Here Lieth the Con of the Millennial

A father once told his child that he could do anything he wanted, that he was smart, that he was talented, that he was unstoppable, that his dreams and passions could come true if all he did was reach for them.

But when we have thousands upon thousands of dreams to choose from, we freeze. We spend our time searching for what will make us happy, when in actuality it is us who have to make us happy.

A father once told himself that “this life isn’t the life I want” and repeated it over and over until he believed it was true, until it became a part of him. He spent his life searching for something, someone, some situation that would make his life happy, never realizing that it was within his own capacity to make himself happy.

And that small part of him… that small voice that screamed “You can do better than this” was passed down to his son. The trait of wandering for happiness was passed to the next generation, and it met with another voice it did not entirely expect.

Another voice calls up from the gut, a drive to be better, a drive to succeed, and with that drive came an added perspective – clairvoyance. The next generation could now see what others missed. Not in terms of being a great detective, but seeing things for as they really are. The next generation looks into working America, corporate America, where people busy themselves with chasing "the dream", chained to a device, chained to someone's will for hours on end, and hears the excuse that “this is how life is”.

This is not my life – the one side says.

Then what is? – asks the other.

Like a dog chasing its tail, the next generation spins madly, constantly wanting to search for something better, some opportunity to be successful, to have the life he has always wanted, yet never knowing what that life is.

Is he destined to madness? Should his mind be broken and succumb to the dark and dreary world of submission and invisible cages?

Here lieth the con of the millennial generation.

We blame the priors for problems of our present, yet do nothing to fix them.

Here lieth the question to the priors. How can we with what was left to us?

And we have come full circle.

The solution is there in front of us, waiting for us to reach out and take it.

The way will be clear in time.

Because of Him

Recently, a friend of mine had a tragedy in her family. I am sure that there are thousands of others who are in the same boat, when a loved one is soon gone from us.

On this special day, I would like to share a brief thought about Christ, His resurrection, and what it means to me.

As in Adam, all are dead, in Christ, all are made alive. It is because of his resurrection and grace that death is not the end. No matter how long the agony holds, or how cold the despair may seem, I can take courage and light in the fact that those who are dear to us, and departed from us, await eagerly for us to be together again. It will be in those moments, when our spirits will be reunited with our bodies, and the pains, sorrows, and sicknesses will disperse as the morning dew on a summer day.

Christ is the resurrection and the life. The tomb is empty and he is risen.

http://easter.mormon.org/



Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer. Because of Him, death is not the end, and life takes on new meaning. We can change, we can start over—and we can live again with God. This Easter, celebrate His life and discover all that’s possible because of Him.

Happy Easter and God Bless

Clan of the Broken Banner -- Pt. 7

Clan of the Broken Banner Part 7

The ferry horn boomed as its engines began to churn, slowly pushing away from the dock and out into the sound.

Standing on the upper deck, looking into the churning green water, the words that seem to plague me come into my mind, repeating each syllable like a metronome.

I… am… not… crazy

But me standing on this ledge, waiting to meet someone that I thought I had only met in a dream, a very lucid, real dream, through eyes that weren’t my own…

“This is crazy,” I say to myself.

“We all say that,” replies a voice from behind me. I turn to face the voice, a deep rich voice with a Haitian accent, I think.

My hands clench into the metal railing behind me, knuckles and fingertips paling with my death grip.

“I’m sorry?” I say back, trying to ease the tenseness that must be present in my face as the large, Haitian man lets a large smile grow across his face.

“We all say that at first. I am the one who texted you last night.”

“And who are you exactly?”

His reply startles me, because I hear his voice in my head, not my ears as the smile suddenly disappears and he walks over to look across the sound, leaning on the railing.

“I cannot tell you my name, not yet anyway, and I don’t want to know yours. No matter what happens in the next half hour, you must remember that this is real, that this moment, that what I am going to tell you actually happened.”

“And how do I do that?”

The Haitian man pulls a pocket knife from inside his brown leather jacket and hands it to me.

“Make it quick,” he says shortly and quietly.

I think he means for me to cut myself. A dozen thoughts race through my head. What if the blade is poisoned, infected, and what if this would only mean the end of me. And then a more simple thought comes into my head and I cut a hole through the sleeve of my shirt, close the knife and hand it back to him.

“Good,” he says, the smile returning.

“I’m not crazy then?”

“No, you’re not. You my dear friend are gifted, and my clan has been searching for you for as long as the last of your bloodline disappeared.”

The Haitian man goes still as if he had spoken of a secret he wasn't allowed to tell, or rather told too soon. Right away, his voice enters my mind again.

“There is a war going on, larger than any conflict between clans you might read in a comic book, larger than wars against cities, larger than wars against religions or creeds, larger even then the wars between nations.

“The entirety of all modern day corruption since America’s colonization, all of the evils of deranged individuals, the wars between nations, the acts where people stated that they had simply lost control of themselves, or had given into the madness, all of it, from John Wilkes Booth to Hitler to Sadam Husein, and those who seemed to act out of insanity, all comes from one group that has laid in shadow.

“They always acted behind the scenes, tearing down all the good and planting, waiting, until the world completely falls under their control.

“This group has cautiously, carefully, methodically tried to put an end to you, focusing all of their attention to your demise. Those of my clan have been focusing on trying to save you and protect you from this unseen world.

“But the time has come for us to show you what is threatening not only you, but the rest of the modern world.”

The ferry horn booms again and I startle awake, my heart racing. The cold sweats and panicked breathing escalate and disappear as I remember where I am. I look down at my watch and see that only a half hour has passed since I sat on the ferry.

This last incident didn’t take too long, I think, and reach for my medication in my pocket. That is when I notice the tear in my sleeve, and realize that the lucid dream was a reality.

I begin to panic again, but not out of fear of my mental state…

Out of the fear that someone really is trying to kill me.

I smile.

I am not crazy. 

Chasing Dreams

You need to have faith like iron
A will of steel
Be steadfast as a stream
Patient as a desert
To chase the dream
That is past the mirage
Because if it is there,
then you have gained everything,
And if it isn’t there,
You have gained experience.



Chase your dream