what's new & good
the lack of words from me is disproportionate to the amount of stuff happening in my life as of late.
since most of it is too personal to share here, i am excited to write about other things. for the last month and a half i've been in colorado -- denver to be specific. and although i'm growing to miss my friends and extended family back home, i am more aware of what it means to live one's life closer to his edge.
(click to read more...)
on the drive out here, i was fielding calls from my buddy Alex (co-conspirator in Screaming Witness) concerning some feedback on our new record. this was coming from a major label and basically we had our pants down. they loved the record, and wanted to see the band -- to see us live.
shit. we don't have a band and we haven't played live. on top of that we were still building our "team."
so since then we've had to climb this hill while maintaining our integrity. our hope is to play some shows in LA over the summer so stay tuned. in the meantime, visit the site and enjoy the music and visuals.
as a florida boy in winter colorado i've had to get used to a few things. up until yesterday the weather has been pretty tame (meaning no snow). but the gods invited the white stuff and i actually appreciate the new look.
after brunch in boulder, i looked up at the flatirons and imagined the perspective from there -- cold, windy and with that soft, quiet sound. perhaps a low rumble from the town activity below. i like to play that "what does it look like from *there*?" game. its a stretch for the self to take on a perspective beyond the norm.
on the inside i'm aware of lots of emotional stuff...the hurt of leaving people and comforts behind, the confusion of where the next steps will land, and the excitement of living a life of created opportunities.
my body is getting used to the altitude but i've been sick twice in a very short time. i rarely get sick so it's a little weird. i think part of it is from choosing to step up my fitness activity in this new environment and not being ready for the challenge. who the hell knows?
another great thing about being here is being invited into community. this is easily the most rewarding part. its great to see old friends and be able to spend regular time with them (instead of hurried visits) and i've also loved the opportunities to meet and hear people like Father Thomas Keating.
i saw him speak a few weeks ago and just fell in love. my first thought was, "okay, George Lucas didn't go too far when he needed character inspiration for Yoda" but this tall saint inspired much more in me -- and i hope for many Christians, too. it seems so many folks have abandoned the more common forms of Chrisitanity and its inherent limitations for a tradition from the East. this can certainly be positive, but Father Keating is a living example of how a solid contemplative tradition can grow and love in the West. perhaps more will "stick to their tradition" -- transcend and include, so to speak -- as Chrisitanity continues to reveal itself here.
i think this would be great for many reasons -- probably more so because the cultural aspects remain intact. there's very little to "translate". who knows how much is getting lost in the translation from east to west? i've been to chanting sessions where participants chanted scriptures for hours and they had no real connection to the words. wouldn't it be nice to have both?
perhaps a growing western tradition could offer that.
i'm humbled by this opportunity to share in this forum and my wish is to make more of an effort to do so. stay tuned!
posted by tripp on March 14, 2005 09:49 PM | in Blogs
