Have you ever felt like you lived in a land of smurfs? Everyone around you is blue, maybe because they want to be part of some Broadway phenomenon or maybe because they are gasping for the oxygen that for some reason they can't reach; regardless of the reason, they are all blue. They all share a strange community and speak in a strange language. You are in the middle of it but it all seems odd. These blue people wear diapers. Why? Are they untrained infants? Are they too lazy to wear big boy pants? Or are they honoring the late Mycaeneans of Ancient times who used leather loin clothes to protect themselves from the abrasiveness of nature? Who knows. Who knows the significance of blue skin, unfamiliar vocabularies, and childlike dress? But on certain days, one can feel overwhelmed and completely intrigued by the smurfs that surround him...Especially when he looks in the mirror and sees that he, in fact, is not blue!

Do you ever feel that it's time to move on? I do. I feel that way a lot, actually. The feeling is not negative. It isn't anxious or hurried, rather it is an oh so familiar nudge to take the next step in this mysterious journey. When the smurfs come out, I know that it is time to focus, be diligent, and open my ears in order to hear my next set of directions. I have come to like the blue people. They are funny. They give me reason to buck up and be smart about life. They provide entertainment and they force me to think deeply about what is important. Whether they know it or not, the smurfs are very significant beings.
I am fascinated by people, creatures of habit. And the saying is true; Birds of a feather really do stick together. In this world there are many different types of birds: birds that eat fish, birds that make beautiful music, graceful birds, and even smurf (blue) birds. I ask myself, what kind of bird am I? I hope that I am the type that makes beautiful music, and the type that gracefully glides through the air without a care in the world. I hope that when the temperatures drop and the sky turns from blue to gray, I will be the bird with enough wisdom to migrate to a warmer, bluer place.

Like the blue birds, and the blue people, I seek comfort. I desire to be fed by the well-spring of knowledge and find freedom in the warmth of a new day's sun (Son). However, I am challenged by this world to be a nonconformist. The world doesn't know that it brings this challenge, but it does. While I love the color blue, I want to be different. I want to dig beneath the ground that I am expected to tread and find the hidden treasures that are discovered by a select few. Only those who are willing to throw it all to chance and take the risks that life will bring, will find that which lies deep in the crevices of an all too familiar land. My head aches with the thoughts of possibility and my eyes burn with vision. I try to sleep and relieve the pain, but it remains-a constant reminder that there is more.