Are you in the nice car when the road ends?

Death could possibly be one of the most talked about subjects, philosophers analyze it, scientists attempt to beat it, and people fear it. It is also perhaps the most mysterious subject; there are so many speculations on why we die and what happens to our souls after death. Nearly every religion has a theory as to where we go when we die. Death is something that every human being takes part in; it does not matter if someone is rich or poor, powerful or weak, smart or moronic, everyone has the same end to their existence.
So what is the meaning of our existence if everyone fades away to dust anyway? Do we have purpose, or just invent it in our minds. The common goal in life is often success, we often measure our time on earth by how successful someone is; whether it is success in the business world, in family life or social circle, or generosity, kindness, peace, beauty, or the general pursuit of happiness. When we say “so and so led a good life” what do we mean? In my opinion life leads us, not vice versa. Does Bill Gates have the most meaningful life or is it President Obama, or how about Michael Jordan? Are the world’s most influential wealthy people happier or more important than me or you? Do they feel more fulfilled than you or I? I believe that they might fear death more than I do; they have more materialistic things to lose. So if it isn’t success that makes a life more significant what is it?
A lot of times in my teenage life I have bashed on Christian rock bands, because they can't rock and their messages are fluffy and occasionally biblically fallible. But Switchfoot put great words into what I am trying to say: It was a beautiful letdown/The day I knew/That all the riches this world had to offer me/would never do/In a world full of bitter pain/And bitter doubts/I was trying so hard to fit in/until I found out/I don't belong here.
Without Jesus we live without purpose, lost, scared, alone, shameful, desperate, confused, and never living a significant live. We must remember the life is just a blip on the radar screen of eternity. In all honesty we aren’t significant, we are just meaty vessels for God’s work, but lucky for us God cares about the meaty vessels he made. He has a plan for us to save as many other vessels as he allows and then those vessels putting their trust in Him will try to save more meaty vessels, until every vessel has heard that there was a perfect man that died on a tree two thousand years ago to save all the stupid insignificant meat bags, and he happened to be the Lord Jesus Christ.
So who gives a rat’s ___ about money and sex and parties and drugs and cars and yachts and houses? All of it will not stand the test of time, it will all fade away; it’s all a letdown.
It is going to be hard, and it’s going to feel like a long time but in the end we will have a life of meaning.
“When it is over… I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.”
-From When Death Comes by Mary Oliver

Justin Humble

An Awfully Big Adventure

"To die would be an awfully big adventure," this perhaps one of the most famous quotes from J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan". "To die would be an awfully big adventure." To die really would be an awfully big adventure. What happens? No one knows. That's just it. There are speculations, beliefs, and philosophies dedicated to life and death, life after death, or the lack there of. But you can not be one hundred percently sure until you yourself have experienced death, of course from which there is no return (unless of course you believe in miracles).

Life is so short. What defines life? What is life, everyone breathes... but animals breathe, plants breathe, and yet we are significantly superior to such beings. God put us in charge of other creation. Humans. Humans have existed for thousands of years; each one living, breathing, and eventually, dying. Theories, and ideas, cultures, religion. So much remains the same, but the world is constantly changing. Human culture no matter where you are in the world is obvious different from a thousand years ago, even a hundred years ago. There is nothing new under the sun- well, except everyday.

Death obviously is not a new concept or happening. Our lives are but a vapor in the wind so to speak. What if people did not die? How would life be then? Would it mean anything? Everyone lives such vastly different lives from each other. Sometimes, people do not have the opportunity in life to make something for themselves, as their parents farm, they too one day will grow up to be farmers. Other people have countless opportunities in any field they chose, to steer life down many different roads. The apple does not have to fall far from the tree, true, but at least they have the chance to leave. How do you measure life? People spend years, well generally a whole life time building up a name for themselves, but death eventually comes and suddenly one day all is forgotten. Who they were, what they did, gone. So what about those people who did not have that same chance to make a name for themselves? How is their life counted? Is it less significant? What about POW or other people who had their lives destroyed right in front of them. Everything they had known, taken away from them. They were left to decay starting with their material lives. Their lives were taken away from them, but was their life?

It's an odd thing really. Knowing one day we all shall die, in one way or another. As J.M. Barrie puts it in the beginning of his book, "Peter Pan", "All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end." From a young age, we strive to grow up. Our games revolve around being grown up, and that's all we ever want to be, is a little bit older.

"Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows."

— john betjeman

I think there is something beautiful about children; their ability to live completely in the moment, sometimes something inside me hurts knowing there's no going back simply because I know more then I use to. But perhaps that's what life and death is; an awfully big adventure. It is full of enchantment, and wonder, of baddies, and stormy days, with time always against you, chasing you until it finally catches up because your young legs that once carried you so fast you flew with the wind have turned into a wheel chair waiting for someone to push you.

You best be off on your way, off on another grand adventure, instead of reading my mind vomit on a page.

- Hannah

On death...

Justin here:
You can stay tuned for the next topic soon; it's going to be an oozy doozy, because it is death. Of course Hannah and I are the least emo people you will meet, so it will more be speculations about life after death or something. So it is on, on like a prawn at dawn on your lawn!

Packing is poooooooop.

Gah! I hate packing. So so so much. I hate leaving. My heart hurts every time. No matter how long I've been there. Where ever it is, the beach, America, a basketball tournament, anywhere! Leaving means it's over for good. I love being in the moment, here, now. But too often I worry about later and what not. I over think things, and then when I sit down to write nothing comes out. I think about situations so much and life happens and it turns out to be nothing you ever expected. But now I am packing up my life. Well physical life belongings. And tomorrow my room will be as if I were never even here... Scary though eh?

Later! Gots to go finish packing. Pannah

Home is a feeling a thousand miles away from here...

I always get this odd feeling in my gut as I leave one place and move to another. It always feels to me as if I have to pick up and leave right as I was getting settled in. You have to pack away bits and parts of your life, compartmentalize them for a later time, move on. It seems weird to me how much more you notice when you realize something may or will be your last, and you when you return the next time it won't be the same. Over time you've grown attached to the people and places. Sometimes I feel that it would just be easier to get up and go without a word, and sometimes that is how is goes. But then when I think about it, a proper "good bye" is only good manners. And it is good for everyone. For yourself, others... life! But everywhere you go there seems to be that little bit of you missing, if it's not here, it's there, and you'll never completely be together (it feels).
"She left pieces of her life behind her everywhere she went. It's easier to feel the sunlight without them, she said" (story people). It does make it the skin on your back feel a bit lighter not lugging your life around, but at the same time, there is always that bit of you that wonders what you're missing out on... over there (wherever there is). But if you asked me if I would redo anything, I would not change my life in the least, well maybe there are a few redos that would be nice, but having lived where I lived and met who I met would not change. But somehow home is never where you are. It always feels like home is a thousand miles away from wherever you are, or maybe each bit of home is a thousand miles away from each other, another thousand miles away from you. And sometimes I think it would be nice just to go home. Which I am. I am going "home" in a few days. Ahh! That word. Drives me crazy. But you know what I've come to realize... as humans, we always manage to find something to worry about. If it's not one thing it's something else. If my life had a completely different story I would still be worrying about something.
I love meeting new people, and going new places, but sometimes I wonder if how different it would be if I wasn't as open? (not sure what the right word is) to life, I know it would not make things easier, but it would definately be a different kind of experience. A different kind of pain too I suppose? Maybe regret of not having done certain things or meeting people when presented with an opportunity. Regret of an opportunity not taken is one of the greatest, but that is a completely different topic for another day.
Leaving. It's a hard thing to do. To pack up your life into 25kgs and throw the rest into storage. Hmm. *Sigh* Home.

-Hannah not Montana

Going to new places: drained and energized

This fall I just started attending Biola University in southern California, and that got me thinking about moving. Every day I drive 30 minutes to and from school, every day I walk around campus at least once. Movement is part of life, including moving away… I am used to moving away, I have moved away more than 9 times in my life, sometimes I don’t even tell someone I am moving away.
But in this post I am going to talk about moving to or moving in. at Biola I am not living in a dorm, but I intend to make my place at the university. Over the first 2½ weeks I observed my own behavior (as I often do) and the behavior of other freshman around me, here is what I found:
People who are new to a place spend much time of their first week looking around, I would watch freshmen eat and they wouldn’t look at their food, they watch people like a gazelle at a watering hole. After they get over the initial shock then they, or we, act completely not ourselves. The first few weeks of school, I was quite, tame, and only friendly if I had to be. On most days I never got the inclination to go and hangout outside (I mostly studied in the library). Then slowly I got back my original personality and started pumping energy into people through my hand shakes. I am such the extrovert that whenever I am not socializing I get drained.
So then I was conversing with a friend about this and she said, “Justin, you and I are exact opposites.” Then she began to tell me about how the more people are around the quieter and quieter she gets, and that just made me laugh.
It is funny how people are wired, I have been taking an UNDECLARED seminar, and the class is pretty good, and 1 thing I have learned is that strengths aren’t necessary the things you’re strong at, no it is the things that make you feel stronger, the things that energize you. People are my energizer!
One last thing, today is September 11, 2009 and it has been 8 years since the WTC fell. Please keep the people whose families were lost in 9/11 in your prayers.
-over and out! Hustin.

Promise

According to the American Heritage Dictionary,
Promise: (n) A declaration assuring that one will or will not do something; a vow.

To say I promise then means it should be kept, hence I try my very hardest never to make a promise if I cannot keep it. Honesty is something that is important in life, and how good are words that are never kept? If you are going to make a promise then, it should be kept. It's just after enough times of getting your hopes and people falling through, you get tired of being disappointed. But hey! we're only human right...? Well. That was when I decided I was not going to be a person that disappointed. A person who fell through. A person who forgot. So. I made a promise to myself that I would keep a promise or not make one at all. After all, you can only expect of others what you expect from yourself. So Justin, be that the "noble" reason you were looking for or not, Hannah was just tired of life getting her down, and did not want to be one that got others down.