
That’s it?
That’s your dream?

Sounds pretty boring to me…or maybe the right word would be worthless.
Yes, that’s harsh, and I understand that someday I would like to be there as well, but I don’t think we’re on the same page.

Yes…I would like to be married.
But I want to find that person who supports everything I do with my life, and can tolerate the person I am…first.

Yes…I want to have children.
But I want to have done enough for them to look up to me, and want to accomplish the same things (if not better) in life. I want them to be able to see me doing the things I do best, and be able to know who I was while I was living.

I don’t want to just be a, “Dad with a job.”

Yes…I want to own a house.
Ummm…a big one…or maybe 4…or even just a small trailer…I don’t care.
But I don’t want my life to be confined to the home…I want people to know me because of who I was with and where I walked.
Kinda like Jesus…though I won’t be traveling as much I don’t think.

There’s so much life that you could be living right now.
There’s so many goals you could be making that you when you finally settle down and let your kids take over…you can say that you lived a good life.

But it all seems to be about fast forwarding, and getting past all that.

But then how can you say you did something with the gifts that were given to you?
How can you tell your kids that you were talented…
…if you can’t back it up?

Sure, there’s so much you can do after you’re married…but again…it doesn’t seem to me like you’re looking into all of that.

You want to know what I think about my life?

My goals are simple.
To act.
Sing.
Draw.
Write.
Read.
Express emotion.
Share a message.
Invoke inspiration.
Change a life…or two.
Be there for my friends.
Hang out with my friends.
Find out what’s for dinner.
Further emphasize and expand my goals.
Start a company.
Start a movement.
Have an everlasting relationship with God.
“Dream as if I’ll live forever.
Live as if I’ll die today.”
Be That rolemodel.
Be hated.
Be loved.
To not take things for granted.
To live alone.
To die young.
To be content.

Sure, I want to meet the girl of my dreams along the way.
Well…the girl that God has meant for me.
I want to be married…and have those kids.

But that’s not my goal…that’s not my dream.

Even stated above, it’s all a vague representation of what I want to do with my life.
Along with it, is what I want from you.

I dream of a generation that is fulfilling their passions on a different level than the generations before.
I dream of kids going above and beyond what is expected of them.
I dream of my generation starting new things…creating new movements…and not just using their talents, but making it their own representation of themselves.

I dream that God…my God…will be further emphasized by myself and my fellow peers in an attempt to reach the generation that we constantly preach is going down and down and down.

Christians want to do something, but they’re too focused on their own lives to see that even the simplest things can help a person turn around.

Christians talk of how the secular world needs help, but once you get into your little Christian groups and talk about these things, you just further seclude yourselves into a clique that doesn’t want to be involved with the outside world at all.

You talk and talk and talk, but you can’t get past your own problems to try and help someone else out.

The ironic thing is…that God tells use to put Faith and Trust in him, and to let him handle our lives.

So we believe that.

Yet once you do it, we fail to realize that we are supposed to be helping others while he watches over us, and every little problem in our life we’re too busy praying about and “putting faith” in him so that the problem can be solved.

But then we contradict, because if we would just let the problem go and work on what God wants us to, then he’ll work it out for us.

That’s called faith.

If he wants you to worry about the problem, then he’ll tell you to worry about the problem.

Yes, God works from the inside out.
Before we can point out the speck in one person’s eye, we have to pull the plank out of our own eye.

But when God is changing out lives from within us…life doesn’t stop.

As you’re changing…people should be able to see that on the outside.
And you shouldn’t take a break from life and what you’re called to do.

Life is too short to do that.
Every second counts.
Every day could be your last.

Again, my philosophy:
Learn from the Past – Those mistakes that you make and problems you’ve fixed, you learn from and you move on. You don’t dwell on the past, you don’t delve into your memories and wish things were the same or focus on hindsight or things like that. It happened, they are good memories…move on.

Live in the Present – Life is a story…make yours interesting. Live as if you could die very soon…maybe tomorrow. Maybe this is the last day of your life. Sure, you can’t do everything, but will you be able to go to sleep tonight and say, “I could die because I have no regrets about my decisions today.”

I’m not saying, change the world in one day…I’m saying…take it one day at a time.

Remember the Future – the keyword there is “remember.” Don’t forget that the future is there, and remember that the things you do today greatly effect your future tomorrow and so forth. But don’t plan on the future, because the future doesn’t always plan on you. You’re not guaranteed a future.

Sure, you can say that you’d like to do things in the future, and you can express that if things go right then “this” or “that” could happen.
But only “remember” that the future is there, and just like the past, don’t dwell on it.

You may think this was unnecessary, but it just seems that I can’t stress these things to you enough.
I’ve said it time…and time again.
And I’ll probably find a new way to say it in the future, who knows but God?

You know where my heart is.
And I can observe where yours is.

To say that I’m more excited tohear about what you’re doing today rather than what you want your life to be like tomorrow…I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

Don’t bore me with your life.
Let me go to your funeral and be able to say one of two things:
“He/She was going somewhere.”
Or
“He/She knew how to live life.”

Inspire me.
Impress me.

I know that right now, you could care less about what I think.
But if I see things correctly…some day you will.

Someday I’ll count on you…and hopefully…
Some day you won’t regret neglecting what I’ve said, or anything didn’t do.