May The Fourth Be With You

Happy Star Wars Day everyone! I hope you are celebrating by wearing Star Wars clothes/eating Star Wars food/watching Star Wars movies, etc... I am planning on doing all of the above.

I have loved Star Wars for as long as I can remember. I was a 9 year old boy totally freaked out by the torched bodies of Uncle Ben and Aunt Beru in A New Hope. I would play Star Wars trivial pursuit with my friends, and we all knew so much about Star Wars that we required word perfect answers to the questions (I remember getting a question wrong because I answered "a asteroid" instead of "an asteroid"). I collected all form of Star Wars paraphernalia and remember saving Taco Bell cups because they had Star Wars characters on them (yes, I was a bit odd). As a teenager I dressed up as a Jedi with my friends and attended midnight openings of Episodes I-III. I attended midnight openings of Episode VII and Rogue One (though sadly not Episode VIII, it was sold out, and I had to wait a bit to see it). I own all of the movies except for Episode VIII, which I believe is in the mail for me. Star Wars was important to me growing up. I loved it. I still do.

The Force

It's the 4th of May, Star Wars Day, so I thought I'd write a bit about The Force today.

The Force is the energy, power, life force within the Star Wars universe, that is in and around everyone and everything. Certain beings draw power from The Force while alive and every living thing becomes a part of The Force when they die. The Jedi and Sith are capable of using/controlling/manipulating The Force, in the case of the Jedi, to selflessly protect and defend and promote peace, in the case of the Sith, to selfishly pursue personal gain and power by any means necessary, including destruction and death. The Force is what allows Jedi and Sith to wield lightsabers efficiently, dodge blaster rifles, levitate, read/control minds, move objects, have advanced senses and reflexes, etc... It is essential to life in major and minor ways. It drives the stories of Star Wars.

Things I Learned From Racing a Train

Wednesday was Zac's birthday, and as part of his 5th birthday celebrations we went to the Zoo and the Children's Fantasy Garden at the Botanic Garden. There is a train that connects the two, which are about 1.5 miles apart, and runs alongside the bike trail. Upon our return trip to the Zoo Manda suggested that I run the trail and see who gets back first, the train or me. I decided to take up the challenge, and in the process I learned a few things.

When Mustard Moves Mountains

What are you confident of? What are you absolutely sure of? What do you hold in your life as a rock on which you can stand secure, unwavering?

Now, what are you unsure about? What do you doubt? What leaves you with unsteady footing?

Have those two ever met in your life? Have doubts and uncertainty ever crept into those things that you have always been sure of? Has something you once doubted now become your firm foundation?

Before the World Ends

I just got the most recent issue of Popular Mechanics, which happens to be a great magazine, in case you were wondering. The cover story of this particular issue is "64 Things to do Before the World Ends."

In case you didn't know, the new end of the world date has been set for April 23. The mysterious Planet X, or Nibiru, is once again scheduled to come crashing into Earth, securing all of our deaths. I wouldn't worry too much though, Nibiru is notoriously tardy. In fact, it's never showed up to any of its prior appointments, and I wouldn't put any stock on it making this time.

Fate and Destiny

Today is Friday the 13th, the most unlucky, dangerous day on the calendar. It also happens to be my mom's birthday. In fact, she was born on a Friday the 13th. Happy Birthday mom! 

This is a notorious day, full of fears, and while it may seem ridiculous, it affects 17 to 21 million people in the United States, paralyzing them, some to the point that they won't even get out of bed today. $800-$900 million will be lost in business today because people won't go to work. In fact, there is a phobia solely around Friday the 13th, it's called paraskevidekatriaphobia in case you were curious, and related to that, the fear of the number 13 in general is called triskaidekaphobia. Many businesses/hotels/buildings/airports/etc... avoid the number 13. They don't have rooms or floors or terminals numbered 13 because there is such a great fear and superstition surrounding it. Any and all number of terrible, unfortunate events are sure to take place today. Such is the way of bad luck and misfortune.⁽¹⁾

(F)orget (E)verything (A)nd (R)etreat

What is your greatest fear? Take a second to think about it. Usually the first thing that comes to mind is something like heights, clowns, spiders, the dark... something along those lines, but if we really take a minute to think about it, to be truly honest, we'll discover that our greatest fear is likely something much more more serious and much less tangible.

When we really boil it down, often our fears are more along the lines of failure, the unknown (change, future, etc...), not being accepted or loved, death (your own or that of a loved one), not meeting expectations (your own or others), etc... These fears plague our lives, they find a way to wiggle into every aspect of our lives in one way or another, small or overwhelming, and once there, these fears have a way of manifesting themselves in our very attempts to avoid them.

24: Choose Wisely

How much difference can a day make?

If you are like me, like most people, days come and go remarkably quickly, quicker than it seems possible, and they are filled with so much routine, so much that is already planned and laid out, that we hardly even notice their passing. We go through our days on autopilot. This day is going to be largely similar to yesterday, which was largely similar to what tomorrow will be. We have a template, and sometimes we switch up some of the content, but by and large, everything is going to look the same tomorrow as it does today. In the grand scheme of things, 24 hours is a small amount of time, a building block in a much larger structure, and that single block, on its own, does not make much of a difference in the overall picture.

7 Evidences of The Upside Down

You'll have to wait till sometime next year before getting more of The Upside Down, which Netflix introduced to us back in 2016. However, as we gear up for Easter here in a few days I've been thinking about The Upside Down that the world was introduced to back in around the year 30.

As we celebrate Easter we remember Christ's death, His torture and crucifixion as a sacrifice to pay the price for our egregious errors, and His resurrection, which secured our faith. These events  ushered in one of the greatest Upside Downs in history. Here is what happened.

What Could Happen if the Tide Where to Rise in the Albuquerque Desert

This past weekend millions of people around the world gathered together to march, to speak, to protest, to demand, to fight, to mourn, to remember, to look ahead, to hope. Children, teens, adults, celebrities, household names, anonymous and unknown individuals all gathered with a common goal, to do something, to change something, to say "enough is enough" and to state and ensure #neveragain. It was a huge movement, and to see the photos of the gatherings and marches around the world was impressive, and made you think that this very well be the start to something happening, to something changing. What is even more impressive is that this huge gathering of people around the world, estimated in the millions, with around 800,000 in Washington D.C. alone, represents, probably, less than 2% of the US population (official world-wide attendance numbers are not solid and vary greatly), that's it, but that very well may be enough, only time will tell. This 2% (0.25% if you just look at the main event in DC) was/is passionate, and devoted and determined to make a change and to do whatever they need to to see that what they believe in comes to fruition. It seems that the tide may be changing, that a tidal wave may be growing.

Here in Albuquerque there were around 10,000 individuals that participated in the local event. That also represents a little less than 2% of the Albuquerque population. What I see in this is that people believe they can make a difference. Even if they represent a massively small percentage of the group they are trying to change (because even if many more support you, silence doesn't enact change, action does, those who mobilize and act are the ones who have the potential to change things) they believe it's possible and are willing to fight to see that change.