The Spirit of Yosemite

A timeless spirit dwells in Yosemite that is unique. It is a spirit unlike any other that can be found. But more importantly the spirit tells stories through the fresh wind, the rich water and towering cliffs.

Everything in the park chants a tale and weaves poetry through its wild landscape. To jaunt through a grove, or a swim in sparkling rivers, or letting an invigorating breeze caress your skin is but a partnership with the story being told. The crags and cliffs, which are far more ancient than the lives that live on them, speaks in a low murmuring that time has lost.

Though I have be explored mountains in China, and all over the United States, none so profoundly touched my soul than Yosemite. I have never seen God like this. I never knew this side of Him.

He his gentle in the quiet chirp of a sparrow, silent and sturdy like the rocky faces in the valley, and boisterous and powerful in the waterfalls. God was welcoming and kind, but he has power that has taken many lives. He is not a God who cannot be toyed with, but respected and amazed. You can play with God in this place, which He delights in, but don't press too hard or your life can be snatched away by a sudden gust shoving you off a towering ledge.

The story of Yosemite is constant. It is the story of creation and it is the story of the earth. God not only dwells among clouds, but also in the meadows, between the smooth pebbles and the rivers' surface that trickles above them. The novel that is Yosemite is flavored with a distinct voice that transcends any other voices. God is real in Yosemite. Everything that man has made, tries to emulate such a voice, but can never recreate what God has already done.

A Novel Novel

After writing 190 pages of my novel Tommyknockers, I am pleased and at peace about starting completely over and scrapping the entire draft and turn it into something different. I will keep some key elements of the original, but for the most part the story is a gonner. I am even more excited about this story, and how the characters are going to play in it. It's tighter, more fun and I believe has great potential in character development

This is what my book will have that the other story I just wrote lacked:

1. A deeper sense of childlike wonder and whimsy in language and plot. The other story's tone was flat.
2. A character overcoming inadequacies; whereas before he just overcame external forces.
3. More magic and mystery. The magic and mystery felt forced in the other story, in this one it feels natural and a part of the environment.
4. More adventure and exploring
5. Instead of one race of creatures, there are multiple races all living in a diverse and very active landscape.
6. I wanted to keep some characters but didn't know how to do so in the original story. Now, with the change in plot, I am able to keep the characters I love, discard the ones I don't and create new, fun ones as well.

It' s going to be a good ride. If I have to toss this story to make an even better one- so be it. After all, I write for my enjoyment first, then I write for others.

Multi-Tasker Prayers

Yesterday in the midst of a powerful Sunday church service. The room was astir with healing, prophesying and ...texting? That's right. As I was being prayed for, a young man offered to pray for me. But half way through his prayer, I saw him check a text. The funny thing was, his mouth kept rattling on. Being someone who wants someone else's undivided attention, I felt hurt. Then afterward, I thought to myself, "Has our technology even invaded our faith?"

I know technology is a great way to get things done, but in the end it is relationships that matter. I admit I twitter, check the surf report and play games on my iPhone in social settings, but I'll be the first to admit, this is because I am bored. People sometimes bore me.

Are we multi-tasking our relationship with God?

I feel our phones and computers are making us more lonely. I most certainly am lonelier because of it. Not a revolutionary thought, just a tought.

Hard Lessons Bring Insperation

Last night during Writer's Group, my novel was pulverized on every level, yet I left feeling more excited and inspired to keep writing. Sure it was hard to hear the criticism, but when I left, I felt a stronger resolve to write even better, because I knew I had something better in me.

By the way, here is a writing trick I can't wait to implement. As you edit, read out loud and record yourself. I will be using the new iphone recorder app. Then, play it back as you read your work. If you have a good hear, you will hear the mistakes leaping off the page.

My Carpool Buddy Has Past Away

For the past five and a half weeks, I have been carpooling with this man Walt Disney. Actually, I have been listening to his biography on CD. I was there when he was born, when he trudged through snow to deliver papers, when he was an ambulance driver in WWI, when he was betrayed by a producer of his, and I was there when he created Mickey Mouse, days after the betrayal. I have learned a lot from this man and what made him so extraordinary.

1. He worked hard. Too hard in fact. In the 1930's he suffered a nervous break down.
2. Never took" no" for an answer. Even if money was short and people said it can't be done, he did it.
3. He took risks, far greater than I have ever done.
4. He believed in himself and what he could produce.
5. He thrived under pressure.
6. He failed a lot, but didn't let it discourage him.
7. He made profit only to shove it back into his creations.
8. He was in constant debt, taking personal and bank loans, refinancing his house, and taking money out of his life insurance policy. He did all this until the day he died.
9. Always dreaming new dreams.
10. He knew how to tap into US archetypes.
11. He feared death. I think that is what drove him to create.

I drove past Disneyland several times throughout the listening, and I felt a deep connection with the past, a strange haunting connection that felt very real.

While I was sitting in my car with the last CD spinning in my player and the actor reading the book, I felt an intimate connection with the man. During his last days he was frightened and in pain. He was a mere mortal that accomplished much. The story was written so well, and I was so engrossed with his life, I felt like he died in my Mazda 3. I was sincerely sad.

Leaders of 1776

Just recently I finished the book 1776 by David McCullough and was astonished by the level of leadership principles found in that book.

George Washington, a man without any military experience took on the role of Commander and Chief of the Continental Army and attempted a siege upon Boston. I admired that he saw a cause and need and charged forth without hesitation. He leaped before looking and after some serious hiccups, he came out the end of the Revolutionary war a hero. There comes a time in anybody's life where one has to charge forward despite inadequacies, leave the fear and doubts at the door, and place one's self at the cusp of chaos, destruction and destitute.

George Washington was superb at also being a duck (on the surface he's calm and resolute, but underneath the surface he fluttered frantically). Despite if one feels afraid, scared or hopeless, a leader cannot show that to the people under him. It is amazing to think that even George Washington had his moments of extreme agony and worry (as expressed in his letters to friends and loved ones), but his men always saw him a strong and confident leader whom, despite the insurmountably odds stacked against him and his army, still remained confident. Never loosing his temper, never panic stricken in the heat of a battle and stoic in the midst of a frenzy. If a leader bears to all his or her inner soul, the subordinates loose confidence and becomes infected with the very plague that burdens the leader.

I also learned that failures happen, yet victory is still possible. George Washington's men were dying rapidly from sickness. Men were deserting their posts and more men were being captured and killed in one failing battle after another. Despite these setbacks George Washington kept leading, never giving up, even when he was pushed way back from New York to Pennsylvania in the winter of 1776. This all may have crushed his spirits but didn't crush his desire to continue the fight. Life is hard, but we cannot let the fights with our significant other destroy our relationship. We cannot let the dying parent hinder us from doing our work. We cannot let a layoff tear a family apart. As we fight the hardships in life, we must preserve the true and noble causes in our lives.

1776 wasn't an easy year for Americans. But then again, what year was ever really easy for anybody? Within each of us our own revolutionary war rages on, and all we can do is keep fighting, and keep passionate.

Collecting Dust

The Rule: Awards Matter

In Newsong's cold white vault sits all the church's awards for its large church growth during the beginning of the decade. No one looks at it and is amazed by it. For someone who works for the church, I am not really proud of the achievements and quite frankly I don't care about them.

This makes me think about my own creative endeavours. Am I doing it to gain some kind of an award, may it be on paper or by means of a complement or acceptance? Eventually all the glory I could ever get will eventually collect dust and be a faint memory. All our energy, all our efforts, all our stress will find a home under a table. I have said this many times before in previous blogs, but I say it again to remind myself: what we do in our creative expression must be for the process not the end result. Of course I will not be writing this story for the rest of my life. It is not worth it. And I can still dream big, but I don't write to be rich or well known. I write to enjoy the creative process.

As for a church, size doesn't matter. All that a church would ever get from being large is an award and strangers throughout the nation saying, "Boy [insert church name here] is really big. It's crazy." and that is all.

When you think about it, greatness only breeds wealth, compliments and people talking about the greatness over steak or ice cream. I don't know if it is really worth it.

Is it?