here's looking at you kid

So yesterday I was sitting at work and watching Casablanca, if you’ve never seen it I suggest you do, great movie.

And there’s a scene in it where Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick Blaine says
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world... she walks into mine."

What a great line, the sense of the unknown brought to life from those simple words, hindsight is a great thing right? A

This got me thinking about 2010 and the year to come, and how the last 9 years of this decade have changed so dramatically, in my life rather than the world, coz I don’t think I could summarize how much our world has changed in this short blog.

I think for me I’ve come a very, very long way, not just in age, but as an individual too. Just look back and think about who you were 10years ago, and then think about who you are now. But don’t even try thinking about who you will be in 10years time, no-one can predict that.
Like seasons, people change, like plants, we grow, this metamorphosis of life is something that lately I’ve been thinking about more and more, and also got me realizing that one day 10years from now, I too could be saying those words about the woman I’m with, or the woman I’m married too, who knows, only God knows, and I trust in that.

As I write this, on my blackberry, (wow haven’t phones come a long way?) there are about 12.5 half hours left in 2009, and I get this urge to want to thank everyone who I’ve met this year who’s significantly impacted my life, positively and negatively, or even both, but I know that’s impossible, as some of those people talk too much (you know who you are) and I’ll never get round to thanking everyone, so here is my short list of things I’m grateful for, without having to name names.


that i've had another year to try and earn my wings, getting there slowly.
for heartbreak
for the summer of 09
for this blog, wish i'd started it sooner
for Barcelona
that i've learned that you can't change anything, everything will happen the way it's meant to.
for Karma, Brian knows what i mean
for my family, always there to keep me grounded, to pat me on the back or kick me in the backside when i most needed it.
for you, for even reading this blog.

2010 is looking good people, be grateful for what has passed, but don't let it dictate what's to come.

here's looking at you kid.

for the last time in 09, Much Love.

unexpectedly grateful

you know when you meet new people, you already have a set prediction/judgement of what they will or won't be like.
Funny, but recently i got to know someone whom i had been introduced to months ago, but only got to actually know who they were in the last week and a bit.
Suffice to say, the person they are is a whole lot like the person i am, reason i say this is that we have a lot of the same feelings with regards to our futures, which in itself is a bit weird coz we're two seperate individuals, but a pretty intriguing person they turned out to be, and i'm glad i'm getting this chance to know them now, better late than never i reckon.

Anyway, after speaking to this person about something i've always wanted to do, motivational speaking to young people around 13-18 years old, we realised that not many, if any people want to take time out and actually help people.

The older i've become, the more i feel a responsibility to teach those younger than me that life will test you at every turn, that no matter what you're going through, nothing is permanent, everything is temporary. To try and teach them from my mistakes, but to go out there and make their own mistakes too, coz there's no better teacher than experience.

I have a younger sister, who will be 18 in February, and the older we both get, the more i think we've become accustom to each other and our litte quirks. We used to fight all the time as kids, and i never really got why we'd fight so much.

Looking back, i think i'm coming to the realisation that we fought because we're more similar than either of us would like to admit and if that's true, and if i am anything to go by, then i'll try my utmost to make sure she doesn't have to go through some of the shit i have. The bond we share is unlike that of me and my older sister, it is a much more love/hate relationship, more love than hate in recent times, which i'm appreciative of as i get older, because i am my sisters' keeper

my next blog will touch on that, my obligation, my duty, my life's purpose as a brother to my younger sister

So the next time you meet someone new, or you know someone who you think, "i'd love to get to know them"..go for it, coz who knows, lightning might strike and you might be sat there like me, listening to Alicia Keys songs musing over your role in the life of others.

"If you do not the expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail." : Heraclitus

much love

commenting

hey people

had a few complaints that visitors can't comment..

if you click on the blog title..ie "the greatest myth" then you can comment on the page at the bottom.

or if there aren't any comments click "O COMMENTS" at the bottom of the blog post and be the first. :o)


much love

the greatest myth

Recently i was on facebook, and came across a friend Alison's status that provided me with the inspiration for this blog. The status read:

"would like the ladies to know you are neither "too much" or "not enough" , but fine just the way you are.. Don't believe the hype!"

And this got me thinking about the women i have met, whether it was my first kiss or my most recent, well, you know....I've had my perceptions of them, and me being me, i've expressed my opinions to them, without ever really thinking about how it would affect them, and the way they'd perceive themselves after that.

I feel that women today, especially those my age, are in a state of limbo with us guys.

Let me explain, as the status says, you are neither too much or not enough, us guys tend to forget that not everyone is perfect and that the little flaws that our prospective partner possesses are what make her.

These are the fibers of her character, that we should have and hold, appreciate and accentuate every time we see her, because believe me, when it all comes crashing down, it's these little idiosyncrasies that we will miss, that we will tell our friends about, if you've ever been in love and things didn't work out for whatever reason, tell me you've never said this "oh man, i used to love the way she'd burp like a trooper" or whatever weird little thing she did that you loved.

This is my point, girls need not seek approval from us, they need not have to be made to feel that who they are is inferior to who we are. We are men, God knows we have enough pitfalls of our own, so why knock her for what she is, for what you walked across a crowded room for, for what one day, hopefully, you'll get to tell people that these are the exact reasons you fell in love with her.

i know me writing this is kind of a contradiction, as my track record with women isn't the most comfortable for some, but no-one's perfect, i'm not perfect, but i'm working on it, at a point in my life i subscribed to the playa lifestyle, fortunately for me i've learned my lesson, unfortunately for some of the guys i know, they haven't, they still live in never never land, where nobody wants to grow old, where nobody realises that at some point, it's not always about them.

For any women reading this who feel that they're not understood by their boyfriend/partner/hook up, whatever, just remember that it's ok if you are not is tune with every other girl out there, that you hear your own drummer, that you should step to your own beat, no matter how measured or far away....for you are enough, just the way you are..you are not too much or not enough, you're everything we want, you're everything we need, you're evrything inside we wish that we could be.

songs for you truths for me

Vertical Horizon - Everything you want

Lyfe Jennings - Never Never Land

much love

life's subscriptions

normally i find it a bit of achallenge to find inspiration for this blog, hence why my life is my inspiration for it, yesterday something happened that sparked the idea fr this blog.

Yesterday I was witness to some, for lack of better word, bullshit.

And as always, what happens in my life got me thinking about things..certain things, and the effect our beliefs have on us, whether religiously, morally, socially and to a more recent degree, economically.

Here's the thing, the thing I witnessed is someone sacrificing something important in their life because they "believe" what they're doing is the right thing and that they're better off without someone else in their life.

In terms of how they went about it, let's just say there are more direct ways of dealing with things.

The issue I take with this is thus, what we subscribe to, we eventually succumb to. Whether the outcome has a positive or negativre effect on us, only time will tell, ok let me give you some examples:

MLK, he subscribed to equality for black people, for minorities, that one day America could come together as one, unsegregated nation, he was assasinated for what he was fighting for, what you subscribe to, you succumb to.

Jade Goody, a true product of the reality show celebrity, a fiend of fame, someone who, in my opinion, payed the ultimate price for her want of being famous. Ok fine, cancer isn't her fault, but the debacle that lead to her death and funeral was such a farce, if she didn't crave fame and fortune, would her death be any more significant than your neighbour with cancer? What you subscribe to, you succumb to.

A more recent, globally recognised problem is the collapse of our economies, greed and ambition changed our world and our lives immeasurably, the belief in the investment banking system, the belief that people could pay back what they owed, the belief that everyone with a loan or mortgage would stay true to their word, and suffice to say, that didn't happen did it, this trust in the "system" lead to our downfall on a global scale. what you subscribe to, you succumb to.

Those are three extremely different axamples, but all apply to what I witnessed, if in life you don't at least have an open mind about certain things, and certain people, eventually you will fall prey to that or them, I'm not saying don't trust anything, I'm saying don't be so blind to the obvious truths about them simply because what governs you says different, what governs you does not control you, it simply sets the rules, and rules are made to be broken

"what you subscribe to, you eventually succumb to"

much love.

what of silence?

i was at a friends birthday party recently, a house party, and like all house parties, you end up in one of two places, dancing in the living room or in a group discussion in the kitchen or hallway.

I found myself doin the latter, not in the dancing mood that day, mainly because of external personal factors, i opted for the hallway discussion.

Standing there, talking to some good people, we meandered into various topics, ultimately the topic ended up being on love and the loss of it etc etc.

I found myself just standing there, listening to the alternate views people have on certain things, i also found myself realising that i'm a quite an introvert.

I know i'm a very opinionated person, i know i have strong views on certain topics, but i also know that sometimes saying nothing is better than just saying anything.

Anyway, i was reminded again this past weekend about my relationship with words and the nature in which i speak or write. This fueled the idea for this blog, i reflected on that house party and just thought about how it is i am able to come out with the things i say and the things i write, I beleieve my silence is my way of filtering out all the superfluous babble that we all at one time or another spout.

My way with words is something that i get from you, the people i speak to, that this gift God has given me is aided by you, the ability to speak when necessary, i think, is something i'm blessed with. I'm reading a book about Mother Theresa at the moment, and there's an extract from it i wanna share with you, hopefully you'll understand why "Peace cannot be found in noise and restlessness. Peace is the friend of silence. See how nature grows in silence, see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."

That last bit is what i take from that, "we need silence to be able to touch souls", i find joy in m silence, and hopefully with some luck, with some hard work and with some silence, i'll be able to do just that through my work, through my words, through copywriting....indeed silence is golden

much love

different together

things have changed rapidly in my life in the last few months/weeks the highs and the lows, everything seeming like it was custom made to either anger me, frustrate me or please me, and i rolled with the punches and enjoyed and am still enjoying them.

but you know how they say the only way to truly see things for what they are is to see it in the 3rd person, i've been trying that lately, to remove myself from things and then look at them from someone elses POV, we were taught last year to think outside of the box when faced with a brief, to look at something for what it is, in it's basic form, and then to step away from it and look at the brief in two other ways, for what it could mean, the subliminal and metaphorical, and then to see something for what it is not, and try and relate what it isn't to the brief...to see the honesty in things.

how does that relate to what i'm talking about, well here's the thing, when faced with new challenges, sometimes we don't know how to deal with them, because we think there is no other way of dealing with the problem than to deal with it in the same way we have before, that's the way we as humans do things, habitually, but for a second, just think about what it is that you're not doing, try and envisage an alternative way to facing life's little tests.

I've been trying this lately, and instead of reacting in my usual impatient and hasty way, i've been trying to look at things in a different light, to perceive them differently, and suffice to say, i think i've handled things a lot better than i wold have in the past, whether these problems have been at work, at uni or in my personal life, some things just need to be treated differently in order for a better result to occur.

Dave Trott came down to our uni last week for a seminar, and i valued everything he said, took in the things that appealed to me and took in the things that didn't, because who knows, one day they might.

The one thing i did take on board was "be different, not better"...and that's what i'm trying to say in this blog, just try and be different in your approach, not better, coz if we don't at least try different things, we're stagnant, and boring and the same as everyone else with their shallow perception of life, of themselves, of you.

think different, be different, it's what keeps you grounded, i read today that "what belongs together is now growing together", thinking about that too, people who are different naturally gravitate to eachother and forge bonds that will last longer than expected, i'd like to remix that quote and say that "what's different together, lasts forever"....funny thing perception.

much love.