Take this heart of darkness
I give it up
And all the emptiness
You fill it up
The times that I feel nothing
You bring enough
So I can live for something
You lift me up!
And all these bad dreams
I wake up to the light
And when I can't see
I wake up to your eyes
Wake me up
There's a light up ahead
There's a light up ahead (yeah)
There's a light up ahead
Wake me up
There's a light up ahead
Wake me up
It gets so complicated
If you live enough
Turn in to what you hated
You're breaking up
The times I feel like nothing
You bring enough
So I can live for something
You lift me up!
Laughter As a Remedy
Laughter is God's remedy for life...
I was talking with Chelsea tonight and we got on the subject of laughter (how, I do not know). I told her the line above and then made a comment about when someone begins to talk about laughing, you can't help but begin to let it out. Everyone has had those times when something so funny happened that everyone had no choice but to laugh. Everyone falls on the floor, rolling around, clenching their abs and gasping for breath. After what seems like an eternity of painful laughter, no one remembers what it was that was being laughed at to begin with. It is merely the sounds of others belting it out that fuels the fire. After a great, from-the-very-fiber-of-your-being laugh, there comes a great sense of peace, like everything is right in the world. It's like if everything ended right then and there, it would be ok.
Sometimes in life there come obstacles, setbacks, hardships, rough-patches, foggy times, bogs, hills, mountains, and just overall crappy stuff. It is in those times that someone's true character begins to really shine. A true, loving person is one who can look at all of the darkness and gloom surrounding a rough time and find that little glimmer, however small, and smile at it. Sometimes that smile turns into laughter, and it is that laughter that makes it easier to escape the mire. A laugh can brighten someone's day and touch someone in such a profound way that there has to be something more than just a funny sound coming out of the vocal chords.
How can one say that laughter is a gift from God? Well, what have we as humans ever brought to this world of our own accord other than filth and pain? Being able to laugh takes a great deal of love for a difficult life, and that is something nobody has on their own. True peace is impossible without God, and true love is impossible without the realization of what Christ did for us on Calvary. With peace comes an understanding that this world is just a part of the big picture, and love brings a compassion and caring for others and for oneself. Since both of these are essential for a true laugh to come out of one's being, laughter has to be a gift from God. Therefore...
...laughter is God's remedy for life.
I was talking with Chelsea tonight and we got on the subject of laughter (how, I do not know). I told her the line above and then made a comment about when someone begins to talk about laughing, you can't help but begin to let it out. Everyone has had those times when something so funny happened that everyone had no choice but to laugh. Everyone falls on the floor, rolling around, clenching their abs and gasping for breath. After what seems like an eternity of painful laughter, no one remembers what it was that was being laughed at to begin with. It is merely the sounds of others belting it out that fuels the fire. After a great, from-the-very-fiber-of-your-being laugh, there comes a great sense of peace, like everything is right in the world. It's like if everything ended right then and there, it would be ok.
Sometimes in life there come obstacles, setbacks, hardships, rough-patches, foggy times, bogs, hills, mountains, and just overall crappy stuff. It is in those times that someone's true character begins to really shine. A true, loving person is one who can look at all of the darkness and gloom surrounding a rough time and find that little glimmer, however small, and smile at it. Sometimes that smile turns into laughter, and it is that laughter that makes it easier to escape the mire. A laugh can brighten someone's day and touch someone in such a profound way that there has to be something more than just a funny sound coming out of the vocal chords.
How can one say that laughter is a gift from God? Well, what have we as humans ever brought to this world of our own accord other than filth and pain? Being able to laugh takes a great deal of love for a difficult life, and that is something nobody has on their own. True peace is impossible without God, and true love is impossible without the realization of what Christ did for us on Calvary. With peace comes an understanding that this world is just a part of the big picture, and love brings a compassion and caring for others and for oneself. Since both of these are essential for a true laugh to come out of one's being, laughter has to be a gift from God. Therefore...
...laughter is God's remedy for life.
Of Dead Trees and Tree Swings, 7.28.07
In a dying forest there stood a lonesome tree, aged and scarred. The fallen, lifeless branches of its comrades littered the leafy floor. As far as the eye could see there stood stumps innumerable, tombstones that stood as reminders of a once greater time. No longer did the wind rustle through the leaves of the pines, oaks, or redwoods. No more was a greenish hue cast upon the grassy ground through the budding spring leaves. Now, all that was left was the dying tree.
It stood up out of the wasteland like a cold stone tower, alone and vulnerable to enemies’ attacks. It had no leaves, for they had fallen off during the fall season and winter was quick on its way. Its bare limbs made it look skinny and naked, like a grandfather taking his last breaths. The roots protruded from the ground surrounding the tree, like bony fingers searching for new life. The trunk of the tree was dented with numerous axe marks from children taking their first swings. Giant knots were forming all around it, making it look like a swollen mass of tumors. Some limbs had already fallen to the ground, weathered from many years of being tortured by the wind and rain of merciless Mother Nature.
It seemed like an eternity since the sun had shone down upon the barren valley. The tree had not seen any signs of life for many years…until that day. The sound of feet rustling through the dead leaves echoed throughout the valley. The tree had no idea what was making the sound or from where it came, so it waited. Finally, after what seemed like days of anticipation, a little boy crowned a nearby hill with a rope in hand.
The tree’s remaining limbs perked up as it felt a cool breeze start to slowly blow through the naked valley…the first sign of change in a long while. The boy approached the tree with caution, seeming to inspect the tree for some unknown quality. He circled the tree, eying it up and down. Finally, he stopped, took his rope in hand, and threw it over a branch. The tree finally realized…the boy was building a swing.
He did some creative tying of knots, looped on the wooden seat, and sat. The tree winced from supporting the weight of the boy, but managed to hold him up. It watched as the boy imagined himself flying through the air with the eagles, swinging back and forth just above the Earth. After nearly an hour of quiet swinging, the boy stopped, jumped off, and approached the tree trunk. He felt the scars and stared at the tree for a long time before, all of a sudden, he started to sob. With one shaking hand against the trunk, the tree supported the weakened boy. The tree knew that the boy understood the pain and suffering it had endured. It had seen its friends falling all about, either from not having a strong foundation, or from being chopped into pieces by the men. It had had its share of trials, and the boy knew it.
After he had cried for a little while more, the boy pulled himself up to his own support, wiped his eyes, and walked away back over the hill; but that wasn’t the last of him. The boy came back everyday for a month, occasionally swinging, occasionally climbing, and sometimes just lying near the tree for shelter, strengthening the tree until it felt almost better than before. During the hard, cold winter, the boy came less occasionally, but it was always a treat when the tree spotted him coming over the hill, his thick breath leading the way through the thin winter air. Finally, the snow started to melt and the weather began to warm, but like the years previous, that was the only change.
Then, one day, the tree could hear something, a sound so pleasant that it almost jumped out of its roots in excitement…laughter. It watched as a group of children came over the hill smiling and laughing, with the boy leading the way. They all ran towards the tree and began to climb and play. The warmth and laughter of the children filled the tree with happiness until it reached a bursting point. Finally, it couldn’t hold it in any longer…it let out a deep, bellowing laugh that echoed throughout the valley.
All the children stopped and waited until the echo had subsided. All surprised, and yet expectant, the children themselves started to giggle and allowed it to grow into a tumultuous sound of joy and laughter. By the end of the day, all of the children had left but the one boy. He stood staring up at the tree, smiling. He finally pointed up to one of the branches at something the tree had not noticed before…a single, tiny, green bud.
Years passed and different children began to play with the tree, whose name had become the Laughing Tree, for obvious reasons. More peaceful humans had made their way into the valley, which had become as lush and green as it had been before. The Laughing Tree stood high among the saplings as a guardian or parent among children. It was content with its fruitful life now and swayed back and forth in the wind as it thought of so many trials and troubles it had overcome.
One moonlit night as the forest grew increasingly quieter, the Laughing Tree heard someone approach. Out of the darkness walked a man with his son in his arms. He walked over to the swing which had survived all those years and sat his son down in it. He started swinging his son and singing songs to him, all the while watching the tree. After an hour of gentle swinging, the man grabbed his dozing boy and walked back into the darkness. A few minutes later, the Laughing Tree saw the man and his boy reach the top of the hill and turn around. The man looked at the tree and winked as he dropped down the other side. It was then that the tree recognized the man…he was the boy from long ago who had come to the tree in the darkest of times…the boy who had given hope to the Laughing Tree.
It stood up out of the wasteland like a cold stone tower, alone and vulnerable to enemies’ attacks. It had no leaves, for they had fallen off during the fall season and winter was quick on its way. Its bare limbs made it look skinny and naked, like a grandfather taking his last breaths. The roots protruded from the ground surrounding the tree, like bony fingers searching for new life. The trunk of the tree was dented with numerous axe marks from children taking their first swings. Giant knots were forming all around it, making it look like a swollen mass of tumors. Some limbs had already fallen to the ground, weathered from many years of being tortured by the wind and rain of merciless Mother Nature.
It seemed like an eternity since the sun had shone down upon the barren valley. The tree had not seen any signs of life for many years…until that day. The sound of feet rustling through the dead leaves echoed throughout the valley. The tree had no idea what was making the sound or from where it came, so it waited. Finally, after what seemed like days of anticipation, a little boy crowned a nearby hill with a rope in hand.
The tree’s remaining limbs perked up as it felt a cool breeze start to slowly blow through the naked valley…the first sign of change in a long while. The boy approached the tree with caution, seeming to inspect the tree for some unknown quality. He circled the tree, eying it up and down. Finally, he stopped, took his rope in hand, and threw it over a branch. The tree finally realized…the boy was building a swing.
He did some creative tying of knots, looped on the wooden seat, and sat. The tree winced from supporting the weight of the boy, but managed to hold him up. It watched as the boy imagined himself flying through the air with the eagles, swinging back and forth just above the Earth. After nearly an hour of quiet swinging, the boy stopped, jumped off, and approached the tree trunk. He felt the scars and stared at the tree for a long time before, all of a sudden, he started to sob. With one shaking hand against the trunk, the tree supported the weakened boy. The tree knew that the boy understood the pain and suffering it had endured. It had seen its friends falling all about, either from not having a strong foundation, or from being chopped into pieces by the men. It had had its share of trials, and the boy knew it.
After he had cried for a little while more, the boy pulled himself up to his own support, wiped his eyes, and walked away back over the hill; but that wasn’t the last of him. The boy came back everyday for a month, occasionally swinging, occasionally climbing, and sometimes just lying near the tree for shelter, strengthening the tree until it felt almost better than before. During the hard, cold winter, the boy came less occasionally, but it was always a treat when the tree spotted him coming over the hill, his thick breath leading the way through the thin winter air. Finally, the snow started to melt and the weather began to warm, but like the years previous, that was the only change.
Then, one day, the tree could hear something, a sound so pleasant that it almost jumped out of its roots in excitement…laughter. It watched as a group of children came over the hill smiling and laughing, with the boy leading the way. They all ran towards the tree and began to climb and play. The warmth and laughter of the children filled the tree with happiness until it reached a bursting point. Finally, it couldn’t hold it in any longer…it let out a deep, bellowing laugh that echoed throughout the valley.
All the children stopped and waited until the echo had subsided. All surprised, and yet expectant, the children themselves started to giggle and allowed it to grow into a tumultuous sound of joy and laughter. By the end of the day, all of the children had left but the one boy. He stood staring up at the tree, smiling. He finally pointed up to one of the branches at something the tree had not noticed before…a single, tiny, green bud.
Years passed and different children began to play with the tree, whose name had become the Laughing Tree, for obvious reasons. More peaceful humans had made their way into the valley, which had become as lush and green as it had been before. The Laughing Tree stood high among the saplings as a guardian or parent among children. It was content with its fruitful life now and swayed back and forth in the wind as it thought of so many trials and troubles it had overcome.
One moonlit night as the forest grew increasingly quieter, the Laughing Tree heard someone approach. Out of the darkness walked a man with his son in his arms. He walked over to the swing which had survived all those years and sat his son down in it. He started swinging his son and singing songs to him, all the while watching the tree. After an hour of gentle swinging, the man grabbed his dozing boy and walked back into the darkness. A few minutes later, the Laughing Tree saw the man and his boy reach the top of the hill and turn around. The man looked at the tree and winked as he dropped down the other side. It was then that the tree recognized the man…he was the boy from long ago who had come to the tree in the darkest of times…the boy who had given hope to the Laughing Tree.
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