I Found It, In Box J

I found myself sitting at home the other night; not feeling so awesome. This year will mark my first year living out of state and away from home for Christmas, and I was feeling pretty shitty about it. I decided that maybe I just needed to surround myself with Christmas. I should listen to some Christmas music, I watched Charlie Brown's Christmas, but all of this just didn't seem to make me feel any better. I then turned to my back up, the iron lung. That turn, guided my actions for the rest of the evening. It wasn't long until I had loaded my iPod up with holiday tunage, and headed off to Wally World, in search of some holiday festiveness for my new home. I found it, in Box J.

Lizard, WHAT was in Box J you may ask?

The answer, a slice of Christmas. A 6.5 foot, pre-lit slice of Christmas. After perusing the aisles of the seasonal department of Walmart, and loading my cart with ornaments, festive candles, and decorations, I found Box J; the box that held my very first Christmas tree. I made my way home and I spent the rest of the night setting up, and decorating my first Christmas tree away from home. I wrapped it with purple, gold and white garland, in love of my Vikings; I set a bin of popcorn underneath it, my present to myself (yes, the one with the three types of flavors in the Santa tin). I hung my stocking, lit the candles, and sat, staring at my tree. It was surprisingly comforting, how amidst all of the trouble, chaos, and stress that inevitably surrounds us all, I found my happiness in something simple; the Christmas spirit. It left me a bit dumb struck how having that one piece of normality settled the storm of thoughts that had been troubling me.

Maybe we cling to pieces of the past in hopes that we won't have to leave the zones of comfort we found in childhood; or maybe by holding on to a few small pieces of our past, it helps us to define who we are and where we are going in life. Some say that what is in the past should stay there, but I would disagree, partly. Sometimes holding on to small pieces of our past helps us to make it through the vast craze that is day to day life; I would just warn against holding on to so much that it hinders you from moving forward in life. My point however, is that serenity can be found in the most unlikely of places, even in a box at Walmart, so keep your eyes open, and when you need to, grab whatever your safety blanket from childhood may be, and hold it close to you.

-Tut the Lizard

Rushing through life?

I was on my way to work earlier, and a car massively cut me off. At first, I felt the anger startin to come up, but then I felt bad. Why was that person in such a rush? Sometimes we rush because we need to, life pushes us, and we have to be quick on our feet; but all too often I feel that we rush simply because it has become human nature for everything to go as fast as it possibly can. We have become impatient as a society overall. Instant gratification is becoming the new standard, a trend that we must stop. While sometimes faster is better, there is all too many times when you should slow down and soak up as much of life as you can. Take two steps forward, then one step back; stop along the road at anything that looks like it may lead to anything good, because that stop may well turn into one of the best memories of your life. I started thinking about ways to slow down and enjoy life a bit more; and here are a few thoughts that I have come up with so far; take the scenic route if you are taking a trip somewhere, if you can drive, take the roadie instead of flying; take a walk instead of watching tv, and stop anywhere that looks interesting. There's a lot of things I think everyone could do to slow it down a little, and soak up a bit more of everything that life has to offer.

Guilty Pleasures

So we all have them, those little things that we love in secret. It can be anything that makes you smile that you keep hidden from the rest of the world. I myself have plenty of them, not that I am going to give them up. Instead I'm just saying you have to embrace those little things, everyone needs a little something they can keep to themselves that makes them happy. You can sing at the top of your lungs in the shower, or in the car; loving a ridiculous song; chowing down on a bunch of a certain flavor of ice cream... Do it, love it, and rock on with life, even if it's at the beat of your own messed up drum...

In the Pursuit of Passion

Passion. Plenty of ways to define it, it can be something you love doing more than anything else in the world, it can be a feeling that overtakes you every time you see your significant other, it can be something you believe in so deeply that it becomes a part of how we define ourselves.

If you slow down and look for it, you can't miss the impact the passions of those around you has on them. I have watched my friend skateboard through injuries, in the cold as I sat freezing in heavy winter clothes, he spent hours skating in a t-shirt and jeans, not phased by the cold, not phased by the lingering possibility of wiping out, not phased by anything, just lost in the focus of chasing the next trick, the next grind, the next air. I have seen it in other places too, it can be anything, from shredding a great riff on the guitar, pulling off the last second win in MarioKart, watching football with friends around.

I can remember back to when I was in a relationship; I remember the way I felt every time I saw her, weak, but strong at the same time. I was vulnerable, but empowered. I remember wanting to see that smile, those eyes, the way her hair cascaded down her shoulders; and above all, I recall the constant desire to do nothing more than hold her in my arms. Alas that ended poorly, but, in the pursuit of that passion, that love, I found my life going where it needed to go, myself growing into the person that I have become today. I see that same passion in others, in the way one of my friends smiles when she simply looks at her boyfriend. The way one of my friends goes from being harder than stone around the guys to being soft as silk towards her.

For some, passion can be found in their faith. There can be a rather discernible comfort found in the belief that there is a higher body governing our lives. I have found many times where having that faith helped me through troubling times. For me, the pursuit of my own faith has contributed to making me who I am today.

The pursuit of passion is a trait universal to everyone on this planet. Your passions can be big, they can be small, but you have to pursue them to the fullest extent you can possibly force yourself to. Don't allow anything to stop you in this pursuit, remain steadfast, and keep your head up along this winding road. Enjoy the stops along the way; take risks; jump, even if you aren't sure how far the fall may be; don't be afraid of scraping your knees or elbows; because time heals all the wounds of the pursuit; and if you don't pursue, then you aren't living your life to the fullest, you miss out on some of the best parts of life.

-"Tuttle the Lizard"

What up blog?

I just decided I needed a blog. So I made one, I'll come up with creative posts later...