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The Story of Paris
There is something about the telling of a story that captures our imagination. It could be the anticipation of discovering the plot and then feeling the excitement of watching it unfold. Or maybe the landscapes, culture, and time frame in which the story takes place allow us to enter these places just for a moment. Yet, above all else, it seems the characters themselves arrest us the most. Their personalities. Their virtues. Their vices. Their achievements and their failures. We love the characters because, deep down, we know that we are taking part in our own stories. Therefore, we imagine ourselves within their roles because maybe we need to escape,…
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The Gray
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be older. Maybe it comes from my tendency to avoid the present, or maybe it is a desire for what I view to be simpler times ahead. Either way, I often think about what my life might be like 30 to 40 years from now. Turning another year older over the weekend brought me physically closer to this reality, but it hasn’t extinguished the desire. In some ways, celebrating my birthday has only further ignited my passion for simplicity. A passion to be at peace within the gray. If we pay attention to our souls, growing older forces us…
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Feeling the Falls
Photos were taken at Trümmelbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. They are considered to be the largest underground waterfalls in Europe. Growing up, I remember thinking that my tendency to be introspective was a deficiency, almost a sign of weakness. So much so that in certain circles, especially when participating in sports, I often felt less masculine. I had bought into the “men don’t feel, men don’t cry, men don’t show emotion” mantra. I remember feeling like I always had to turn off my thoughts but never could. As a result, my natural tendencies to feel and think brought about many insecurities. I am less insecure about it today, but I…
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Love Is
We use love in many of our sayings. We attach love to all kinds of emotions and feelings. We believe we love others when we are satisfied with how we order them into our world. We do these things believing we know what love is. We do these things believing we are in control. It is natural to try to control the very thing we desire most because, in some ways, we want to believe that having control will make us safe and secure. Safe from pain and free from feeling empty. But somehow, we know better. Deep down, we know that love can’t be caught and controlled. Instead, it…
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A “Religious” Walk Home
One night, while walking home from my small Swiss village of Worb, I had an intense “religious” experience. This experience prompted childhood memories of my past and gave my present-day desires and future longings a place and time to be experienced. The pathway home was lit only by the full moon’s reflective light, which reminded me of walking down a dark Pennsylvania road as a boy, wanting nothing more than to know who I was in relation to this big world. At the same time, the dark Swiss countryside was calling me to be present not only to my desires of today but also to my cravings for what is…
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The Bridge
The first step, that very first step So hard but filled with such emotion Our feelings propel us to act They propel us to move So we step We walk Yet, the more that we walk Our feelings fail us They die We are exposed Our inner most identities cry out Our daily activities no longer hide our desires We are left with simply ourselves We are on the journey Our anxiety builds So we look left, we look right We look for anything to save us We even look behind us But our past can’t help us now We are on the journey Our bodies ache Our thoughts run…
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Language of Love
Every morning at 6:08 a.m., my son’s voice can be faintly heard from his bedroom. “Mommy…can I have some milk, please?” The communication is straightforward, and his words convey precisely what he wants. Living abroad gives you a new understanding of communication. Here in Switzerland, four languages are spoken, depending on the region you find yourself in. It also doesn’t help when you don’t realize that you have crossed into a different region. For instance, a simple “thank you” can be “Merci,” “Bitte,” or “Grazie”, depending on where you find yourself. More often than not, when the standard means of communication (language) breaks down, you sometimes have to resort to…
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“Good” Parenting
To act or not to act. To speak or not to speak. To intervene or not to intervene. It seems that these are the thoughts that consume a parent’s mind every day. It is said that parenting is the most challenging job in the world, and most parents who are engaged in their children’s lives would agree. Although we get plenty of advice from others and instinctively draw our parenting styles from those who have raised us, when we are face to face with our children, there isn’t a blueprint. During these times of indecision, we realize that we are left with only our thoughts. We are left with our…
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To Change or Not To Change
There was a moment when it hit me. Deep down, I knew it would never be the same again. Although things looked identical, my relationship with them had somehow changed. My friends were still there, yet my connection to them differed in ways I could not explain. I was an 18-year-old young man and home for the first time after leaving high school, and I was confronted with the reality that I had changed. And this scared me. On the one hand, this community has brought me comfort and security; now, it no longer gives me the same feelings. On the other hand, the thought of me changing made me…
