Second Thoughts ~ 52 Year Mission

Greetings Dear Reader,

I was living in an old Victorian home in what is not considered Mid-town Atlanta.  We had a orange-pink herculon sofa that was both hot and itchy.  The summer heat had lingered making the living room stuffy and intolerable. 

Even in the late evening with the windows open and the fan osculating its brief relief against my skin I could not get comfortable.  Mother insisted that I settle down and directed my attention to our small, tin-foiled eared black and white television.  She told me that I would like what was coming.  As if on cue the screen went black and a few stars blinked into place.  The words that would become my siren call crackled out of the monotone speaker.  “Space, the final frontier; these are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise…”

I do not recall if the allure was immediate or it built slowly through that first episode.  I do know, however, that for fifty-two years even the antiquated original series episodes continue to capture and connect with me.  So much of the child in me wishes it were all real in my time.  The wanderer in my soul longs to “seek out new live, new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” 

On this anniversary of the original Star Trek series debut, I am forced to contemplate how much of an influence it has truly has on my life.  I do not believe in the no win scenario.  I do believe in infinite diversity in infinite combinations.  Logic and passion can live together in harmony.  Red shirts will be lost, ships will be destroyed, and tribbles are nothing but trouble. 

Still in all of it the one thing that rings true is that no matter the scope and complexity of the universe and it problems, the answer always comes down to exploring it and learning from it.  After all, it is not the sun up in the sky; it is the Son of God.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

We Can Be Heroes ~ A Hero in All of Us

Greetings Dear Reader,

When we live the death of a dream it can be so very painful.  The ashes cling to us and ghosts of what could have been haunt us.  The things we dreamt of in the bright sun of new days become the fodder of nightmares as the darkness descends.  We then choose.  We choose what we will become and how we will continue.

In the 2004 Spiderman movie Aunt May has a moment.  She talks to Peter Parker about he little boy who idolizes Spiderman. “I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.”

As I ponder the ashes of my dreams and taste their bitter residue I consider what comes next.  Even good dreams are not good if they run counter to what we are supposed to be as Christ followers.  Too many dreams, even good ones, hinder our progress on the journey home. 

The hero in us is the Spirit that guides us and not our own minds.  When we find our delight in finding the honest path of following Christ and the future he offers then our dreams begin to have sustainable substance.  We can be heroes but only if we allow the Spirit in us to guide and rule.  It is in him that we live, and move, and have our being.  He is the Phoenix of our dreams.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

We Can Be Heroes ~ Civil War

Greetings Dear Reader,

In Captain America Civil War, the Avengers divide over philosophical differences.  Even though there are threats enough from external forces, they find a way to fight amongst themselves.  They use time and energy to work at combating each other when their focus should be on the real threat.

Christians shoot their wounded.  They argue over theology and practice regarding matters that really do not matter.  They teach love and grace whilst demanding works and engaging in hatred.  We are so engaged in rejecting and judging each other that we fail to see just how dark it becomes around us.

As was pointed out to me yesterday, I gave up a career and family for something that I no longer have.  Most do not see the pain that went before that moment, that choice.  Most do not care.  I made the wrong choice and am seeking to find forgiveness for my errors.

What is vital is that I do not fall into the same trap of judging those who have harmed me.  I cannot afford to engage in civil war within my circle.  In order to avoid it I must not fight those who stand against me or withhold one moment of love for those in my life.  I must also see that my own flaws cause division I do not notice when I am not vigilant over them.

If we rare going to follow Christ, we cannot afford another moment of infighting.  We dare waste another day divided.  I am seeking forgiveness for my failures and mercy for my sin.  The war is real but the battles are waged with weapons of love and peace.  The heroes that rise will be the ones who embrace this and risk everything for it.  I have no place to stand but I must and will find one.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

Second Thoughts ~ Learning a Language I Already Know (Y’all)

Greetings Dear Reader,

Being back in the South is interesting in many ways.  The ways in which it differs from the Midwest is quite significant.  The pace and timbre of life is subdued and deliberate. 

The thing that I am most intrigued by is just how much of the Southern way of speaking is different from that which I have become accustomed over the last two decades.  The conversations I am in are not that different.  The ones I hear between locals are very different. Between the Southern dialect, colloquial expression, and local slang I find that I am having to relearn a language I have known my entire life.

Further I am finding another unexpected challenge.  In the Midwest my natural friendliness and propensity for polite interaction is unusual.  It gains a foothold for me in most encounters.  Here my “Southern charm” is as common as Kudzu.  It is necessary that I find better ways to express kindness and compassion for others.

In the midst of so many other changes I am seeing that I cannot count on anything that is the norm for me.  I am learning that what seems special to one location is the norm in another.  What has been my standard must become revitalized and refreshed.  That is what it is about; learning to be new every moment for the sake of living in the moment.  In that I will become better at following Christ.

Embracing the things that make the South unique will be fun.  In it I hope to also find new and better ways to express love, kindness, and compassion. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

We Can Be Heroes ~ Origin Stories

Greetings Dear Reader,

“Everyone is from somewhere, even if you’ve never been there.”  We start out the lives of our comic book heroes with an origin story. The stories are often tragic.  The hero is often orphaned or abandoned.  Something terrible happens in his or her life that brings on a moment of crisis and then transformation.

From the ashes of tragedy and loss rise those who choose to be better than the circumstances around them. There is a day when we decide what we will be and on which side of things we will land.  We decide to be hidden or we decide to live up to our calling.  We draw on our origin as part of the choosing process.

For too long we often let that origin define us.  We allow where we began to determine where we are going.   The tragedy, loss, and pains of our former years keep filling up our future, hindering us from becoming what we can become.  We fail to let the past be prologue.  We forget that we decide what today will be for us.

The origin story matters but it does not determine.  It does not have any power not given it by us.  Even the worst of us can embrace today as an opportunity to be better, to be what we are destined to be as Christ followers. 

When Uncle Ben is killed because Peter Parker did not stop the bandit when he could we see the causality that gives us Spiderman.  Out of his failure rises a hero because he makes the choice to be different.  I must own my failures and make today different.  I must embrace that my origin must not determine my destiny.  Fortunately for me, the hero I follow neither falls nor fails. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

We Can Be Heroes ~ I am NOT a Hero

Greetings Dear Reader,

Yesterday I received a comment that simply said, “you are no hero”.  That is the absolute truth.  I am not a hero.  I am a failed, flawed human who to some people is only seen through the lens of his worst moments.  I do not want you to think that I am trying to say here that I am heroic.  That would be prideful and wrong.

by nevux

I am trying to say that we can be heroes.  We are born to be much more than we allow ourselves to be.  We have the opportunity to be heroic in moments.  I think of the scene in Cyrano De Bergerac when Roxanne lauds him for having bested one hundred men.  He has listened to the woman he secretly loves talk about her love for another man.  As she leaves she says how brave he is.  His response, “I have done better since.”

It may be that no one sees the battles we fight that really matter.  It is possible that we fight our hardest fights when no one else is aware.  There is in us, if we choose it, the power to win those battles.  We cannot promise that others will understand or care.  We cannot always defend our choices.  We do fail and falter and fall.

At the end of the first Avengers movie there are people blaming the Avengers for the destruction.  It sets the stage for the continuation of the story but it also gives us a view into something else.  We cannot count on others to understand why we do all that we do.  I am not a hero.  I am not too far from failure at any given moment. 

What makes the difference is not how I have failed in the past.  Rather, it is what I do in the next moment that matters.  It does not matter what good I have done in the past.  If I do not choose good in this moment then I will be judged by this moment.  Even if I do choose good there will be those who do not see it.  We are not, however, playing for the crowd.   All that matters is that I follow Christ in the moment and let him be the hero.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

We Can Be Heroes ~ Secret Identities

Greetings Dear Reader,

The stated purpose of a secret identity for a super hero is that he needs to protect those in his life who might become targets were his identity known.  This is a reasonable explanation.  It does allow for some conflict in the story telling.

In the case of Superman, I have always thought that living as Clark Kent is superfluous.  As I mentioned yesterday it is Superman’s commentary on the human race.  It is the alien true identity of Superman that matters here.  He does not become Superman.  When he gets up in the morning he IS Superman.  He spends his working days hiding in Clark Kent to fit in with the rest of us.

I am coming to the realization that we spend too much time in our secret identity.   We do too many things to fit in with whatever culture is around us.  We adopt the world commentary on things, mirror the acceptable dress and speech, and hide our true identity.  I have more than once seen that people are surprised when they find out I am a Christ follower. 

The reason they are surprised is because I do not act like a political “christian”.  Still, I do think that those who follow Christ spend too much time blending into the culture.  We are not clearly seen as what we are. 

You see Dear Reader, if we truly belong to Christ we are not of this world any longer.  We are aliens with great power.  We command the all-consuming ability to love.  We can crush barriers with kindness and generosity.  We can fight for justice and right without being violent or hateful.  We are designed to be set apart and recognized for who we are. 

Perhaps the answer is that we are not supposed to be hidden as Christ followers.  We are meant to be clearly visible but to also reflect Christ with love and humility.  It may be that those two things combined with being set apart to the Father are the most powerful things in the universe.  I must find a way to be what I am from the moment I wake up without any of the hindrances posed by a secret identity.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

We Can Be Heroes ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I enjoyed my last breakfast for a bit at my favorite diner, I was discussing my thoughts on the constructs we put in place in our lives that hinder our journey.  Sometimes things break on me like a ten-foot wave.  This thought did and I have taken a few days to think about the ramifications of it.

When I refine my thoughts on this I am reminded of Bill’s speech near the end of Kill Bill Volume II:

“Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race.”

I have some thoughts that I have been discussing with my brother about the entire trans-human idea.  I will get to that.  First, however, I need to spend a few days pondering the idea of how we hide our identity. 

The idea of how we hide our true identity involves both internal and external efforts to show something that is not real to the world.  It is our effort to hide who we are for one reason or another.  Walk with me Dear Reader as I ponder this.  I need your company and council. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

All Those Who Wander ~ Closing

Greetings Dear Reader,

Having arrived a rested a bit, I find it necessary to consider next steps.  First will be another day or two of rest.  Then I will begin to move again.  I want to attend to the necessary quickly.

I was not here a day until I ran into someone I knew.  That is always the way of it when I travel.  I also dined a fare I had not in many years.  The world is hot and green here.  One can also feel the quality of sunlight has changed to that waning feel of summer.

The mountains offer morning mist today that makes this place seem as secluded as I feel.  I already remember why I love the place and recall why it is vital that I be here for a bit.  I will attend to the necessary after the holiday weekend. 

For today I find in the journey the opportunity to attend a new church and begin to meet new people.  The other things will come when they come.  For now, I am going to look and listen.  For now, I am going to assess and learn.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

All Those Who Wander ~ Return to Rivendell

Greetings Dear Reader,

I must be brief today.  The journey itself requires most of my effort.  With most of this leg behind me I expect to rest for a bit in a humble hose on the edge of the misty mountains.  The lonely mountain will be in view and dragons a plenty await.

I need a meeting with Gandalf and to seek the counsel of others who were part of the fellowship.  Thing will unfold as they will.

It is in this journey that I am seeing so many things I must address.  In order to keep moving I must summon more faith.  Keep praying for me Dear Reader.  I do have my handkerchief.

  

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook      Google +   

Twitter            Medium    

Kids BLOG

Novels on Amazon             

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com