World travel...

Due to a slight medical issue, my travel blog is being postponed shortly. (Tore the meniscus in my knee...) This is only a short term adjustment. I will update again once I have a better idea on when it will become a reallity.

I am about to travel the world. My entire life has been spent reading books about all of the amazing things that happen in the world. It's about time that I see it with my own two eyes. Over the last two decades I have developed a bucket list, that I have not completed a single item on. As of Monday, February 1st, 2012 I will start a second blog, my Travel Blog. Throughout the next year, I am going to be posting items from my travels around the states. (Each city and town I visit, I will post whatever I am able to learn about the local area.) I will also write updates on how and when I will start my world tour. This will contain all of the steps I am taking to start the travel process.

When i am awake, I day dream about the many things I could be seeing. When I sleep, I dream about who I could be. It is time that I take a stand and make my dream life a reallity.

Timothy Ralston

The Middle Ground...

                My goal in life is no longer to be happy. I only want to be content. I don’t want to be happy, for wanting to be happy is as absurd as wanting to be unhappy. Neither goal is worthy of the effort. For when you are trying to be happy, and you don’t achieve it, you end up unhappy. If your dumb enough to want to be unhappy, then you may achieve it, but you won’t be happy about it.

What if everything in life is like a guitar string. When it’s still, life is content. Neither happy or unhappy. Neither mad nor sad. It just is. Happiness, and unhappiness are the series of vibrations that happen when the string (life) is no longer still. The ups and downs so to speak, sure, being happy is amazing, except when your happy you know it won’t stay like that forever. Eventually, you’re going to be unhappy again. (That’s life) Same can be said in reverse, being unhappy isn’t always so bad, because you know eventually you’re going to be happy again. This theory can be applied to every aspect of our lives. For instance, when we feel we are unhappy in a relationship, it’s the counter balance to when we were/are happy in our relationship. Same goes for our jobs, or school, or any numerous possibility. Things won’t continually stay one way or another. It’s impossible. However if we shoot for only being content, then we are at the happiest we can be, without being unhappy, that goal is achievable. Then we are able to just enjoy (or not) the small ups and downs that will continue to vibrate our string as we continue through life. Simply by being, we are in fact being simple.

And that ladies and gentleman… is where I want to be.

Chaotic Redemption...

2,000 miles separating my old life with a new. Two People, one Dog, take a 4 day road trip ac cross America... No that isn't the opening of a bad joke... or is it? Fear of the unknown draws me forward. Success or failure is in our hands, and the rules have been changed. The game we play now is called sink or swim, it's a shame I'm still learning to dog paddle.

Someone once said that to see America, one must drive it. To fly you see only clouds and birds, to walk you never get far. I've seen a lot of America, and to be completely honest, one must leave their nest to truly 'see' America. - Timothy Ralston

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, I was more that I am, yet less than I was. What was that you ask? Lost. Fighting blindly through a snowstorm. Walking in loops around my head, and then I met someone... I was no longer alone. There was an equal half of my being. No longer lost, but following footsteps in circles all the same. A soul-mate? It was once thought, but never conceived. A friend by name, and only occasionally by nature. Two kindred spirits stalking their prey by way of shared knowledge. This started a journey together, as it lasted for several years. As all things must, the end came round as a form of dis-association. What often happens when time moves on, people change and things stay the same. There is a jarring in the foundation, that even friendships have difficulty withstanding. The cracks appeared slowly over the course of many breakups, long discussions, and hair being held. Looking from an outside perspective, people would say that it was only a matter of time anyway. However the pain is still there. Every time a spiders web glistens in the dew, or the breeze blows a pattern in the shadow, the blade twists just a bit, not quite drawing blood, but still that gasp of discomfort. Silence has lasted now for many months, with barely a whisper of a word between the two far and wide. Forgiveness... will come, even where none is deserved. The fault of one blamed on the actions of many doesn't change the words that come between. A simple hello, or meaningless goodbye should never fracture a love, as naive as it is strong. Because to love someone unconditionally can never be wrong.

- Do not be afraid of laying your heart on the table. Anytime something so delicate is exposed to the elements, it stands that it could be damaged. This is not something to fear, in fact, this is something to be embraced. Wounds heal, the sun is going to rise again tomorrow, and the day after that. Your pride may get hurt, your heart broken, but that pain and suffering give light to the entire world of happiness. You cannot experience happiness without sadness and fear. They work together in a dance of duality, and in some right are merely the mirrors reflection of the same. Love all. Love unconditionally. Love eternally. - Love Me....

Stop...

"Stop, just stop talking for a day," the rabbit said to the voices in her head. "The hand that feeds the mask is all awash in clay."

"Clay, clay you say," the voices replied, "How can one wash in clay?"

"The important part you see, is that it washes at all," said the rabbit, "You cannot be clean without being washed."

"But washing in clay would just make you dirtier, your logic isn't without flaw. And why feed a mask I ask?" The voice queried.

The rabbit hopping along her own way did say, "For it was hungry, do you not get hungry?"

"I do indeed," said the voice, "Now find me some mice brains."

-Zombie Rabbit- (Shudder)

Once, just once...

I want to stop caring about how others view me. If only for a minute, I want the world to care about how I see it. I feel that nature sometimes does, everytime the sun set's over the moutains, or the moon blooms full, that's the moment it is trying to be beautiful for only me. I am the one who see's it, I am the one breathing in the oxygen shrouded in hope. Me. A selfish man with selfish dreams, tearing along a path no one could possibly survive. If I fail, then it's me failing, if I win, then I own myself. Owning yourself is a power few can relate too. It's freeing, but still I care. The world owns me, but not for long. This is my stand, this is the now, the forever, and the only thing that matters. I am me whether you like it or not, a semi painted pallette of colors, waiting to be filled in. Knowledge, strength, wisdom, these are the things that fill my mural.

-"The strong take for granted that which beauty compares." Timothy Ralston

When the still...

The moment before dawn, there is silence in the city.
As the snow blows, and all movement stops.
Where crickets chirp, and coyotes howl, echo's fill the void.

This is the still.

When peace surrounds you, and fear lies flat at your feet.
A whisper of longing, causes your heart to flutter.
With the scent of a newborn flower, a smile breaks your face.

This is the still.

-As we go through life, we are constantly bombarded with chaos. Find your still where ever, and when ever you can. Remember that the still is peace, and within peace we are able to remember still. - Timothy Ralston