i wanted, i prayed, i dream't of you
what we could do, what you could prove
the stage was set, the curtains were raised
and you put on the show of your age
but something had changed, your life had gone
and there i was left, something was wrong.
the people were here, the seats were filled,
not changed this audience, just more frills
but lacking it was, that thing you had
what made you you, you seemed unclad
and then it dawned, the feeling hit
the thing i wish, i didn't admit.
but there you'd gone, and out grown me
to big for my boots, we'd never agree
deserted I's left, without you this time
so lonely out here, while your in your prime
but home you are not, no not anymore
it just don't feel, how it were before.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Pondering
I wrote this in December but just got around to posting it:
After church one Sunday evening I went with some friends to a nearby boardwalk, overlooking the mangroves. We sat in a sort of corporate solitude as the the tide slowly came in. As time passed, what began as mud beneath us became a bed of water. Although we were there together we each took time to reflect individually as we stood in awe of creation. Before we left we prayed together.
There's something about nature. The dance of the wind in the night, the reflections diffused by ripples in the water, the smell of the salt. As we sat together, it struck me that in this moment i felt more connected with those around me, and more in touch with my creator than I sometimes do at church. Sometimes church can be so complex, music, sermons, notices (damn notices). Sometimes we can get so caught up in doing church that we miss the point and instead of taking time to connect with our creator we find ourselves distracted by the show, the entertainment, the boringness of sermons, the ugly shirt he's wearing, the funny way she hold's her microphone, the cymbal he hit out of time and on and on it goes.
Maybe what we do, isn't church at all? Once they referred to the church as a sanctuary. I love that term, it's so rich - full of hope, screaming of grace, lined with peace and fermented by love. But little remains of sanctuary. What if the church once again dreamed of being a place like this. Away from the busyness, the politics, the drama. What if church were a place where people felt safe to be who they are. What if church was a place where people challenged each other out love and desire to see each other grow not out of growing egos.
Just a thought
After church one Sunday evening I went with some friends to a nearby boardwalk, overlooking the mangroves. We sat in a sort of corporate solitude as the the tide slowly came in. As time passed, what began as mud beneath us became a bed of water. Although we were there together we each took time to reflect individually as we stood in awe of creation. Before we left we prayed together.
There's something about nature. The dance of the wind in the night, the reflections diffused by ripples in the water, the smell of the salt. As we sat together, it struck me that in this moment i felt more connected with those around me, and more in touch with my creator than I sometimes do at church. Sometimes church can be so complex, music, sermons, notices (damn notices). Sometimes we can get so caught up in doing church that we miss the point and instead of taking time to connect with our creator we find ourselves distracted by the show, the entertainment, the boringness of sermons, the ugly shirt he's wearing, the funny way she hold's her microphone, the cymbal he hit out of time and on and on it goes.
Maybe what we do, isn't church at all? Once they referred to the church as a sanctuary. I love that term, it's so rich - full of hope, screaming of grace, lined with peace and fermented by love. But little remains of sanctuary. What if the church once again dreamed of being a place like this. Away from the busyness, the politics, the drama. What if church were a place where people felt safe to be who they are. What if church was a place where people challenged each other out love and desire to see each other grow not out of growing egos.
Just a thought
Monday, December 1, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
A whisper in the night
Forget the thought, the intellect
Drop the façade of righteousness
You try to look like you know me
But you’ve forgot what you can’t see
My mystery, you cannot prove
Don’t work me out. I’m nothing new
Excuse’s rampant without a why
No time to dream, to talk, to cry
Imagination dissipates
Creative crushed by closing gates
But will you jump? Will you return?
And take the risk? Embrace the burn?
I whisper in your ear tonight
Listen up and take the fright
A quiet thought that resonates
Will you believe in me again?
Drop the façade of righteousness
You try to look like you know me
But you’ve forgot what you can’t see
My mystery, you cannot prove
Don’t work me out. I’m nothing new
Excuse’s rampant without a why
No time to dream, to talk, to cry
Imagination dissipates
Creative crushed by closing gates
But will you jump? Will you return?
And take the risk? Embrace the burn?
I whisper in your ear tonight
Listen up and take the fright
A quiet thought that resonates
Will you believe in me again?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Lets Talk
We don't talk no more.
Well we talk, but we dont TALK.
I miss you.
You've lost your heart.
We used to have so much fun.
But now your so busy.
We hung out. We danced. We sang.
But now your so bitter.
You can't see it. But I can. Oh i can see it.
It breaks me the way you act.
Your happiness has dissipated.
I don't even know if you enjoy life anymore.
You look like things are good.
Your job, your lover, your life.
But nobody knows you anymore.
You once were so passionate.
But it dried up long ago.
Everything's an effort.
You think you know best.
You do it all your way.
But some things can only be seen from the outside.
We don't talk no more.
We talk business, but no deeper.
You've shut me out.
I miss you.
Well we talk, but we dont TALK.
I miss you.
You've lost your heart.
We used to have so much fun.
But now your so busy.
We hung out. We danced. We sang.
But now your so bitter.
You can't see it. But I can. Oh i can see it.
It breaks me the way you act.
Your happiness has dissipated.
I don't even know if you enjoy life anymore.
You look like things are good.
Your job, your lover, your life.
But nobody knows you anymore.
You once were so passionate.
But it dried up long ago.
Everything's an effort.
You think you know best.
You do it all your way.
But some things can only be seen from the outside.
We don't talk no more.
We talk business, but no deeper.
You've shut me out.
I miss you.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Youth media use
The way people use media has always intrigued me. Lately I have been making some observations of friends of mine and what I would suggest are changing patterns in the way we use media.
For a little scene setting, in our flat we have 2 TV's set up side by side, a playstation one, an x box 360, 2 mac laptops, and SKY TV.
Pattern one - 2 screen syndrome...
I have always thought of DVD watching as a sole task. As in a group of people will sit together and watch a movie on one screen. The focus will mostly be on what is happening on the screen, the unfolding story line etc. Sure their maybe some distractions for snacks and light chatter, but generally its a sit and watch experience.
We have a lot of youth over to our flat... and I have noticed that when we watch a movie, they will pick up a laptop and chat online throughout, or check their email etc...
Using two screens is not uncommon in our flat. One of my flat mates will happily watch a dvd and play X-box at the same time. And others will watch a DVD and use a laptop.
Perhaps it's just that people have such short attention spans now that they can't bear to sit around and watch a whole DVD undisturbed (but it does seem different going to the cinemas).
One point of note is that it is normally communication software they tend to use... MSN, bebo, etc, facebook. I wonder if this is a result of the fact we always carry cellphones now? I would suggest they idea that we should always be "contactable" and be able to contact others - via phone calls, txt, social networking - has become normal. The development of this would suggest that because we live our life's like this, to not be in contact with people who are not directly around us feels unnatural.
On a tagent I do wonder if this can lead to a feeling a isolation amongst young people when they are not in contact with other humans... I have to admit there have been times when I have sat at home on my own with noone online to talk too, so picked up my cellphone and began to text friends simply out of boredness.
The idea that we should have instant access to communication, or perhaps more instant accress friendship is somewhat troubling. I have not seen any research on this, but would suggest that for most Y generation the feeling of loneliness is perhaps something that occurs more regularly and more intensely.
Being in contact with people all day, be that in person, via cellphone, or the internet is great. But on the flipside when we are not in contact with others it perhaps feels unnatural and as a result we confuse simply not communicating with others as loneliness.
Pattern two - expected access syndrome.
As I said we have a lot of teenagers come over. Although I am only a few years older than most of the guys there are some distinct difference in approach to media. (I says this not out of criticism but of observation).
The crew that come over seem to have an expectation that access to a computer and more the internet is their right. They will walk in and pick up one of our laptops without asking and spend their time online. One month we have to ban them from Youtube as they sucked up half our bandwidth in about 2 days hahaha... This differ to upbringing... I remeber a time when my famliy didn't have a computer, and a time when the internet was something we only had at school. Also in my teenage years, although we would go to each other houses, we wouldn't spend the whole time on the internet - and would ask before we downloaded something.
I admit most people would now expect internet access in most locations, but I think it may come as a shock to some young people that when they get into the workplace they may not be able to spend all day on MSN, or BEBO, or Facebook, or gmail - depending on the internet policy.
Pattern three - On Demand.
I knew on demand content was begining to take hold, but never really realised just what this means... My friend of mine is a prime example of a new media user. Apart from x-box most of his media use is online. He will download his music and movies, watch sports games online, get news, and communicate all from his laptop. This makes me thing the idea that the medium of television won't hold up in the long term - something many media commentators having been saying for a while - may be correct.
Another one of the young guys will spend his time at our place watching music video's onlinem even though we have sky with 4 music video channels on it. What more interesting is most of the video's he watches are top 40 songs which are on high rotation on music channels. This seems to suggest enforce the ideals of instant access. He wouldn't have to wait long to see that same video on TV in better quality, but chooses to watch it online because he can get it now...
Thats enough observations for one day... I'm sure there will be more to come.
For a little scene setting, in our flat we have 2 TV's set up side by side, a playstation one, an x box 360, 2 mac laptops, and SKY TV.
Pattern one - 2 screen syndrome...
I have always thought of DVD watching as a sole task. As in a group of people will sit together and watch a movie on one screen. The focus will mostly be on what is happening on the screen, the unfolding story line etc. Sure their maybe some distractions for snacks and light chatter, but generally its a sit and watch experience.
We have a lot of youth over to our flat... and I have noticed that when we watch a movie, they will pick up a laptop and chat online throughout, or check their email etc...
Using two screens is not uncommon in our flat. One of my flat mates will happily watch a dvd and play X-box at the same time. And others will watch a DVD and use a laptop.
Perhaps it's just that people have such short attention spans now that they can't bear to sit around and watch a whole DVD undisturbed (but it does seem different going to the cinemas).
One point of note is that it is normally communication software they tend to use... MSN, bebo, etc, facebook. I wonder if this is a result of the fact we always carry cellphones now? I would suggest they idea that we should always be "contactable" and be able to contact others - via phone calls, txt, social networking - has become normal. The development of this would suggest that because we live our life's like this, to not be in contact with people who are not directly around us feels unnatural.
On a tagent I do wonder if this can lead to a feeling a isolation amongst young people when they are not in contact with other humans... I have to admit there have been times when I have sat at home on my own with noone online to talk too, so picked up my cellphone and began to text friends simply out of boredness.
The idea that we should have instant access to communication, or perhaps more instant accress friendship is somewhat troubling. I have not seen any research on this, but would suggest that for most Y generation the feeling of loneliness is perhaps something that occurs more regularly and more intensely.
Being in contact with people all day, be that in person, via cellphone, or the internet is great. But on the flipside when we are not in contact with others it perhaps feels unnatural and as a result we confuse simply not communicating with others as loneliness.
Pattern two - expected access syndrome.
As I said we have a lot of teenagers come over. Although I am only a few years older than most of the guys there are some distinct difference in approach to media. (I says this not out of criticism but of observation).
The crew that come over seem to have an expectation that access to a computer and more the internet is their right. They will walk in and pick up one of our laptops without asking and spend their time online. One month we have to ban them from Youtube as they sucked up half our bandwidth in about 2 days hahaha... This differ to upbringing... I remeber a time when my famliy didn't have a computer, and a time when the internet was something we only had at school. Also in my teenage years, although we would go to each other houses, we wouldn't spend the whole time on the internet - and would ask before we downloaded something.
I admit most people would now expect internet access in most locations, but I think it may come as a shock to some young people that when they get into the workplace they may not be able to spend all day on MSN, or BEBO, or Facebook, or gmail - depending on the internet policy.
Pattern three - On Demand.
I knew on demand content was begining to take hold, but never really realised just what this means... My friend of mine is a prime example of a new media user. Apart from x-box most of his media use is online. He will download his music and movies, watch sports games online, get news, and communicate all from his laptop. This makes me thing the idea that the medium of television won't hold up in the long term - something many media commentators having been saying for a while - may be correct.
Another one of the young guys will spend his time at our place watching music video's onlinem even though we have sky with 4 music video channels on it. What more interesting is most of the video's he watches are top 40 songs which are on high rotation on music channels. This seems to suggest enforce the ideals of instant access. He wouldn't have to wait long to see that same video on TV in better quality, but chooses to watch it online because he can get it now...
Thats enough observations for one day... I'm sure there will be more to come.
Lifes good when ... 2
This is the second in my series of Athletic shots... If you need a model for anything contact my agency... hotathleticmodels.com.au.nz.uk ... To see more great shots in this series click here
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