I want to record verse 2 again, but I am exhausted and wanted to post something tonight.

Press On - Take Two.

Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

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Be warned. Listen to this song as you would Bob Dylan - The lyrics not so much the vocal prowess.

Here are the lyrics (so far)

Press On - Stephen Miracle [click the title to hear the song]

sitting all alone
underneath a shadeless tree
minutes before
My eyes learned to see
life is more than
joy and childhood dreams
broken hearts, broken bones
mix the lives we lead

bruised and pushed down
I scream but no ones around

born into this lonely new world
a dream they label as what is real
pinch me so I can wake from this misery
No chance to return to when I was free

To Dream

Press On
whispers in the distance
Press On
a voice that comforts

I will lead you out
I will show you how
I will be your light
Throughout the night
Press On
Press On

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“Heroism feels and never reasons and therefore is always right” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What separates a hero from the rest of the world?

Is it the ability to fly.. or have enough money to afford cool gadgets.. or maybe the mutant gene that he was born with that makes him more special than everyone else?

What Separates A Hero From You And I

Even in these modern day comic book fantasies, these talents are not what separates a hero from an average individual. Bill Gates has more money than Bruce Wayne ever could, but you don’t see him jumping around in a bat suit with a cape. I don’t believe that anyone becomes a hero because of any extra gifts or talents.

There is no superhero gene or skill to learn.

It is actually quite the opposite. We, as average individuals, are more evolved than heroes, because we have a gift that these super-humans do not. We have the ability to think rationally, and would find a more rational alternative or justification than leaping from one skyscraper to the next.

Acting Without Rational Thought

I watched the new Batman movie a couple of weeks ago, and I was sitting on the edge of my seat for most of it. There was one scene where the joker threw a girl out of Bruce Wayne’s highrise. Batman didn’t stop to think about which funeral home could hold the right amount of grieving relatives. Instead, Batman dove out of the window after her. He didn’t have the stunt planned and it just so happened that he had a cool gadget that would save them in this scenario.

But the point is that cool talents or skills are not what makes a hero.

A hero is made when one is able to suspend the natural human gift of rational thinking to rescue someone else at whatever cost.

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A Biased Survey

Several days ago I surveyed a few of my friends and family. It wasn’t a long survey. It actually consisted of one question.

“Why did you do that?”

I wanted to know what processes were going through their heads while choosing to make a decision in life. I didn’t take notes on their answers nor did they even realize they were participants in a survey. But I was quick to judge their answers and was biased towards my own thinking. In other words, the survey was completely unscientific.

but it did bring up good conversation.

Three Ways To Make Decisions

I also figured out that there are 3 types of people when it comes to decision-making.

1. Those Who Decide From their Mind - A Politician
2. Those Who Decide From their Heart - A Hero
3. Those Who Decide From their Emotions - An Entertainer

A politician is always successful, but is never loved. He carefully manipulates situations with his mind so that he will come out on top. You can never turn your back on him.

An entertainer is always loved but is never in control. Their decisions are always made by the outside influences surrounding them. They might be a flower floating downstream being led by the water’s current, but they still are always loved by everyone around them. They have an unmatched ability to connect with everyone around them, because their lives are guided by emotions.

A hero is hardly loved or successful. She makes decisions based on a larger idea of what is right. She will lose everything she owns because her heart pushes her to go for something more than herself. There is a greater good out there, and she strives for it everyday. In the simplest of choices, her will tugs on her and guides her to help out those around her. She might not be the richest nor the most popular..

but she is a hero.

Who are you?

Stay Tuned..

Next time at AltNoise I will be writing about why it is not always smart to be a hero. Make sure you are subscribed to the free feed so you don’t miss this exciting article.

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“He liked to observe emotions; they were like red lanterns strung along the dark unknown of another’s personality, marking vulnerable points.” -Ayn Rand

By what motivation do you lead your life?

Tough question.

She Wasn’t Rational

I saw her sitting on the park bench the other day. It had been several years from when I last saw her, but I had heard stories. I couldn’t believe them, nor could I believe that she would do such things. This was the same girl I dated years earlier and laughed with over the phone. As an honest friend, I wanted to know what her rationale was for doing this dreadful thing to the poor unsuspecting individual.

Of course, I didn’t receive any honest answer or good justification. There really isn’t much rationale in most of our decision making… good or bad.

Her answer?

“I felt at peace about the decision.”

I wanted to call her an idiot, but I didn’t. Instead, I moved on to another topic and caught up with her current life. I did think about her given rationale while we were talking. I decided that she, like many of us, live our lives through our emotions and feelings. We come to our decisions based solely upon a personal analysis of the chemical sensations known as emotion.

To Live By our Emotions

But is this the right way to live…

Guided by our emotions?

Any rational human being reading this would say “no”. But then he or she would go out and make important decisions based upon what they feel is right or what they want. He’ll buy an iPhone because he wants it and feels like it will make him more productive. She’ll buy fat-free salad dressing because it makes her feel healthier. We don’t necessarily want to be safer, healthier or more productive. We just want to feel as if it is so.

So I ask..

Is there any other way to live?

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What if it was only 10 minutes?

From my own experience, I have noticed that we do not like free time. We like the idea of free time, but we can’t stand it when we create it for ourselves. I might leave from work 20 minutes early so I have a little more free time at home… but what do I do once I get there?

I fill up the time with some unimportant task.

10 Ways To Save 10 Minutes

Monday, I read an article called, 10 ways to save 10 minutes, from Marc and Angel Hack Life. I am extremely appreciative that I took the time to read this article as I am applying many of its principles into my life.  It gives you a few examples, such as buying in bulk and organizing your space, to help increase productivity in your life so that you have more free time.

But it made me wonder what we would do with our extra free time.

Invest In Things Or Relationships?

Before you start applying these principles into your life, you must decide what exactly you plan to do with your extra time. Will you invest more into Guitar Hero or will you  invest more into the relationships that are in your world?

I do not think there is anything wrong with becoming an expert in Guitar Hero or any other leisure activity. These are relaxing and beneficial things that you enjoy, but they shouldn’t be the reason why you create free time.

They are just things.

Our living communities should be our focus.

Our Misplaced Priority In Relationships.

I have noticed that we ideally place the relationships in our communities as a high priority, but then they are easily pushed to the side when it comes to accomplishing tasks. We like the idea of developing deeper relationships, but not the practice of it. It is easier to spend time with some non-living object who can’t get in your face.

Therefore, we have put our focus on things when the original purpose of these things are to help develop our relationships.

Who Would You Spend 10 Extra Minutes With?

Imagine if you had ten minutes of earned time that you gave to someone with whom you cared. How would that affect your relationship with them? I dream of having more time to spend outside playing with my two boys. There is a lot I can teach them in 10 minutes. We could even use the time to run around the yard pretending to be airplanes. Even though we would enjoy all the extra time we spend with these activities, it doesn’t add up to the most important thing built up by the time spent.

The knowing and sharing of love.

My desire for my free time is for those whom are inside my world, what is yours?

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It is one of the shortest sentences in the English language, but it is one of the most difficult to let out of your mouth. We really hate saying it. Some people might go throughout their entire lives without uttering it to anyone. Then again, these people probably don’t have many close friends. Beyond wanting to hear it, we all need to hear and say this one powerful sentence.

I am sorry.

It is funny to watch the lengths that we go in order to not say “im sorry”. We buy flowers or we cook an extra special dinner. We might even give a 40 minute foot massage, but it is so hard to say im sorry.

It is the humility that is required when we give an apology. It breaks our spirit and it hurts our pride. We have to admit out loud that we were wrong.

I hate being wrong. In my world, I am never wrong. I am always right in my present moment. But when I apologize, I am in my present moment publicly admitting that I was wrong..

and it is completely out there

For

everyone

to

hear.

The famous cliche tells us that action speaks louder than words, and I agree. generally. But when it comes to broken relationships and torn friendships, there is nothing more powerful than one sentence. When it is someone that you deeply care about locking the door and forever removing you from their lives… They want to hear one small sentence and nothing else.

I am sorry .

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• Read My Bible
• Pray
• Print Resumes
• Submit Job Applications
• Walk
• Do Sit-Ups
• Work On One Web Site
• Work On Another Web Site
• Prepare A Life Study Class
• Prepare A Worship Set
• Talk To My Pastor
• Call My Family
• Think About My Boys
• Play Rockband

What Are My Goals?

• Find A Job
• Get Involved In My Church
• Become An Expert On Rockband
• Start A Real Band
• Finish My Children’s Book
• Get More Freelance Prospects
• Twitter More Often
• Reinvolve Myself In StumbleUpon
• Grow My Relationship with My Boys

You think I need to cut a few things out? 

Life gets busy with unimportant things quick. Instead of simplifying our lives and focusing on the relationships and the things that matter most, We always create busyness and unnecessary goals.

What would happen if you stopped adding goals into your life and focused on cutting out everything but what is supremely important? How would it impact your current relationships?

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Why do people want to learn?

Right now, I am sitting in the public library in my hometown. It is actually a very nice library with free wi-fi, a busy coffeshop and is centrally located in the cultural portion of downtown. Every time I come in here, there is always a crowd inside its walls. Some individuals are chatting outside in the lobby or coffee shop, others are surfing the web, and a small minority are actually reading books. But even though everyone in the library might be doing different things, we are all here for one reason.

To learn.

Even outside of the library, you might be surprised at how often you are doing a task in hopes that you might be learning something. Every time you go on the internet, you are seeking to learn. Every time you talk to a new person, you are seeking to learn. Every time you read a posted flier on a wall, you are seeking to learn. It is funny how so many of us after graduation have given up on formal learning, but deep inside we are seeking every opportunity to learn.

But why do we want to learn?

Could it be for love?

I believe the reason why we continuously seek out new information is so we can be loved. Every time we google some random subject, inside we are hoping that someone will appreciate the knowledge we have learned and then will share a smile with us. It is human nature for us to use our minds and intellect to get the things we want.

Why would it be different for love?

It is funny how everything comes back to love.

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Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Jesus

Hello Everyone.

It has been a long time since the last alt.noise article was posted, and I want to give my apologies to you, the readers. Life is full of unexpected situations and we can define ourselves by the choices we make in them.

I am fully recovered from the cold that beat me up since the last time I wrote an article. There have also been several other major impacts in my life that has affected my thinking and philosophy on this blog.

Lost Opportunity

Two months ago, I was going through the motions to obtain a youth pastor position at a church when I got a phone call from the senior pastor. He and a committee member had ventured over to this blog and read through it. They found several articles that they believed were uncharacteristic of an individual they would want to be leading their church. During the conversation, I was notified that they will not be hosting me to come for a visit with them.

It was a blow.

Financial Stress

Now, my family is going through a difficult time. My wife has a comfortable spot with her career, but I am only working 30 hours a week in a low-paying job. We are getting through it, but 2008 has become a hard trial for our family. Through it all, I am trying to keep my face above water and remain faithful in God’s power.

What Is Jesus’ Righteousness

One verse that has stuck with me over the past couple of months is Matthew 6:33.

But seek first His Kingdom and Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In context of the chapter, it seems as if Jesus is telling us to not worry about food, work or clothes. He will provide for them as we need it.

This sounds great, but I don’t believe it is the complete interpretation of what he meant.

It is important to understand what Jesus meant when he said His Kingdom and Righteousness. These are the objects of what we are to be seeking.

Many people would quickly assume that Jesus is talking about Heaven and therefore would read, “Seek ye first to get to heaven and all these things would be given to you.” But this is not what Jesus was referring too.

More Than Heaven

This verse sits in the middle of the famous Sermon On The Mount. It is in these verses that he tells us how His Kingdom and Righteousness would be fleshed out. If we do the things that he tells us then God will find the way to provide for our needs.

Read through Matthew 5-7 and listen to how Jesus describes His Righteousness.

The 5 Elements Of Jesus Righteousness

If you read carefully, there are 5 general subjects that he discusses.

• Compassion
• Love
• Faithfulness
• humility
• forgiveness.

These are the elements that Jesus used to define His righteousness and wants us to seek first. He is not telling us to throw away all of our groceries and become hermits, but live with compassion and faithfulness in all of our relationships throughout our day.

A Difficult Transformation

This understanding of the verse is creating a difficult transformation in this time of my life. It is in this hard time when the world keeps shoving my face into the mud that I want to forget my principles of compassion and trip the world’s legs into the mud. But through faith and commitment, God is showing me a new truth about truly having righteousness in my real relationships.

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