…when the inspiration strikes

There aren’t too many feelings that can compete with the feeling of being alive. Several different experiences for me achieve this effect: laughing so hard you can barely breathe, seeing an old friend after quite some time, saying goodbye to dear ones who you’ll miss dearly, or those moments of *clarity* that are so seldom experienced, but cherished one by one.

I went on an inaugural run this afternoon. I say “inaugural” because I hadn’t really been running since the beginning of April, and this is the first run I’ve been on since I finally finished my graduate program. Plus, summer’s arrived in Florida, and running in the summer in Florida can be a challenge, to put it lightly.

However, whatever it was, the stars were aligned, perhaps, even though covered up by cloudy skies, and the temps were right, and my iPod somehow streamed this amazing conglomeration of melancholic songs that tugged at my soul, if you will. Two talented and kindred spirits of mine have been encouraging me as of late to start my own blog or to at least resume writing, and it was as if this afternoon I decided now was the time. And when you feel like you gotta write, you gotta write. I know these moments of clarity and inspiration only come ever so often so I must take advantage of it while I feel it.

So, the direction of this blog is undecided, but I suppose over time we’ll see where my mind and my inspiration take us.

But let me just share with you the songs on my iPod first (it was set at shuffle):

• Sunshine – Keane
• Something’s Missing – John Mayer
• Careful – Guster
• Belief – Gavin DeGraw
• Blue Eyes – Cary Brothers
• [...] in the Wind – Badly Drawn Boy
• Seems So Heavy – Sloan

A good mix, if you ask me. “Belief” by Gavin DeGraw is one of my favorites of his, and the lyrics get to me.

I’m going to yell it from the rooftops
I’ll wear a sign on my chest
That’s the least I can do
Tonight, you arrested my mind
When you came to my defense
With a knife
In the shape of your mouth
In the form of your body
With the wrath of a god
Oh, you stood by me
Tonight, you arrested my mind
When you came to my defense
With a knife
In the shape of your mouth
In the form of your body
With the wrath of a god
Oh, you stood by me
And I’ll stand by my
Belief

There’s a few things I believe in wholeheartedly (the Bible, coffee and cream, and little kittens)…there’s probably even less people who’ll stand by you wholeheartedly. So when I think of this song, I think of Greg…who is unwaveringly there for me, “no matter what.”

Thus, here’s to moments of clarity, knowing where you stand, and knowing who stands by you. Enjoy.

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