I am now almost 2/3’s of the way through 2011, and my chosen word of the year – Freedom. It seems like that I find inspiration in bursts, and not slow incremental segments. This past week, I had a burst of inspiration in the form of video.
This is a music video from Bon Iver. I have the album (Bon Iver), and love it. If you like the song from the video, you’ll love the album.
I love 2 things about the video and speak to me Freedom:
1. Child-like.
I’m coming to realize for me, freedom is the relief to be like a child in some circumstances.
The video does a wonderful job of not simply using a child, but it’s using a child to give a sense of wonder and awe of being a child in a new world.
I need to be a man in most areas of my life. I need to be strong, smart and wise for myself, my wife and my family. In a few areas, I need to be like a child – in wonder and awe of what is happening around me. When I learn new things or when I interact with God are 2 ways I want to have the freedom to be more child-like.
2. Expanse.
As I sat watched the video for a 3rd and 4th time, I read the lyrics of the song. These lines struck a chord with me:
…and at once I knew I was not magnificent
high above the highway aisle
(jagged valance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles.
One of my favorite drives is from KC to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Most people hate the drive, and I understand why. There are without doubt, some of the loneliest, boring stretches of land in the US. At the same time, there are several stretches of the drive where you can see some of the most beautiful, colorful, and expressive works of nature. Part of the beauty is that you can see for miles, miles, miles.
In those moments, I realize that I’m not that magnificent. Though I am able to create, I am also creation. I am finite and small compared to the world around me. This gives me a sense of Freedom. I have the freedom to grow and move and run.
3 other videos I’ll share quickly. Each are a minute long, and made by:
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films…..
I would love to have the freedom to do something like this some day. Thanks to Tammie Billey for sharing…enjoy.
This is excellent. Your blog, though you may be getting frustrated, is reaching people you don’t even know about. You have a message that is being spread by a lot of people in a lot of different ways. We all seem to be on the same path–sharing what it means to have a good life based in family and community and allow God’s will to be done in us. You may not see it, I am just beginning to recognize the trend, but this is the edge of it. Don’t ask me what–don’t know yet, don’t need to know.
Last year I took a photo from a touristy four hour train ride on an old fashioned train, and this one photo really grabbed me. I posted it on my wall and studied it. These words came to my head and have remained there and been applied many times: “It is called riding the edge. Lean back, let your hair down and let the winds of change caress your skin.”
You feel it I know, I can see it in your writing. It is just that there are things we are not privy to until we need to know. Just keep doing what you are being inspired to do. Listen to your spirit and keep sharing. I love it.
Ask, believe, receive–now posted on my desk.
Thanks for staying with this.
Lee
Lee –
Thanks for the encouragement. I got several of these yesterday. Great timing…