Tired (pronounced "tee-red").

Mentally, I'm exhausted. Physically, I'm exhausted. During "intensives", I essentially work a 12 hour day with a 50 minute break for lunch.

My throat is a bit sore. My feet are tired. My thoughts are sluggish. Thankfully, I feel I am surviving quite well, but I definitely look forward to the regular schedule when things slow down a little.

Many of the other teachers are really struggling with the load. Tempers are hot and words are angry.

I would like to be deep. Mostly because it helps me sort through my thoughts; it stretches me mentally; it challenges others; and I enjoy it. But you know when people start talking all spiritual and deep and they end up sounding silly. Well, I'd like to avoid that.

So I try and pray every morning on the bus. I pray for my family, friends, co-workers, my students, and myself. Sometimes, it's really really hard. I suddenly discover I'm saying the same things over and over again. "Sorry God, I just said that... okay, back to my list of people..." I either get distracted, or I'm just tired. Maybe that's why people close their eyes when they pray.

Have you ever tried to sit and listen to the silence of God's voice? Well, I have. And it never really seems to work that well. Why do I have so much mental noise? On the other hand, I've learned that taking the time to listen has always been worth it.

Somehow the children here are supposed to be encouraged by this saying...

A fool once said, "Get some sleep, dude."
(oh yeah, that was me talking to myself)

Time

Why do I take photos?
There is the beauty of the photo itself. The thrill of the hunt. The butterflies in the stomach when you know you've captured something amazing.

And then I started thinking... when I enter eternity, will I stop taking pictures? I mean, it will be pointless, right? Will people still paint? Will people still throw pots? Will there still be art?

Perhaps I take photos because they are little pieces of eternity. Pieces of timelessness. We're not meant for time. We were built to last forever. Photographs somehow remind me of that.

A wiseman once said, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

Genuine Thoughts

Be real. That's something I often tell myself. But what does that "really" mean? I thought I was real all the time. Perhaps "Be genuine" is closer to what I mean. I want to be honest with myself about how I feel. About what I think about. That is what I want others to see. That I am, what I appear to be.

A wiseman, the Son of God, once said, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

What is in my heart? Maybe the better question is, "What is flowing out of my mouth?" Because that will tell me what is in my heart. So what is the answer? Words of praise? Words of love? Words that build up? Words that teach? Words that are genuine?

I believe some might call this "ironic".

A fool once asked a wise child, "May I take your picture?"
And the wise child gazed at him slightly lifting her brow.