Change in the Air

I feel a weight on my shoulders and I sense change in the air. I do not know what to make of it. It seems as though friends from my past are coming into my life again, while at the same time my current friends are leaving my life. So goes life I suppose. Every changing and evolving. Friends come and go. Knowing this does not make it easier to accept or to move on. It is especially harder when the friends leaving your life are ones that you very much care for and have come to rely on for support of one kind or another. I hope of course that they find in life that which they are seeking and find happiness and fullfilment in their life. Maybe one day the waves of change will bring our paths together again in the future. I hope that is true. Hope is one thing that cannot and should not ever be lost. Without hope there is nothing to reach to or to work towards.

I have grown so much over the last year. I have grown to better understand myself and to understand others in a broader sense of behavior and human nature. I am moving towards a new phase of my life. It is scary. It appears that for the most part I will face this new phase on my own. I am not sure of what is to come. All I know is that I will stand and face it with a self confidence I have not had before. It has been a long road getting from there to here. I have faith of the heart.

The Climb -- Miley Cyrus

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

Defenders of Marriage

Gay or Straight

60 Minutes: The Science Of Sexual Orientation

Gay Marriage, Religious Freedom

Can't Have It All -- Jay Brannan

My Faith is restored. God Bless Julian Bond

Ironic

"One characteristic of cults is that they strongly believe they alone are right in their beliefs and everyone else is wrong. Thus they reject the central truths of the Bible that Christians have held in common for almost 2,000 years and substitute their own beliefs for the clear teaching of Scripture." - Billy Graham.

Desiderata

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Ballad of the Green Beret

SSgt Barry Sadler -- Ballad of the Green Beret