What’s something that everyone needs but doesn’t know it?

I’ll speak for the general population; simplicity. While consumerism runs rampant and technology increasingly grows more advanced, we are losing ourselves. What is the number one form of communication in the world? Speech. What is the fastest growing form? SMS. Short message service. Texting. In the fourth quarter of 2008, U.S. teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 texts per month, that’s 80 per day. This figure is expected to climb 47% by the end of the fourth quarter in 2009. That pushes our numbers to 3,340 a month. That’s 110 texts a day. Phone companies offer unlimited texting packages for those of us pushing the boundaries. I gave you avg numbers, that means; out there somewhere, there is someone burning through 15,000 text messages a month. That’s 493 per day.

Ok let’s examine this. How can text culture change so rapidly? Why because people are concerned in getting answers. Texting allows us to get to the “meat” of the conversation. You may ask when? Where? How? Why? Each response giving you exactly what you needed, no beating around the bush. Instead of calling mom and talking to her for hours about how her week is going, all the while dropping hints your broke and needing some scrilla…cause you just HAD to buy that shamwow. You can just send her a good ole’ informal text. “Say ma, can u hook me up with some lettuce?” (if your mom knows what this means, she’s far more hip than mine) Exactly to the point. Have you noticed how in normal face to face conversations you’ll hear someone slip in an LOL, maybe an OMG, possibly a TTYL, and if your lucky the motherload, ROTFLMFAO. What the heck people? Is communicating the way you feel about someone/something been reduced to acronyms? We can no longer take the nessacary time to explain in detail our conveyance? Not to mention, texting is only text. No voice inflection. No dramatic pauses. No eagerness, suprise, or happiness. If you just thought to yourself, I have “emoticons” for that, then beam yourself up to the USS Enterprise and freaking leave this blog you nerd.

I remember when I used to get phone calls from people other than bill collectors. The phone would ring, the anticipation builds, who is it?! Who is dialing the magic telephonic numbers that have lead them to me? Maybe it’s Darrell, pronounced, “Durel.” You answer. Hello. Here is the point where you actually talk to each other. Yes, it’s a long lost art. It’s like tennis. We volley. I send one over, you send one over, no one gets hurt and we call it a day. (unless it’s a DTR) I always hated those. There are few things you should text, here is an acceptable list: 5. Your food order 4. Directions 3. Letting someone know you got home after a late evening. 2.Your location 1. Breaking up with your spouse

People, if it’s really important, don’t text it. Love. Live. Lead. -jOshua

Hope is an essential part of who we are. My dictionary defines it as, “intend with some possibility of fulfilment.” I, however, tend to think that hope is more than that. To me, it’s a larger than life interpretation of anticipation for change in a positive direction. To some people hope is a weapon of mass destruction. I “hope” they get hit by a car, I “hope” they get what’s coming. Where’s ol’ Dubbya when you need him? (Did we ever really need him?) As a child hope embodies wishes for presents, snowdays, allowance increases, the desires of our hearts. As an adult, hope tends to take on new meaning. Better jobs, newer cars, and pay raises. But aren’t these things really one in the same? We have forgotten the true essence of true hope. Being set free. Let that one marinate. Being set free. What if you let hope give you life instead of your life making you hope? Instead of desiring material things, what if you decided to let hope be something bigger? Something better? We can hope people feel love. We can set our hopes to needy, the weary, the restless. Everyone has it, you just may need to…adjust it. Think on a higher level. If you knew you were never going to die, would this effect the way you hope?

A lot of people equate hope to change, however change can be for the good or bad. I’m talking about radical positive change in ones self perceptions. To realize we are more than who we think we are. We have the power to change peoples lives, hope has the power to change lives people! I’ve lived with no hope for a long time and It’s quite miserable. Step outside of your comfort zone and inspire someone. Hope is a chain of ideals that progressively changes lives. What are you hopeful for? Isn’t there more to life than a shallow man’s hopes? I tend to beleive so. Everyones days are numbered. Death is always lurking, so in the mean time inspire! I’ll probably live to be about 75, that leaves me with about 17, 870 days left to inspire change in peoples lives. It’s never a day to late to start. We are all in this life TOGETHER. You. Me. Them. They. Us. Even the french, ;) Live this life to the fullest. Love. Live. Lead. -jOshua