psalm 23 - we are never separate

anyone ever read psalm 23 in the old testament scriptures? here's a translation of it, by an artist named jon foreman. the song is called "house of god, forever". it has provided interior comfort to me. i used to read words like this, and take it in on an academic level.... and just breeze through them without internalizing it. for better or worse, it's what certain parts of evangelical christianity do... take apart words and analyze them and come up with some sort of systematic theology. it's all about picking things apart, and micro analyzing.  an alternative, is to understand the big picture, meditate on it...  the big narrative of love overcoming death... the christian story.

anyway, this has meant something to me. it's about god providing, about how everything you need in the here and now is provided for... we are lacking nothing in the present moment, and have hope of the same in the future. we are never separate. we may walk through the valley of death, it may happen... but even while we are walking, we will never be alone, we are never separate from god and his presence. we will not be wanting, all of our needs are met. consider the wildflowers growing in the rockies, or the birds around my neighborhood.... they are provided for, and then consider how much more we are provided for. there is a lot of learning to be had here, and i have a feeling it takes a lifetime of exploration to start to experience this fully:

God is my shepherd
I won't be wanting
I won't be wanting
He makes me rest
In fields of green
With quite streams
Even though I walk
Through the valley
Of death and dying
I will not fear
'Cause you are with me
You are with me

Your shepherd staff
Comforts me
You are my feast
In the presence of enemy
Surely goodness
Follow me
Follow me
In the house of God, forever

God is my shepherd
I won't be wanting
I won't be wanting
He makes me rest
In fields of green
Like quiet streams
Even while I'm walking
Through the valley
Of death and dying
I will not fear
'Cause you are with me
You're always with me

Your shepherd staff
Comforts me
You are my feast
In the presence of enemy
Surely goodness
Follow me
Follow me
In the house of God, forever

griffin on the craig ferguson show

elephant journal / elevision

elevision - Robert Thurman: Why the Dalai Lama Matters from elevision on Vimeo.

check out this video... for those who don't know, i am now on staff with elephant journal as a photographer. it's a rad nationally distributed magazine that is somewhere between the lifestyles of hipsters, jon stewart, and yoga. really cool thing going, and i'm glad to be a part of it. check this video out, it's the last "elevision" event... a talk show offshoot of the magazine. interviewed on the show is dr. thurman (uma thurman's dad), a prominent scholar/author and professor at columbia university who focuses on tibetan issues. very timely with the olympics in beijing.

peace

-rustafari

politics

ok, i'm done with political blogging for a couple weeks.

setting the record straight on obama.

you've heard it before:

"obama is a muslim"

"obama supports partial birth abortion"

.... and many other accusations.

why not really look into it?

this is for you: http://matthew25.org/paf/index.htm

political thought of the hour

Considering the influence of conservative evangelical republicans in American politics, wouldn’t things be ideologically turned upside down if the VP slot on the democratic ticket is a former missionary (kaine), and the VP slot on the republican ticket is a mormon (romney)?

No one would have called that one!

ECO FASHION IN BOULDER

What in the hell is eco fashion, you ask? Well, it's stylee clothing made from re-used, recycled, or organic materials. Here is a photo from an eco fashion shoot that I did for Elephant Magazine. Enjoy, and yeah, it was a really really difficult assignment.

some of my people

here's a pic from my trip to cali in may. i love these people for many reasons. some reasons are: they love people deeply and freely and authentically. they laugh a lot. i could really trust them if my life depended on it. and, they find beauty in everything... from an album to an ocean experience, to a freshly invented cocktail made of lime, jarritos, and acai liquor. that's what was around, and we made due! 

obama's speech in berlin

i know there has been a lot of hype about obama speaking in berlin, but the speech is still worth seeing. it's a fantastic speech, and speaks about our pride and patriotism in america, and what direction we are headed.

ps: there's quite a difference in the technological awareness of the candidates. it doesn't make one candidate more or less qualified, but it's funny that obama references "bloggers in iran" in contrast with mccain not knowing how to use email. 

sigur ros

there are a couple venues in america that take music to the next level. i happen to live 25 mins from one of them, the epic outdoor theatre called red rocks.

there are several bands across the world that play ethereal other-worldly music that really focuses on the beauty and the sheer majestic power of music... not commercial music, but just beautiful passionate music... putting art before commerce. one of these bands goes by the name of sigur rós.

thank god they are converging in late september.

sigur ros at red rocks. it will be magical. maybe it's a good time for you to make a trip to colorado and visit.

ps: the video above is a documentary about sigur ros going back to iceland (aka, heima in icelandic = home). they toured the countryside and played a dozen shows to young and old, babies to the elderly, creating beautiful music for all ages. the documentary is awesome. see it for yourself!

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Mobile blogging

eat local.

I think eating what's local has always been the way people did things. that's a dumb statement. of course it's how people did things.

then people started sailing the seas, and trading spices. curing meats and making meads to transport to a foreign land to trade for equally foreign goods. it's awesome.

then oil came along. ships turned to airplanes. wagons turned to cars. our economy turned oil-based. take away the oil, and uh oh, how do we get things?

we then realized, all this oil consumption is bad for our environment. it contributes to global climate change. it also makes us literally dependent on other countries for our survival, some countries full of people who resent us. in the process, how did delicious tomatoes grown outside our house, turn into these tasteless red things we get at the grocery store? why did they change?

so, we can't change the world in one swoop of our hand. we can't single handedly change how the world thinks. in short, we can't act globally. we can think about these global things... understand how the system works, and why organic garlic from china is found at whole foods... when there is garlic local to your town and it's something you can even grow at your doorstep and it tastes amazing!

yeah, let's think about that. millions of gallons of gas are used to transport something from across the world, and we can buy it from a local vendor. it might be organic, but who cares when all that petroleum is burned to get it across the world? it doesn't matter if it's made from the dalai lama's loin cloth, it's still wasteful... and also happens to taste flavorless in comparison.

we can't act globally, but we can vote locally with our dollars. and i would encourage you to do that when you have the opportunity. buy from your farmer's market. buy local produce in the grocery store. grow some veggies in your yard. buy your beef and eggs from a local farm or butcher who uses local cattle. it makes a difference.

we can't buy everything local, and that's ok. there's no judgement. it's fine, we can't get a lot of stuff locally. try getting locally grown and produced olive oil. yeah, not gonna happen. it's ok. you want kumamoto oysters from washington? yeah, buy them. it's cool. even veggies, maybe those local farms died off when those wagons turned to cars and the ships turned to planes. there was no need for them anymore.

but we can make a difference, and where you put your dollars can actually change the system.

so, be local... it's way more interesting, better for the world, and much more delicious.