Atrocious Atmospheric Conditions in Ann Arbor

 

Our departure began with the rain.

It shows no signs of stopping.

The journey would have it that we were stopped

in the street by two gentlemen calling out to us,

"You are here now."

We were here now.

The conversation shifted from travel to sleep

And from worldly pleasure to spirituality.

A friend of theirs came outside

She invited us to spend the night on her couches.

Thus the story of our night in a dry, warm house.

Radar continues to show that we will not be

wandering dry

anytime soon.

Finger crossed,

we're hoping to cross

the Canadian border with no trouble.

Cheez-Its and Powdered Lemonade (Spiritual Rebirth)

The gratuitous comforts of a home

Are never enough to make me stay.

Walls and a roof over my head,

but I would rather take my chances.

As I have always said.

People will always speak of money.

Well, they can make their living,

but, me, I'll be living free.

I decided to drop out of school

to see what else the world might hold for me.

Anyone can be an exception to "the rule".

Could I live a different lifestyle

than the one that I had been taught was "correct"?

Still making it out alive, with a genuine smile?

I began to give away my worldly possesions

to those who needed them more than I.

I became involved with activism, small-scale rebellions

I began to stick my thumb out on the edge of highways.

Eating meals from the bottom of trashcans.

I'd growl and snarl at men in suits, in my early days.

I wore a dark bandanna over my face.

My clothes were ragged and sewn together.

I was happy to be out of place.

I began to study many subjects.

Religion intrigued me.

So much to learn, so many holy texts.

I had grown up loosely in the Christian tradition

but without much reason to believe.

I eventually thought my way out of it, through my "intuition".

I felt that conflicting answers made sense to different people.

Varying circumstances meant that

not everyone needed to worship underneath a steeple.

I still see organized religion to be a limitation.

The modern representation of Christianity, in general,

causes me to cringe. Even just the indication.

Christ's message doesn't seem to be represented well by the Christians.

Why isn't more focus put into action than vindication?

We were told to care for the widows, the orphans. To give away our riches.

Not to proselytize or to prove who was right, who was wrong.

The medium was love, the mindset was unconditional acceptance.

To come as you are, to join in the most rebellious of songs.

I have come to realize that my existence holds much higher aspiration.

To continue my search for beauty, for goodwill.

To be active in my personal liberation.

Most everyone seems to be searching for something more.

I've found it, but believe my journey is never-ending.

This fills my heart with excitement, more so than ever before.

What more reason is needed to walk the earth?

To learn, to explore, to love

What better way is there to experience spiritual rebirth?

sunlit fruit trees

The orchard has begun to burst with color and blossoms

I've had thoughts of searching for love

I am but the son of a farmer and the artist

I wake at a different time every morning

to work with my hands

in the soil

to walk in the forest

in the early summer sun

to tend to my carpentry

in the workshop

To Question All that Holds Us Together

Is to have a greater chance at living

If we are not to dispute the societal fabric
that encompasses our day-to-day lives
How are we to know what we could have a chance
at standing for, at believing in?

The most passionate of beliefs come from exploration
Promising results following abandonment
of what we've been taught to think.

There is no problem to return to what we were told,
But there is an undeniable issue in not making these beliefs our own.

It is every individual's responsibility
to tap into their personal ethical system.

Where is the excitement or authenticity
of preaching the same politics that we heard
from our fathers at the dinner table?

Question
all history
all science
all religion
all authority
all of the ideas
you ever thought to be truth