New Things

I looked for the humming bird today but it was not there. It’s a common mistake we make in life – we keep looking in the same place but the “prize” keeps moving. Now I know what you Christians out there are saying to yourselves, “If you are looking for God you can find Him in the same place because He never moves.” However, I submit that as our relationship with God grows we meet him in a different place too. Like Lucy in the Chronicles of Narnia, I think it’s in Prince Caspian. The children had been gone for a time, and had recently returned to Narnia. In her first conversation with Aslan she says, “Aslan, you are bigger than you used to be” and he say’s, “No, I haven’t grown, you have.”

So, anyway, I don’t know what cool things I will experience today, but seeing the humming bird among the Crepe Myrtles by the soccer fields is not one of them.

Humming Birds

I can’t believe I haven’t written since Sunday! This week is flying by.

So yesterday while on my morning run I saw a humming bird. At first I thought it was an insect (apparently everything grows big in Texas, except humming birds.) The thing about humming birds, at least for me, is that I can’t stop watching them. I love that hovering thing, and aside from being completely captivated, I imagine how awesome it would be to fly around like that. For me to move anything that fast is impossible and for the bird it’s effortless. What a great lesson in individuality! Do what you were created to do. After all, the humming bird is excellent at sucking nectar out of flowers, but can it grill steak and roasting ears?

Also, what an interesting glimpse at God’s creativity and engineering chops. Here’s a creature that looks like a bird but flies like an insect. And how can it flap so fast so efficiently – an elegant design. They say you can learn about an artist by looking at his/her work. I think the same is true about God. This bird is an engaging combination of whimsy and brilliance, and what does that say about its designer?

More Water: Duck tracks

My mind is still on water and rain. Of course water is a big part of our life, but with the wet weather it seems even more so. Today I’m thinking about dew. I posted a video to go along with this entry on my MySpace site - http://www.myspace.com/slivermoonglobal Click on "My videos" under my picture and click on "Duck Tracks."

I was in the middle of my morning run and the dew was thick on the grass. Everyone else uses the sidewalk, so I don’t know who had been there before me that day, but I run on the grass, leaving a dotted trail in the unbroken dewy grass. As I ran next to the pond I noticed someone had been there before me – it was a duck.

I ran next to the little foot prints, up and down the hills for a few minutes and then I looked back to see two tracks in the dew – his little dots close together, sometimes blurring together into one solid line, and my big splotches farther apart.

For some reason I felt a bond with the duck, you know, like we had been down the same road and had shared experiences.

Well, that’s just the way my mind works.

So, anyway, I thought about the short-legged dew treader meandering up and down the hills, and wondered: how long did it take him? Is it hard for him to walk up the steep hill? Why was he walking there? Was the dew cold on his feet? I wondered if he felt like me - did the morning air in his lungs compel him to live the coming day hard and full? Were his little duck eyes just as mesmerized as mine looking at the reflection of the new day in the perfectly calm water?

We left our mark, the duck and I, in the dew – two careless lines of green among the wetter green carpet, a fleeting witness to our presence, passage and purpose. Our brief mark on the world would evaporate within the hour. Like so many things we do in a day – leaving no lasting mark.

I remembered something I saw during the Pigman spring triathlon several years ago. On the side of the road, preserved in concrete, are a good long set of raccoon tracks. Apparently the little critter walked on the road while the cement was still wet. They will be there as long as the road lasts.

There are some things in our lives that don’t fade away: our wedding day, the birth of our children, graduation days. Sometimes there are big events like reunions, or vacations together, or trips which leave a lasting impact. I think for me there were big projects I did with others that left a lasting impression on all of us, like writing and performing musicals or movies, or the music tour. Also, there were lasting things I did on my own like marathons performances and travel.

So, my point is that, while most parts of most days are spent making tracks that will fade by the time the sun rises high, it is worth working towards big things. As we attempt weightier and more substantive goals we experience a fuller, more meaningful life. Also, at times we can even make someone else’s life more meaningful. Some people even made such lasting tracks that they impact people long after their own life is over: Beethoven, CS Lewis, Ghandi, Mother Teresa.

Well, that’s what I was thinking about when I ran next to the duck tracks.

I ran on and imagined my little friend waddling along thought about how much effort it must have taken him, and how easily I was skimming along the dew. I felt a bit superior.

On my way back I saw the duck on the pond, gliding effortlessly. I mentally compared that image to me swimming laps in the pool – water flying, waves everywhere, gasping like a steam engine, and moving forward at a snail’s pace for my effort.

Ok, I’ve got the grass but he’s got the water, we’re even, the duck and I. (Hopelessly competitive I am.)

Then he flew away.

Damn. Outdone by a duck.

Waterlogged in Texas

As of yesterday we have had 50 straight days of rain. We’ve got Noah beat by 10.

Consequently, I have been thinking about water lately. It’s like so many things in life – too little is bad, too much is worse. Like dessert, money, beer, credit, garlic, Irish music, and RAIN.

As I was running the other day I noticed the sound of the creek next to the trail. I love that sound. Calm and companionable. But just a few days ago that same creek was a flooding, raging river – 20 feet deep, sweeping away everything, including entire trees. Life is like that, one moment just rolling along and suddenly coming at you way, way to fast.

So anyway, after our daily thunderstorm/flash flood yesterday I thought how the weather illustrates the character of God, he is both terrifying and gentle. Lightning – terrifying; peaceful sunset afterwards – gentle.

I put together a little North Texas weather video. It looks and sounds great on my computer but not so great on the web, but since I made it I decided to post it anyway. You can see it at my Myspace page, click on "videos." http://www.myspace.com/slivermoonglobal. It's labeled "Waterlogged in Texas."

What, exactly, do we know?

So I sent an email to everybody that my phone changed but the number didn’t and I got some interesting responses. Dani (Hungarian) asked me if I had Lia’s (Hungarian) phone number (which I had), and my sister wrote to say she didn’t my phone number!

Hmm, what does that say about me….

The sun shone today for the first time all week (well, almost) and it got pretty hot. Due to a series of delays I ran my prescribed 9 miles in the heat of the day. It wasn’t so bad until I got home and stopped running. Then I felt REALLY tired. I wonder why I didn’t know how tired I was while I was actually getting tired.

Have you ever experienced something like this? You get to the end of something, let down, relax, and then realize just how draining it had been.

I’m working on putting together one of the films from Hungary. I am constantly fighting the voices in my head that tell me my work stinks. I suspect I’m worried about failure, or what people will think. Well, I’m no film genius that’s for sure, but I have to give it my best shot.

New Phone

I am writing to tell everyone that I have a new phone. No need to change anything, the number is the same.

I know we like things to stay the same. It makes our lives seem secure, dependable, like we know what to expect. But things change. People change. Society changes, the World changes.

Let’s take Texas weather for example. For the first two years I lived in Texas we had two kinds of days: Pleasant and sunny, and hot and sunny. Starting this spring we entered the rain zone. Before I left for Hungary we were in a weather rhythm that included a weekly flash flood. Since I returned volume is down but frequency is up. Now we have daily thunderstorms. Some days it rains two or three times. Everything is green, I never have to water anything, it’s humid – we could be living in Iowa.

Maybe it’s not so much that the weather changed as that I just know Texas weather better now. As we used to say at faculty meetings: I now have a more sophisticated understanding of Texas. Anyway, it’s the same address but it has been calling up different weather.

I am applying for teaching jobs. The party is over, time to make some money again. I do love to teach, and I can still work on films in my spare time.

Same number, new phone.

Onion Rings and Cherry Coke

I’m getting healthy. Well, I’m planning to get healthy. This morning I ran the 8 miles prescribed by my new training schedule, ate fruit and vegetables for breakfast and lunch. I worked on my film, then took a break to grocery shop. I bought good healthy food like carrots, yogurt, and skim milk. Even salmon. Then on the way home I stopped by Sonic for onion rings and a cherry coke. Hmmm.