..::Michael J::..

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"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." ~ Anais Nin The Uncensored Ramblings of M.J.
Yours Truly
There are some that choose to omit this section. There are others that tend to write bits and pieces of nothing at all. I hope I don't come across as pretentious but I'd like to share with you, o' my brothers and sisters, a kernel of who I am. The marrow,...I hope you'll discover through our friendship and association.
For about 6 or 7 years now, I've been going through a theological/philosophical phase for which I have no thought of departing. I can't shake it, nor would I ever want to. My mind is forever trying to piece together the fragments of who I am and what I'll become. If I were to listen to my heart, it would say, "all of this, you all ready know." Thoughts and ideas (similar yet different) are, perhaps, my greatest pleasure. I know that if I could live several hundred years, I would still look to Nature and to Man with the same childish wonder.
Writing is my favorite form of expression. Being able to evoke a memory, conjure up ideas & emotion, young and old, through the written language has always been a passion of mine. It's our link to both the past, present and future at the same time...and it fascinates me! I journalize just about everything in my Life including the distasteful memories. It's always been my feeling that in order to enhance your life, you must first embrace your grief (as Carl Jung would put it). Along with my writing... both my solace and my passion has come from the art of Taijiquan ( my website ).
The Art of Harmonious Boxing
Taijiquan (the alternative spelling, Tai Chi Chuan)...to me...has always been something I've understood the "truth" of. Nothing I've come across in life "spoke to me" with as much clarity. It's like when Superman comes across the green, Kryptonian crystal for the first time. Very seldom in one's life do you come across something that adds to the fabric of who you've always been (but without reconstructing you). It's hard to explain. But I suppose it's not unlike falling in love...that once you found it...how you got there, what it can do for you, etc....doesn't even matter. How can something be simple and complex at the same time? What else might you practice for a lifetime, and with each day, improve? For rich or poor, home or abroad...it's that which I can always take with me. It's a marriage of sorts. And an o' so happy one.
My friends
I am extremely fortunate to have such friends as I do now. Some are fellow myspacers, but several haven't taken the 'big plunge'...yet. Someone once said, "The friend who understands you, creates you." But imagaine what it's like to have several friends who understand you? It makes my soul sing & dance. It's the ultimate therapy and probably why I'll never need to be medicated.
Greetings to All and L'chaim!
Life since high school...Life since college, have taken huge changes that, to a certain extent, I still haven't adjusted to. Nearly every day I have a strong compulsion to "pack up and go...experience the 'high points' of Life." This is apparent if you see me staring off into space (which can be frequent). I feel it (the compulsion) most when I'm in my car and I'm rocking out to my ipod...or when I look at the corner of my office and see my dry, sandless surfboard leaning against the wall.
A Rekindled Passion
"Tonight I shall sleep in a field of violets. And if the violets stain my clothes, well, then the violents stain my clothes." - Zen priest Ryokan (1758-1831)
It's funny how priorities come in to our daily grind, and somewhere along the way, we put what we held dear out of sight...and therefore, out of mind. Well, it's been over 5 years and suddenly the flora and fauna has returned, my eyes are seeing a vision of green. Green without dead presidents. Instead... in the form of photosynthesizing, CO2-consuming aquatic plants.
For those not down with the history, I used to be the "aquatic plant curator" at Aquamain's Fish World in Greensboro...a job that I loved with my very soul and which planted in my psyche an entirely different venue. So...at the present, o'my brothers & sisters- yours truly is out to create an ecosystem of great beauty. However...now some words from my mentor, Takashi Amano: "Humans, the newcomers on this four-billion-year-old planet, now have the power to destroy nature. The once-clear water is muddied, and the once-green land is losing its color. In trying to make their lives rich, people have made us all incredibly poorer from the destruction of nature. Only desolate hearts can grow in desolate surroundings. We have to remember that we either live in nature or not at all. Through building and maintaining beautiful natural aquaria, people relearn the intricate connection between forms of life: plants, fishes, microorganisms, and humans. Riches and beauty come from harmony, from balance. Aquaria are great teachers of this truth." - Takashi Amano January 6,1992