Socks, Rocks, and Dust
Yesterday I lost a sock, tore my closet up looking for it. Went downstairs checked in the dryer, washer, laundry basket, yep, everywhere I could think of, nothing. I’ll be on the lookout for this cool black and gray sock (cool sock?), maybe I’ll find it, maybe I won’t.
At 2-3 different times I spent about an hour looking for a meaningless article of clothing. As I thought about how ridiculous I looked and how my attitude got so caught up in asking myself and my family (though I really think they were ignoring me) where this sock could be, I contemplated how messed up I get when I’m looking for other answers to questions about life. How much time I waste on meaningless endeavors and how little I spend on growing my soul and creativity, as well as just plain enjoying life itself.
This morning I’m sitting out on the deck with a cup of coffee, and notice a neat little pile of rocks one of our kids is storing in a corner of the yard. All our children have this affinity for rocks. Our two oldest boys spent lots of time in the woods behind the last house we lived in, and my wife would often end up with rocks in the washer because the boys were forever bringing stones home in their pockets but never taking them out.
Rocks, they are everywhere. Some grains of sand, some boulders we carve monuments into. Some we hold, some we climb. Foundational and at times a nuisance, especially when planting a garden, people even buy “pet rocks”, at least they used to. Rocks have Biblical implications, too. God, the Rock of Ages, Moses and the cleft of the rock in Exodus, a stone slayed Goliath, a rolled away stone revealed Christ’s empty tomb.
But much like our human flesh, time and elements turn rocks to dust. So I’m taking this moment to reflect on what I want to do better, and how I might live more passionately for what matters most… whether it’s what I deeply believe, sharing my resources to others, or my own well being. That the ardent search for lost socks just leads to lost time, and rocks are fascinating inanimate objects that can spawn creative thoughts. And that I’m capable of turning these thoughts into art that speaks to the heart of others. Soon enough I’ll be dust, for now I pray for words and actions to make meaningful use of the time I’ve left on this earth.
Tags: faith, what matters
Back to Me
Nov 29, 2007 hat box
I started this song a few weeks ago, it was mostly just a riff and some different tunes floating around my head. As a chorus melody started taking shape the phrase “run back to me” showed up. I hope to have a track cut by the weekend. If you live in Charlotte, I’ll be at the Americana this Saturday in Pineville playing in the NSAI lunch round from 11:30-2:30, and I’ll debut this song.
There’s a steppin’ stone in the middle of a stream
You been standin’ on
Water’s risin’ now it’s well above your feet
We both know it won’t be long till there’s
Nowhere to run
Nowhere to turn to
That haze behind you is smoke from bridges burned
Look back you’ll see I’m still within reach
When there’s nowhere to run - run back to me
Why’d you climb so high up in that tree?
What are you hiding from?
Did you lose at love, make a promise you can’t keep
Did your faith just go numb and there’s
CHORUS
Oohh – when life’s a broken road
Oohh – and the pieces get hard to hold – if there’s
Nowhere to run
Nowhere to turn to
That haze behind you is smoke from bridges burned
Look back you’ll see I’m still within reach
When there’s nowhere to run
Look back you’ll see I’m still within reach
When there’s nowhere to run - run back to me
2007 (c) Angelo Melendez
Tags: day in the life, get up and start again, test of faith
We Were One
Sep 11, 2007 hat box
I wrote this a couple of years after 9/11. This year, as the anniversary approached, I couldn’t let go of the memories, and the deep sense of loss augmented by our country’s fragmented state — so I decided to post this lyric.
That warm September morning started out like other days
A kiss goodbye a whisper gotta make the train by 8:00
The workday barely started when the tragedies began
America was under fire devastation gripped our land
Terror and destruction brought our country to its knees
Waking up the passion in a pride that runs so deep
In the matter of an instant we put differences aside
Boldly came together turning darkness into light
We were one
One nation under God
We picked each other up when the going got real tough
We were one
Stars and Stripes lay battered
Our lives changed forever on that day
We were one
I wonder how it happened seems it wasn’t long ago
We held each other crying sharing grief for those we lost
Now points of view divide us over who should bear the blame
So wrapped up in our differences we forgot how on that day
We were one
One nation under God
We picked each other up when the going got real tough
We were one
Stars and Stripes lay battered
Our lives changed forever on that day
We were one
Copyright (c) A. Melendez
Never Be The Same
Apr 11, 2007 hat box
Did I just climb a mountain or swim across the sea
Well at this very moment I feel like I could
I just turned my desire into my wildest dream
I’m standing taller than I’ve ever stood
I’ll never be the same
Though my life has changed
I’ll always treasure the past
But there’s no looking back
No I’ll never be the same
Oh I’ll never be the same
And every step along this journey
I struggeld with my fear and doubt
You fueled the fire deep within me
Take a look at me now
I’ll never be the same
Though my life has changed
I’ll always treasure the past
But there’s no looking back
No I’ll never be the same
Oh I’ll never be the same
2006 (c) Melendez/Young