aint no mountain high enough

this picture was taken towards the end of a month-long mission trip to Tanzania (June 2007).

at this point, my team members and i had finally reached our destination (not the apex of the mountain, but still a good 2-3 hours woth of trail)...at a random waterfall somewhere on a mountain, in the middle of Tanzania. i've never experienced anything like it!...it was like one of those movie scenes...with our very own native tour guide, leading the way with a machete, chopping down unruly branches and paving a path along our way.

i remember how miserable i was throughout the whole hike up...and how i kept imagining myself back at the missionary's home, away from the heat, the discomfort, and the seeming unknown.

i also remember how shocked all my teammates were, seeing me, the most unathletic and "spoiled" of the bunch, trek so fast up AND down the mountain, w/o so much as a word. (they had no idea that the only reason why i was so focused & rushed, was because i just wanted to get the heck out of there. haha).

but as miserable as i felt at the time, i look back on this experienc with a sense of pride and fondness. it's funny, actually, because we all look so happy in this picture-- you'd have no idea that we'd all just been cursing under our breathes, just moments before.

....

i guess that's life for ya-- nothing worth waiting or striving for comes easy. (child-birth, for example. as painful as childbirth is, i heard that the moment the child is born, the mother releases a hormone that causes her to instantly forget all the pain and only focus on the joy-- hence, a woman's willingness to bear more than one child).

without the sweat, the pain, and the heartache...the end product would be worthless, rather than priceless.

i know it's easier said in restrospect, but i can't help but agree that...

every hurdle, every obstacle and every "mountain" in life is well-worth climbing. :)

preach it, Marvin Gaye!
haha!

justice = love

A call to LOVE:

"You can't LEAD the people, if you don't LOVE the people.

You can't SAVE the people, if you don't SERVE the people."

- Dr. Cornel West

Consider This (courtesy of Jefferson Lee):

girl interrupted in her music

Vermeer's Girl Interrupted In Her Music is the inspiration for this blog. I don't know why or how, but I somehow stumbled upon this painting ...and it struck a chord with me.

AN ENGIMA: you can't really tell if the girl is looking at a letter or a piece of music; or whether the man is her lover or her teacher. A GLIMPSE: i like that she's looking at you--makes you wonder what she's thinking about or doing for that matter; and with that, you get a "glimpse" into her eyes (thoughts), before she goes back to whatever she was doing. ON LOVE & PASSION: look behind her and you'll notice a painting of Cupid, which is of ocourse, symbolic of love/passion--and all that jazz.

As for this blog, I don't intend to share my "deepest, darkest" secrets, but thought that this might be a good way to get back into an old-past-time of mine (journaling/writing)...and perhaps share some whimsical +/or meaningful insights and anecdotes along the way :)

AN ENIGMA(?): I like to think that I have a mysterious and even mischevious side to me.  A GLIMPSE: so i suppose this blog, like the Vermeer painting, can act as a sort of "glimpse" into my life & thoughts--regardless of how nonsensical or inconsequentional they seem. (*aftert thought: ha! I'm reading this over, and I can't get over how cheesy I sound). ON LOVE & PASSION: lately, I've been thinking a lot more about my life's passion/purpose, and the faith/conviction that drive it. it's difficult to describe, but I think St. Augustine summaraizes it perfectly:

"For You, who love souls far more purely than we and feel a perfect pity for others, are wounded, yet without sorrow.

How can we be like You in this?"

happy reading! :)

p.s. comments are encouraged. don't be a stalker!