Shanzhai Lu

photo: CC // the camera is a toy

So I got a call yesterday from a good friend of mine.

He needed some advice that included a big choice to make.

I gave him a good half hour of the advice part. The choice was still up to him. 

And without getting into the details of our conversation

I did leave him with three things to keep in mind.

Be honest with your feelings.

Never leave anything on the table.

Always err on the side of love.

I know, some oddly optimistic advice coming from someone who doesn't have much of a track record on this stuff lately.

Despite -- or maybe because of -- all the crap I've gone through in my own life, I still believe in these simple rules for myself. I say myself because you can't always help who you fall in love with or how they will react to how you feel but I reached a point in my life recently where I am always honest with my feelings, I never leave anything on the table and I always err on the side of following my heart. Even if it takes me places I didn't want to end up in. It's always worth it.

So anyways...

I get a text message this morning that made me smile.

All I got to say is, if these two get married down the not so long road...

I won't take the credit for it.

But I at least better get a wedding invite out of it

and when I do, I'm going to be that pushy friend who asks the DJ to play this song.

Because it's Jack Johnson. And he knows what's up.

Better Together
~Jack Johnson

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
With sepiatone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together

[Chorus:]
MMM it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at them stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone
When the morning light sings
And brings new things
For tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too
Too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression
I was somewhere in between
With only two
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be
We'll Sit beneath the mango tree now

It's always better when we're together
Mmmm, we're somewhere in between together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

MMmmmm MMMmmmm Mmmmmm
I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no, combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're better together.

photo: CC // Taylor.McBride

"If you can't change a situation,

you can at least change the way it makes you feel.

And that, in its own way,

will change everything..."

~J.Cainer

photo: CC // seyed mostafa zamani

Anyone who knows me knows that I hate standing still in a shallow little puddle of

indecision.

So a recent conversation with a friend got me thinking about something I read once.

Below are a few simple sentences for any situation where mind keeps heart from taking chances that move us forward.

You have to ask yourself if you really want what you say you want.

If you don't, stop telling yourself that you do.

If you do, stop telling yourself that it's impossible.

~j.cainer