Storm

My favorite sound in the summer time is in the evening just before a storm. Everything gets so still, the bird hush there singing, as they settle in their nest.The sky gets so dark, it at times looks black. Everything is silent as if waiting in awe for the power and magnificence that is about to occur. Then the storm unleashes in all of its furry lighting strikes across the black sky that is fallowed shortly by the boom of thunder. The trees bend and thrash about in protest of the anger of the storm. The wind throws the branches together that creates a cracking sound and it makes you wonder if they will survive yet another fight of the elements. Then there is the rain hitting against the ground, pounding out a rhythm to this symphony by one of the oldest orchestras. Then as soon as it started it is over, the birds shake the remaining water off their feathers and begin the conclusion to the symphony with their soft evening song. As if on cue the crickets join the evening song, their chirping seems to bring the sun setting over the mountains scattering light in the small openings now being made in the dark clouds. There is a since of peace and awe in the sounds of a storm the continue well after it has pasted. Yet each time it is a little bit different and one can never capture it in writing or in pictures. It only lives in the memories of the few that where blessed enough witness it and appreciate the beauty of it.

Freedom – essentially being free of all restraint. It is also how some people define running. To feel the wind playing with your hair- sometimes it hits you in sudden gusts, a steady flow, or it is non-existent leaving the air to hit your body like an unwelcomed blanket. To feel your heart pound as blood rushes in and out- racing along with you. To have your muscles and lungs burn, believing you cannot run any more but pushing yourself farther then you believe you could go. Sometimes there are people watching and other times it is you in your own world. Running lets you vent in a non-verbal that gives a certain type of satisfaction. The excitement of starting a run with any emotion surging and knowing a run will balance it and restore sanity to your life. Knowing that God is going to meet me to run is the most amazing feeling in the world. Sometimes you run with music and worship him; other times you just want to talk to him. There is never a bad to run, there is no limitations to how far you run or where you run- you truly are free. To know without a doubt that he will meet you where ever you are and in whatever you are going through. It gives a peace that transcends all understanding, when I finish a run the world is perfect and whatever that was unbearable before is bearable now. Running at times can be a bad thing, because I become too obsessive about it, but at the end of the day I enjoy running more than anything else I can do. Running is just another form of life to me that is vital to my existence. Running helps me deal with stress, anger, happiness, excitement, and is over all just relaxing to me. I am so blessed to be have the joy of running.

Cute Little Girl in Pink Dances on the Beach during the Kite Festival.

The music starts to flow through the air and seems to capture your attention immediately. Slowly it seems to seep into your veins, and as you heart starts to beat in rhythm to the melody now surrounding you. It is almost second nature to just want to close your eyes and escape into the music. It as if the music takes control of your body and you don't have to think about what you are doing. Your body just starts to move almost out of impulse at first and then because you cannot seem to stop. You never feel tired, it is as if you have found a whole new world with a new energy that only you, and maybe one other person knows about. This world is the world of dance. To be able to have to different people flowing in rhythmic sequence is something beyond explanation. To be swirled and spun, with kicks and backward bends, but to be in complete confidence that your partner will always catch you and lead you past the other swirling partners out on the floor. It is incredible to have the hard floors beneath your feet as you skim and slide across them in your heals with your dress or skirt swishing around your legs. The simple child like joy of having your hair fly out behind you which is then snapped back across your face as your partner's strong grasps stops you mid-spin. There is just something about dancing that gets in your blood and it can never be stopped. As soon as music with a good beat starts it becomes almost automatic for your feet to start the simple or complex steps that match the timing of the song. There is a sort of simple pleasure that comes from dancing that is part of the beauty of it.