A-part-ment

I moved into a new apartment last weekend! I've been 'in-dependent' for days now: it feels strange... but good! Although I do feel like I could be participating in more good causes, community events, etc., I do understand that I have been in this place for only 3 or 4 days, so it is understandable. Occasionally I will open the windows to the apartment and play mandolin, or I will Meditate or sing, and that will bring good vibes to the area, especially the surrounding apartments. The people around us seem really cool, although I have only met one of them, they all have decent cars with cool bumper stickers (ones like 'Swimmer' and 'Habitat for Humanity'), so they seem like good people! Although, the last 3 or 4 days the people above us party hardy, even though the guy who swims claims not to drink. Although, there is a guitar with an amp, and supposedly Gears of War, and likes of jumping - but never late at night. I caught the bus today - it was fun, good to participate in the public transportation. It actually is really nice living in an apartment, I have not conformed to the College norm of Raman noodles and Don Taco, instead I manage to open the windows and cook some black beans and the Vegetables with delicious Whole Wheat Tacos. Life is tough in the big city, says the high-school Trig teacher who once was in the army, yet I say Life is good in the big city. I am no longer in the suburbs and goody tooschoo community, and am no longer in the semi-ghetto, and have landed somehow in a College infested neighborhood, where people drink things somewhere in between Beer and Water. Fortunately, I have a guru, and am glued to the Joy that is given from him!! But, a post on here seemed essential, as I am surrounded by light posts and T.V.'s and computers, and a little bit of nature is a delicious delicacy to be enjoyed only by a deep breath and some sun salutations.

Court reporting is going well, as a Sophomore in John A. Logan I have gained a little bit more merit, and somehow landed a spot on the Internet with the name of the website being 'I the Volunteer.' And, although I would post the address for house-warming gifts, I am unable because of the possibility of, well, I DONT KNOW...

Good night all, and wish the college community of Southern Illinois good luck, for we need a lot in this kinda town.

Question

I was asked an interesting question tonight:

"Do you like where you are going?"

I stared blankly, the answer to the question in my mind was, 'Where am I going?'

"Do you like what life has shown you so far?"

'Yeah... Yeah, I do,' was my answer. It felt good at the time of answering the question. After all, this is what I felt, this is what I said. It is a good question though, and almost immediately afterwards, looking back, it felt as though that question needed to be asked. The question is entirely personal, and should be asked more often. Maybe it was situation, he only asked it because I had a smile on my face, but still, there have been questions that have changed my life, and this I think is one of them.

The usual question is, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' I can see as a teacher why it might be useful, getting to know the students.

Questions I have found to be incredibly useful in life, although I may have annoyed some people or have been some sort of thorn on their back through the incessant questions I have asked, I do feel like each one has been useful in becoming closer to that very person.

A question implies learning, curiosity, wonder. As an experienced question asker, I find that excessive questions will make people a little P'O'ed, or at least it seems that way by the look on their face. So, sometimes, I make a brain agreement not to ask any questions, but only to say statements, exclaim things, yell, whisper, say anything, except no questions. This soon ends and I find that during that small period of time I think of myself as a total doosch.

But oh well,I just thought I'd exclaim the beauty of the "question" as they did in Junior High with posters of Einstein.Conclusion: It is incredibly important for humanity to ask questions, regardless of what words are contained.

getting the creative juices flowing

http://snd.sc/pSph2Z

Through Heaven's Eyes

Eco-detour

The sun came up on a dreary morning; fog stuck to the grass like a tick on a beast, and the light of the sun penetrated the belly of every living thing, bringing a soft shadow to the ground, the Earth. Although the fog was heavy, things could e seen a short distance away, and the creatures continued the daily routine.

Although partially humidified, the ants kept carrying, the ant eaters kept eating, and the wolves kept killing. The trees swayed back and forth, communicating a slight discomfort, a need to move and to be active, but the fog and the sun kept them silent, providing their essentials. A road stood as bricks on a church, lonely like a high-schooler on his or her way home from school. There hadn't been a single car to drive on it in days, it is as if there was a train wreck a few days earlier, or some sort of catastrophe. Dryness spilled from the cracks in the road, soil underneath searching for life, moisture, some comfort. As the fog drifted into the morning dew, the sun brightened as though someone was gradually making the light brighter at some dinner party, playing the role of lights technician. The hungry soil, the frustrated trees, the labor intensive ants, and the soft wind all perked in a sudden shock, as though they had just been electricuted.

A small car became visible in the distance: a blue Toyota Prius with its brights on. All the windows appeared to be closed, although the passenger occasionally opened one slightly, only to close it again. The Prius roared through the silence that was this ecosystem, and although compared to most cars quite quiet, this one made a racquet, as it was the only mechanical object to be here in days. Coming to a soft halt the Prius gradually slowed as though it was stopping at a stop sign. A woman got out of the driver's seat and started kicking the tires, one by one. The trees fell into trance, the ants were amazed. They hadn't seen or heard or smelled something like this in years. The deer stopped in their tracks, and forgot about the sustenance that once was craved. The wind, although continuing similar motions and still gently blowing, got curious and wondered what was disturbing their usual patterns.

The woman finished her kicking, and sat down to have a banana and peanut butter on the bumper of the car. Then, all of a sudden, a small boy opened the passenger side door and crawled out, and wobbled to the edge of the road where the grass lived. He started digging his hands into the ground and soon enough he touched an ant hill. The ants, out of their nature and out of pure intuition and surprise, crawled onto his hand. The boy stood up and softly called out to his mother,

"Mommy! I got ants on my hands!!!"

All things, including the leaves and ants, the deer and trees, soil and birds, even the mother stared directly at the boy in such unfathomable awe as the entire ecosystem in that wilderness started changing.