Incitement - Vox Populi

Did you ever believe?
Were you ever a dreamer?
Ever imagine heart open and free?

                  from "Vox Populi" by 30 Seconds to Mars

Something is happening.

I am inspired.  Stoked.  Excited.  Amped.

This is no euphoria induced moment of stimulated brain activity.  This is genuine, unadulterated inspiration.  And I have to say, it's about bloody time.  The past two years have been awkward and challenging.  But this post isn't about that.  I just want to make it clear that that I've been in some sort of quagmire.  My very own "Swamp of Sadness," if you'll allow a NeverEnding Story reference.

I've had moments of creative success.  Weighed down by a lot of life and other things.  Many were consequences of my own actions/choices.  I've no delusions about that.  I can be my own worst enemy sometimes.  I just don't know how to get out of my own way.  I'm stubborn that way.

Yet, here I am.  I feel as if I've been banging against the soundproof glass of my own hubris.  It's finally broken and the air is flowing again.  It's like a waterfall exploding life into my imagination.

This isn't just about creativity either.  At least not just in the artistic/writing sense.  But I'll get to that in a minute.

As for the creativity...I haven't written any poems in almost 2 years.  Not even bad ones.  I haven't worked on my "epic" for almost nearly as long.  Granted I've put another project ahead of those, one that I'm taking to the Baltimore Comic-Con in September.  But even that has felt like a burden, with moments of joy.  But all that is changing.  The rivers of creativity have broken free of the levee and are rushing wild and free.

I'm tired of sitting on my hands and worrying if these projects will make it.  Wondering if there will be a response to what I'm creating.  It doesn't matter.  They need to happen.  They need to be set free and let out.  It's time to stop waiting for whatever it is I've been waiting for.

I'm also done waiting for some specific 'ministry' to fit into my life.  Oddly, the comic Coffee with Jesus has struck me deeply today.  There is one where a guy promises to make changes in his life ending with spending more time with Jesus.  Jesus points out that he should start with that, and see how the rest pan out.

I hear ya big guy.  I hear ya.

The sad thing is, I know all this stuff.  But for some reason, after watching G.I. Joe: Retaliation tonight, and listening to Led Zepplin's When the Levee  Breaks, and 30 Seconds to Mars'  Vox Populi on the drive home, my mind, imagination, and heart lit up like freakin' Rockefeller Center at Christmas!  I don't know what that combination did, but it did.  Stoked.  Amped.  Inspired.

Make someone's day better.  Every day. 


I know, rivetingly original right?  But hey, it's possible.  This world is full of darkness and shadows.  We don't trust our government.  Doesn't matter what side you're on.  Everyone thinks politicians are hiding something.  Or even full out lying about something or everything.  There is distrust, hate, anger, fear and everything else running rampant in our streets and hearts.

But what good is any of that?

Damn right.  Not a single solitary bit.  I'm sick and tired of being afraid.  Tired of hiding behind excuses and misunderstandings.  I'm done.  Sure, I have no idea what tomorrow holds.  I could die in a car accident.  I could catch some disease.  Maybe something more horrific like a terrorist attack.  Maybe, someone won't like my clothes!  The horror.  Someone might laugh at me in a store.  Maybe I'll offend a friend because of my beliefs.

Done.  I'm just done with all of that.

You know what else might happen tomorrow?  Nothing.  Because I refuse to do anything.  We refuse to do anything.  Earlier this week I was a little off in my mood.  I was being a little short with a friend.  Not their fault, but they were getting my offishness.  After a good conversation I learned they had been having a really bad day.  Made my little problems of not enough sleep/bumping my head with a post not that big a deal.

We've all got problems.  We can wait for people to notice ours and be sympathetic toward us, or we can stop, look, listen for what's going on with them.  Go watch the movie The Impossible.  It's a gut wrenching tale of a family that went through the tsunami in 2004.  Despite fearing her children and husband were dead, a mother and her eldest son stop to help a small boy.  It went against basic instincts of survival.  But they saved that kids life.

What I'm rambling on about here is that I, no...WE must put ourselves off our own radar.  Before you get snarky with your check out person at Wal-Mart, realize they might be having the worst day of their life.  Or maybe breakfast just didn't agree with them.  What does it hurt you and me to be nice?  It might cost us a little pride, or pity, or whatever chip we might be carrying on our shoulder today.

Don't surrender to the easy.  The convenient.  The darkness.  Make a difference in someone's life.  Make someone's life better today.  Not to make yourself feel good (which you probably will) but because being nice is unexpected, and so uncommon.

I'm trying to incite a riot of kindness and love here.  Let's flip the day on it's head and make someone smile.  And don't just settle for family or friends.  Let kindness, hope, love and compassion grown in your heart like a garden.  Take the fruit and pass it around.  For me this comes out of my faith.  But it's not about earning points or following a dogma.

It's about seeing the folks around you as people, and not obstacles to get around or tools to get you what you want.  We are all at different places in life.  We can't expect everyone around us to be on the same page as us, or even in the same book.  But being kind, and genuine...that transcends languages, orientations, choices, politics, and just about everything.  Doesn't mean it's appreciated, or always noticed.  That doesn't make it any less kind or real.

So, be inspired.  In life, creativity, whatever.  Make someone's day better today.  Tomorrow.  Whenever.  Wherever

Ever want to just stop?
Do you want to surrender?
Or fight for victory?

Don't quit. Incite kindness and inspiration.  We the people, YOU and me, have a voice.

Even if no one is listening.

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

True North

On Christmas Day I went to see the movie Lincoln.  It was an incredibly filmed and acted movie.  I'm sure it will win a few awards in the coming months.  But like many movies, I hope, it speaks to people.  That it will challenge them and spur them on in their lives.


One moment that really reached through the screen and slapped me in the face more effectively than any 3D presentation I've ever seen was when Abe talks about a compass and true north.

A compass will point you true north. but it won’t show you the swamps between you and there.  If you don’t avoid the swamps, and get bogged down, what’s the use of knowing true north?

Now, I don't know if this is something the president has ever said or not.  It's still an effective and powerful thought.  At first glimpse this idea could be seen as compromising your beliefs.  I don't hold to that opinion.

True North is a guide.  It's a way to know where you are and to check your bearings.  To know that you need to move more East or West.  To know where, when and how to correct your course to remain on your path.

Like the example of a swamp, sometimes you cannot simply press on.  You have to go around.  Or find your way through, at a much slower, and riskier path.  Maybe it's not a swamp.  Maybe it is a mountain in your way.  You can keep marching straight north if you like.  Perhaps you'll make it over the mountain that way.   Or, maybe, just maybe that path will defeat you.  Or claim the lives of those traveling with you.

More likely you will look for a pass, or a route that will take you quickly and safely over, or as close to those as possible, and allow you to pick up following true north on the other side.

Cause the only way to pass a mountain that is blocking your forward advance is through it.  Like a tunnel.  It's destructive.  To the mountain and those blasting through.  And you end up robbing yourself of the journey and experiences that wait in the struggle over the mountain.

For those who follow Jesus as their true north, remember this; there is room to move about.  Jesus gave a few very strong and specific commands, but they are also many broad strokes.  Sometimes Jesus will lead you to a mountain, or a swamp.  Don't blast through the mountain, or chop down a forest to build a bridge over the swamp.  Look for the detours and smaller paths that He will lead you to.

If you are at that mountain, it means there is a difficult bit of journey ahead, and you will be changed, challenged, and exhausted by it.  But you will come down the other side different.  Stronger, because your weakness allows Jesus to work.  Wiser, because your mistakes led to Jesus teaching you.  Better, because you spent that much more time in His presence, following where he leads.

No journey is a straight line.  (Unless you live in the Midwest where it's really boring to drive.)  Turning East or West does not always mean going off course and missing the mark.  Sometimes the road takes a curve or bend that eventually leads you back North.

Know where you are going, but discover the road along the way.


grace, peace + hope-Jesse

90 - You've Come to Journeys End

The final song.

It has been a journey my friends.  I hope you have enjoyed it!

This song has been picked out and waiting for this day for almost 3 months.  And now it's here.  It seemed a fitting song all things considered.  At least for me.

It's a song that carried me off to sleep countless hundreds of times.  It is ethereal, haunting, and beautiful.  It was the last song in the last film of an incredible trilogy.  The movies defied all my expectations.  Well, most of them.  And this song was the perfect way to wrap out the franchise.

Song 90/Day 90        "Into the West" sung by Annie Lennox from the Academy Award Winning* motion picture soundtrack, The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King.

*The Oscar was for this song: music and lyrics by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox

This song comforts me and brings tears to my eyes at the same time.  It's a bittersweet lullaby.

In it are words used in the film when Gandalf tells Pippin what happens when they die.  It's beautiful imagery taken in part from the final chapter of Tolkien's book.  The song was written as a lament from Galadriel.  And with that in mind it's even more enchanting as Cate Blanchette's performance as that figure is stunning and breathtaking.

This song just chills me in the most positive of ways, down to my core.  I love falling asleep to it.  It's not a song I think that can just be listened to for "fun."  At least not for me.  There is a weight and responsibility that comes with it.  Almost like someone carrying an ember to the next village in a time when fire was the gold men longed for.

The simplicity of the music in this song, the horns, and her voice just thrill the mind.

I couldn't think of a better song to say farewell to this series, and the season I love so much.  It's cold, damp, and wet out as I write this.  But this song kindles the fire of hope and "what is to come" in my heart and mind.

Hope fades
Into the world of night
Through shadows falling
Out of memory and time
Don't say: "We have come now to the end"
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again
And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

82 - We Must Away Ere Break of Day

This one isn't playing fair.

I've heard it for the most part months ago when a certain movie trailer first hit screens.  Then yesterday, I was thrilled to find it on the score to the film.  So it's the most recently heard song in my list, it's also one that feels the oldest.

And in some ways it is.  The original lyrics were written barely two decades shy of 100 years ago.

But the way this song is done for this movie, makes it feel like an ancient song of a people seeking their homeland.  Well, that's exactly what it is, and that's what gave me chills when I saw the trailer.

Song 82
       "Misty Mountains" from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
                                            - Composed/Orchestrated/Conducted by Howard Shore

I get actual chills when I listen to this song.  The cast did an impressive job at singing it, the gentle music background is wonderful.  There is such longing and history laced in the words, and the performance.  I cannot wait to see it on the screen tomorrow night!

I was excited when the first  trailer for Hobbit came out.  As ran I just got more and more excited.  Then this moment came when Thorin (the lead dwarf) begins to sing with this deep rumbling voice.  Then some of the other 12 dwarves stand, and join in the song until they are all in.

It just moved me.  And the whole Autumn  thing should be obvious now.  Autumn, adventure/fantasy, and the fact that this sends shivers of wanderlust and heartache down my spine and to my heart just compounds it all.

Also, Howard Shore has to be one of the most talented composers out there.  I listed all the things he does, because I was told years ago that it was rare that a "Hollywood" composer would do all of that.  Especially for three massive movies, now six.  Between The Lord of the Rings and now the Hobbit Trilogy.

Go enjoy.  Also, I really like the "Blunt the Knives" as sung by the Dwarf Cast on this album as well.

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

60 - When the Morning Light Explodes

I'm not ashamed to admit I watch sappy dramatic rom-coms like P.S. - I Love You.  Some of them are like Twinkies (R.I.P.)   Full of air and fluff that you could compact it and fit two more in the same amount of space.  PS is not one of those movies.

But I'm not here to talk about the movie.  If you have a desire, go rent it and enjoy a sweet story about a young woman coming to grips with the loss of her spouse.

In this movie is a song.  One I may have heard at some point, somewhere in time.  It set a fantastic tone for the movie and really captured the emotion the audience needed at that moment.

Song 60
        "Love You 'Till the End" by The Pogues from their last album Pogue Mahone
                                                                                                                                      (chuckles, it's funny if you know what it means...)

What I love about this song, and why it makes me think of Autumn is it's consistency.  It starts off with a simple progression...(not sure if that's the right musical term) that doesn't really change or falter throughout the song.  There is some build and rise to the music, but that opening bit carries the whole song.

Autumn is the steady season to me.  There is a clear marking of the season's progression.  The leaves begin to change, then they fall, the temp drops little by little, night advances sooner and sooner.  And this song does that for me emotionally.  It starts with that guitar, and it never lets up.  Other things are added, but that bit stays the same.

And, as I've said before, Autumn is my romantic season.  Not just for the love stories etc, but that bigger idea of romance.  But this song speaks more about the love part.  And that's okay.  Because love is awesome.  I mean really awesome.  Full of awe.  There is a wonder and mystery to it.  I don't think that should ever leave a romance.  Even 60 years down the road.  You might know each other by the back of your respective hands, but love keep something hidden.

This song is a simple and devoted declaration of love.  To be there in the everyday.  The common.  Till the end.  Not when you give up.  Or decide it's time for a change.  But, 'till the end.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope for that.  Someday.

So, take this song, go for a stroll with your sweetie, child, or pet.  Who ever your affections get showered upon.  Love 'em till the end.

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

54 - What We Just Tasted We Somehow Still Miss

I have always loved Disney movies.  Even now in my 30's I still find them captivating.  I tend to miss the hand drawn cell animation from the likes of Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty & the Beast.  But with their latest CGI offerings int Tangled and Brave, they have finally captured (to my eyes) the look and spirit of classic Disney.

And while music has almost always been an equal part of the package, not every movie is as memorable for the songs.  While I enjoy the musical style of the previously mentioned films, I like it better when the music is background or informative, and not sung by the characters.  As they do in Tarzan, and Brave.

If you haven't guessed, I'm angling toward a song from Brave today.  I was torn as the three songs with proper lyrics are all great.  I went with:

Song 54
        "Into the Open Air" by Julie  Fowlis from the Brave - Soundtrack

The song and movie tie all into that running theme of "fantasy/adventure works best in the Fall."  This

pulls that in wonderfully.  Especially since the first time I heard the artist was on one of the trailers for Brave, singing in Scottish Gaelic.  It was haunting and captivating.

This song is sung in English, but it's still impressive.  It's not an overly complicated song, but the lyrics are quite poignant.  Especially if you've seen the movie and know the story.

And now these walls come crumbling down
And I can feel my feet on the ground
Can we carry this love that we share
Into the open air?

 If you know the movie you know this isn't just simply romantic schmoozing.  It's much deeper and meaningful.  I don't want to spoil the movie.  Go buy it.  It's good.  Really good.

Above all, this song feels hopefully and inspiring.  So go, be inspired and filled with hope.

grace, peace, + hope
-Jesse

34/35 - ... / In the Blur of Fast Forward I Falter Again

Double Duty again.  What we have here is a little group I stumbled on thanks to the now delayed G.I. Joe - Retaliation trailer.  That trailer had a pretty happening remix of the White Stripes song, Seven Nation Army.  Like many posts before...I looked up the trailer, found the artist, and downloaded the song.  Then I went back for more.

Song 34
       "A Dream Within a Dream" from The Glitch Mob off their album, Drink the Sea.

First off, I love the name of this band.  I would realize after downloading their stuff, that I already had one song from the Tron Legacy: Reconfigured album.  Soon I had everything of theirs I could get my digital mittens on.  This may not seem like the type of music that brings Autumn to mind, but this particular track really does it for me.

When I hear this song I can't help but imagine a movie trailer for my, as yet incomplete, fantasy epic book series.  And that story always makes me think of Autumn.  Again, fantasy-adventure-magic all feel better experienced in Autumn.  The music in this track just go to a bunch of different levels, and take me into a lot of aspects of this story I'm creating.

In fact, it has even helped me with some plot and pacing.  So take a listen.  Let it take you on your own adventure.

---

The next tune is kinda happy yet haunting.  I'm not sure when I came across this person as a musical artist.  Well, she was in this little movie in 2004 called Phantom of the Opera.  She played Christine, and sang her own parts.  I was captivated.

So, I knew she could sing.  I didn't know that she recorded an album in 2007.  I just remember hearing this song, maybe she was on a late show, and being quite impressed.

Song 35
        "Slow Me Down" from Emmy Rossum on her album Inside Out.

The cool thing about this song, is that all the sounds were made by her.  There is no instrumentation on this song at all.  It is all her voice.  150 different parts and harmonies.  As stated before, I'm not in the know about what makes music work...but this song is impressive, and just ethereal.

The song talks about slowing down in life.  To stop rushing from one thing to the next.  To just stop and smell the roses kind of thinking.  The lyrics come across as a plea from Rossum to help her.  That she wants to stop the rat race, but needs someone to teach her how.

The obvious season connection is that things, at least nature, seems to slow down this time of year.  And this song just kind of takes me to a grey Sunday afternoon, and the sun just keeps peeking out from behind the massive storm clouds that never really let the rain out.

Well, that's what I see.

Alright people, that's it for today.  Go.  Listen.  Enjoy.  Slow down, and love life.

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

15 - The Truth Has a Habbit of Falling Out of Your Mouth

Melancholy.  Powerful.  Passionate.  That is today's song.

I was introduced to this song by way of a mentor when he shared the movie it is from with me.  The film fits every one of those descriptions equally.  It's also an Irish movie...so that didn't hurt my opinions of it.  Now, the entire soundtrack is full of amazing songs.  Anyone of them could have easily made it on this list.  Some still may.  But this song is just so gripping.

Song 15/Day15

"Leave," from Glen Hansard on the Academy Award Winning* motion picture soundtrack, Once.

* the Oscar was for the song, Falling Slowly

One of the things I love about this song is how raw Hansard sings it.  The words are brutally honest and blunt.  He doesn't pull any punches.  It is full of heartache and struggle.  But he sings with such strength and heart.

Music is a powerful thing.  There is something cathartic about being able to vent frustrations out in a song like this.  Not that they have to deal with heart break, but to put your voice (even if not on key, and whilst driving) into momentum of this song...is cleansing.

Today I'm sitting with an incredible view of the edge of a wood.  The leaves are rustling in the chill wind.  Many are beginning to turn.  Lots of yellow.  The windows are open and I'm half tempted to go for a hike, or exploratory stroll through the trees.  This song, among others, would be a fantastic background track for such a hike.  But on such walks I usually leave the iPod at home and just enjoy the nature sounds, or company of whoever is with me.

Some of my favorite lyrics are in the first verse into the chours:

And you won't disappoint me
I can do that myself
But I'm glad that you've come
Now if you don't mind

Leave, leave,
And free yourself at the same time
Leave, leave,
I don't understand, you've already gone

Such pain and sadness.  It's moving stuff.


So enjoy today's song and the rest of the album!

"Leave" by Glen Hansard.


-Jesse