Doesn’t Matter

I’d give you a sermon and still it wouldn’t matter.
I’d give you proof and you’d still choose the latter.
I could give you verses to help you know better,
But you’d laugh, smile, and think it a nice gesture.

Believing those words tends to be the hard part,
To think it’s like walking on coals instead of a sidewalk.
It’s easier to choose what the world has to offer,
Cause when you go with the flow, what’s there to stand for?

Deep down inside, you know what the truth is.
But you can’t let go of all your worthless trinkets.
Running and hiding only creates a false distance,
You can’t run from something that’s already within us.

~JP~

Running

Why do I struggle so to walk with you?
Why do I lie when I talk to you?
It’s not like you can’t see thru me,
You were the one who gave life to me.

Yet I’m still running around
Like you can’t catch me now.
But you keep chasing and keep getting closer,
So that one day I might really know you.

But knowing you is just the beginning.
To become something deep and something I’m needing.
To do more than just listen, more than obey,
To fall more in love, each and every day.

But until then, I guess I’ll keep running,
Maybe at some point, I’ll come full circle.
And I’ll run right to you, head first and full speed.
Then we can run together, just you and me.

~JP~

Excelsior!

So, I saw this movie yesterday, The Silver Linings Playbook. It was really good. Really really good. Is it sad that I feel like I can relate to the main character? How he acts on the outside is kind of how I feel on the inside. It makes me think that we’re all crazy; it’s just not always visible.

There was one particular scene that I absolutely loved and it was a little refreshing actually. It’s nothing new and I’m sure it’s been said before. But before I go on, let me ask this: How do you feel at this moment on a scale of 0-10. I guess 0 would be the worst kind of depression maybe, while 10 would be winning the lottery and magically losing 30 pounds. That’s quite a bit of area to cover with 11 numbers but just go with it.

Are you a 2? Feeling alone perhaps and not sure what the future holds? Are you an 8? You had an amazing hair day, someone picked up your dinner tab, and on the way home you opened the mail to find a refund check maybe? In the movie the main two characters, Pat (Bradley Cooper) and Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) enter a dance contest. The judges give their score and the average comes out to be 5.0…out of 10.0…

…And they could not be more excited!! I laughed heartily at their joy and excitement. They were overwhelmed by the sheer awesomeness of the situation. Everyone in the scene could not understand why they were so excited. They looked at them as if they were completely nuts (which they kind of were). You see, Pat’s dad is a bit of a gambler. And to win this certain bet, they had to score a 5. And they got it!! I guess I didn’t have to tell you too much about the scene, so thank goodness it’s not too much of a spoiler. But they got the 5 and things could not have been better. But everyone’s just standing there looking and wondering, why are they so happy about a 5.0?

I thought, “If I could only be so happy when I have my 5′s”. Or 4′s or 3′s and so on. I’m betting that 0 thru 3 kind of suck. And that 4 thru 6 are ok to good. While 7 to 10 are really good to amazing. But it’s easy to celebrate the 8′s and 9′s. It’s much more difficult to see the silver lining in the 3′s, 4′s, and 5′s. But if we can, if we can stay positive enough to find that lining, then even a 5 can be a stepping stone to victory. And that is worth celebrating.

Today, you might be having a 5 or a 10. Either way, celebrate it. Embrace it for what it is. Know that neither is permanent, but both have a purpose to make you the best possible you that you can be. Have an awesome (insert your # here) day and find that silver lining! Excelsior!

P.S.
Excelsior is Latin for “ever upward”