Purpose

Everyone has them.

You use them for a variety of things.

Yet you’ve never given thought to their necessity.

Words formed to convey feelings.

Pressing against others from time to time.

Enjoyable, yes. But not impactful.

Not life changing.

Yet.

But then you collide.

Hearts, souls, and minds.

And you never knew 

That two sets could match so exquisitely,

And you were destined to kiss frequently.

You then realize that her lips 

Have given your lips purpose.

Vision

I can look for hours

And admire the life in your eyes

I am both lost 

And found

I am someplace I’ve never been

And in the most comfortable place I’ve known

Know what I see?

There’s so much happening

I see you

The real you

I see hope

I see God

I see love

I see depth

I see thought

I see the sum of all your experiences

I see possibility 

There are a million more things there

Waiting for me to see them

Of Hypocrisy

  For me...there might not have been a more impactful statement made to me in my life. Made with complete respect. No malice involved.
  I had explained it all, best that I could. I’m terrible with sharing feelings, so I babbled my way through it. Did my best, given the amount of scotch already coursing through my veins.
  He took it in and formulated his response. Thoughtful and well spoken. And then he ended with the following;
  “That’s not the Mark Youngblood I know.”
  Holy. Shit.
   If you know me very well you’ll know I despise hypocrisy. I knew that that’s exactly what I was doing. I think I even said I was aware of it. But then for him to say it out loud...for me to hear...now knowing others saw it, too...I could actually feel the sentence drift down and kick my soul. How can I preach that I hate it, teach my kids that it’s utterly gross, and then outright live it?? How dare I?!
  Commence shame spiral.
  I’ve felt bad enough for long enough. Shame spiral certainly didn’t feel great, but it probably needed to happen. If you’ve bottomed out...reached the absolute impenetrable floor...then you can only go up.
  Go. Fucking. Up.
  Quit wishing. Quit hoping. Quit waiting.
  Do it yourself.

A lifetime of thanks to Landry Griffith. Wise beyond your years.

What if it’s true?

What if it’s true?
The things your brain tells you
The doubt and angst swirling
The fog and haze of self loathing
You were important
Other things matter more
They deserve so much better

What if it’s true?
The things your brain tells you
Maybe it could be better
Try something new
Something has to change
It’s going to kill you
You deserve so much better

What if it’s true?
The things your brain tells you
You can only be you
You matter
Things will only get better
You can find it
And it will find you, too