Living Rarefied

A short funny story…

A city boy named Kenny moved to the country and bought a mule from an
old farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the mule to him the
next day.

But the next day, the farmer drove up in his old truck and told Kenny,
"Sorry, son, but I have some bad news, the mule died."

Kenny replied, "Well then, just give me my money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Kenny said, "OK then, just bring me the mule."

The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with a dead mule?"

Kenny, "I'm going to raffle him off."

The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead mule!"

Kenny said, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's
dead."

A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "So, what
happened with the dead mule?"

Kenny said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at $2 a piece and
made a profit of $898.00."

The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"

Kenny replied, "Just the guy who won, so I gave him his $2 back.

Kenny grew up and eventually became the chairman of Enron.

Ethan Daily

I was challenged last night in my level of comfort. I do really well in places of comfort. I struggle inside in places of discomfort.

In places of comfort, things come easy and are not difficult, and therefore there isnt't much to learn or anything to grow from at all. I liken it to science and math, if you know the answers to a theory, or have proved something to be sound, there isn't anything else to learn about it. But throw yourself at a new problem, technology, you will see yourself grow pretty quickly.

I was in Northeast Minneapolis with a friend at a Church type building watching a hip-hop video being shot. It is kind of a church turned into a eating hall. They had turned it into a concert-like atmosphere… I showed up in my jeans and button down Polo shirt, I felt like I reeked of suburbia. Might as well have worn a nametag saying "I'm not from around here"… The idea was to maybe be in the back of the video during the crowd shots. Then my mind started wandering and I was thinking, maybe I should've worn a sleeveless undershirt or "beater" like everybody else, or put on a fake tattoo, do something to look like I fit in…

But the truth is as I realized as the night went on, i needed to be me. If there was any chance to be accepted by people at the shoot it was to be me, not to try and be/act like them. Because I am who I am and they are who they are. That's the beauty of it… I am sure some wondered who this clown in the Polo was and what he was doing here, but I started to not care what they thought. I went on with watching the shoot, and then the video producer was like "Ethan i have a job for you". So i worked with the lights for the crowd shots, so I wont be in the video… Maybe he gave me the job so I wasn't thinking about jumping in the scene.

In a night that began with me thinking I was going to become more uncomfortable in my own skin, turned out to be the opposite. After 3 hours and 2 pounds of sweat, I concluded that it was one of the best nights in awhile. Plus now I have music video lighting as a block on my resume should I ever need it…

Ethan testing

Of why I need to continuosly act and respond with the love of Jesus…

Sunday night, I was meeting some friends at a DQ for some desserts, but first I stopped off at Byerly's to get some shaving cream, deoderant and of course, some sushi.

While walking in a man walking with his son said hello to me. Normally I wouldn't think anything of it, say hi back and be on my way. But the hello was one like he knew me. It caught me off guard a little bit. Similar to my encounter in mid-May, but different in the fact I know I didn't know this guy…

So I politely (at least I hope so) said hello back as I continued to walk into the store. My sister asked if I knew him and I shrugged my shoulders and responded "I don't think so". No more than 2 seconds later we turn to look at him one more time and he is pointing to me and we could make out that he was telling his son "that was the communion guy, the one who served us tonight…"

It was kind of a "whoa" moment. I wasn't behaving unlovingly, or being crude or anything but it made me think that if I didn't recognize this guy, how many times a day without my knowledge is there somebody pointing and telling a quick story about me? Positive or negative? If it is a positive story and I am in the middle of telling a questionable joke or doing something I shouldn't or even just having a short temper with people. That can have a negative effect on the reflection I am trying to put across with my actions in loving and living like Jesus did.

You can get a snapshot of somebody in 4 seconds… How is that 4 seconds going to be remembered? From those you know and more importantly, from those you dont know…

Ethan testing

I always have this feeling. But lately it is growing…

I have been good at living in the now and not about 5 years from now, or even 6 months from now. But I dont think I made it all the way to today and today only.
I think I am at tomorrow. But the kicker is, I have no idea what is tomorrow? Why is it so exciting? Why can't I get myself all the way to today, completely living in the now/present…
I enjoy when I am at, but am excited and anxious to see the next step.

Things coming up that may trigger this.. I feel excitement for these, but that excitement is tangible…

Young Life camp @ Frontier Ranch in Colorado

• taking 10 kids from our school, which is leaps and bounds more than we have ever done before
• 2 awesome leaders are coming and
  1 more amazing leader staying at home

Cabin this weekend

• Haven't been yet this year, not even on a boat anywhere…
• Some friends of mine will be at their nearby
  cabins and we are getting together.

Summer?

• but its already alive and kickin…
• i dont have a tan yet

Older sister moving home…

• august/september timeframe

BBQ

• this happens couple times a week at my residence, even with a vegan roommate

I know those excitements.. I've encountered all
of them before.

The only other one I could pinpoint would be the fact that I am remodling my house. Adding a few rooms in the basement, a little refuge for me. But that is excitement
and stress.

Excitement is strange, good but strange sometimes…

Ethan testing

Right now I have 2 options:

1. call a friend and seek to put something in the past in the past…
2. I can wait it out until it doesn't matter anymore…

I have chosen #2. For no better reason than this, if I chose #1, it will escalate I believe, because of my stubborness and my friend's take on the matter, i dont think it will be resolved easily.

Ethan Feeling, Surprise Me

Quick update on lemonade stands…

My sister and I flew by one in my neighborhood and did a U-turn to head back to get some lemonade. We asked for 2 cups, they were asking 25 cents. We were prepared to spend a whole dollar as it was pretty warm out! They were also selling candy. The older girl ran into the house to ask her mom while the younger one sat there and stared at us with that puzzled smile that only a child can master. The old girl came out and whispered to the younger one. Then the younger one broke her silence and screamed, I mean screamed, "We don't have any lemonade!!!"

I am still confused, they had a ziplock back of maybe $10 sitting there but no lemonade. They advertised Starbursts for sale, yet had none. I will just have to keep my eyes peeled for the next time these 2 are out there selling lemonade and try and buy some from them. I did like their stand… And they had a wonderful sign.

Ethan Daily

I am in the process of wrapping up a few web projects in the next 2 weeks. So i will be taking a bunch of days from blogging to focus my computer time on finishing my committments. Should I have an epiphany, or something terrible happen, I will write, but need to break for a little bit…

I also feel a little dry, and I need to spend some time with God and see where I am at. I am at a place of minimal stress, which I like, but is foreign to me. I am scared if I don't spend the extra time processing why it is so calm for me, it is like the calm before the storm. Hopefully it is only good weather with more good weather behind it. But I dont feel like rolling the dice and not spending extra time in prayer and thanksgiving to Jesus..

Ethan testing

This morning I had breakfast with the "most important man" and a "top 5 important man" in my life…

I felt like I was a bridge to be used for insight into parts of me. (Hence the bridge picture)

One from my Dad looking into more of my daily life, people who influence me, who I place a lot of trust in, people who help build my character each and everyday. People I spend time with when I am not with my family or at work.

The other from my friend, who has known me for almost a year, to see where I come from, how I was brought up, where my idiosyncrasies come from, why I speak the way I do, why I carry myself the way I do, who was behind my brining up, who is still behind my bringing up after 25 years, and who I hope to be behind my bringing up for decades and decades to come.

2 of us are used to breakfasts where we are just hanging out, sharing stories. One is used to breakfasts where there is an agenda, a plan, an itinerary to follow.

It was strange for me, not a bad strange, just a "strange" strange… To bring 2 worlds together for more than just a hello in passing after church isn't something I do everyday. Bringing 2 parts of my life that have been for the most part separated because of the generation differences. Not trying to force anything, not trying to say we all have to be friends, but just to gather in a greater understanding of the mystery of me and things going on in our world.

Ethan Daily

One common theme I find in a lot of questions I ask myself. Is this…

"Silver Platter" or earn it

Would you like to be given a perfect situation with no work involved or something you have to invest time in to make it better?

I ask this in my job, in my relationships with friends & family. And mostly with my faith…

I posted something awhile back that sparked my thoughts on this.. The purpose of being involved with something? My faith, if I knew all of the answers to my questions, what would drive me to continue to walk and seek a stronger faith and relationship with Jesus?

With friends, if there is never any conflict, I don't believe there is ever any valid growth. If you get along 100% of the time and don't have to submit to one another time to time, where's the purpose there? I believe you need to take 1 step back to take a few forward. That doesn't mean I am out there looking for conflict all of the time. But I accept the conflict and rely on my strength given to me from God to go through it and after the clouds clear up. I feel stronger in myself and in my relationship with somebody.

With a job, if it doesn't challenge you, where's the incentive to learn, get better at what you do. Why should you stay at the same job, just because no problems ever arise?

I am scared of what may happen when things are too good to be true. I am scared of settling, losing drive for relationships, passion for work, passion for others.

A friend and I got in a discussion the other day about soul mates. I think she thought I would respond in the same context she believed..

I don't believe there is "a" soul mate out there for me. In the singular sense. I believe there are group of mates that God has created that would be compatible with me. I know it isn't the most romantic thought, kind of saddening, killing the fairy tale dream of that one girl out there for me. I feel like I may have believed in the soul mate deal too long where I have passed up opporunities of walking with some amazing gals. But if there was the smallest thing wrong, I got scared and would walk (0.01% of the time) or not even pull the trigger (99.9% of the time). Cause if they were my soul mate, i wouldn't see those things or even care about them.

Inversely, I also think that I may belong to multiple groups of guys who are compatible for a bunch of gals out there. I will never meet those guys and I may never meet all of those girls.

I don't want to sound like I will take anything that comes my way, with my thoughts of multiple options and all. Truth is, I may think the compatable group could be 2 in size or 3, or 10…. Thats still a pretty small group in a wordly population that is in the billions. I may have a better chance winning the lottery if you look at it that way…

I am scared of the idea of soul mates and the fairy tale theme that brings, that everything is beautiful and we all live happily ever after. But if I were given that, I wouldn't know what to do with it. I would lose passion for that person, I would take everything for granted if we didn't have to work at a beautiful relationship, I would lose the fun and excitement of going through a journey with somebody without a map. Losing passion could be one of my top 5 fears!

I know my thoughts, I know my friend's thoughts, but I am curious to hear other people's thoughts…

Ethan testing

Here's the finished project…

Ethan Daily