Passerby

"How did it turn out?" A voice cut through the cold night, making my bent knees try to jump, holding back in fear of nudging the supports keeping the camera in place. I took one last glance through the view finder, two clicks to darken the exposure, set the timer and release the shutter.

"We'll find out in a moment." I grunted as I straightened my knees and took my first glance at the passerby. As the camera flashed and clicked into motion, I stood in silence, glaring at a pale face, reflecting the florescent lights which lighted the underpass, mildly grinning at either my remark, or perhaps the grunting involved, gratis, with my attempt to set my knees straight. It was beginning to be awkward, but soon the two second exposure elapsed and with another click, the camera closed its eye. Her brow raised, diverting her glance at the miniature display at the rear of the camera. "Let's take a look."

My body couldn't help from shaking nervously so I rubbed my hands together with vigor, as to suggest that I'm cold. In reality, it felt suddenly warm and my face was probably slightly flushed. I stalled for a moment, slowly unlatching the camera from the tripod, taking a deep breath while raising it to eye level. "Not too bad." she whispered again. I grunted in agreement, but honestly I couldn't make out the image. All I saw was her face at the back of my mind, dressed in black eyeshadow and a dark red shade on her lips. Her hair was held back by a carefully folded handkerchief, escaping in curls from the back. "Can I see what else you have on there?" I answered in a quick "yep" and handed over my apparatus.

I watched her lean against the nearby wall, and slide unto the floor. In the mean time, I reached into my pocket and withdrew a tin and lighter. With a cigarette between my lips, my thumb flicked a flame into existence. Two puffs and I met her confused stare. "How do I work this?" I chuckled, reaching for the camera extended in my direction, while handing the tin to her reaching small hand. Soon I was sitting next to her, on the cold concrete floor, with my feet planted firmly as to match hers. She pushed on the edge of the camera, cuing me to tilt the screen her way, then reached over to steal the lighter, still in my grasp.

"Vanilla, eh?" I was told it was the scent that men respond to the best, next to cheese. She must have known, but fortunately chose the Vanilla. Her smile echoed as she laughed under her breath, leaning in a bit closer.

"It's cold, right?"

We sat there, glancing through the various photographs that I had yet to transfer off the camera. Some better then others, but she seemed interested non-the-less, sharing stories of which she was reminded of through out the slide show, as the light above us flickered on and off.
"So, do you make a hobby of bugging random folks taking pictures in empty underpasses?"

"From time to time, have to keep life spontaneous somehow right?"

"Of course," I agreed, noticing her look down at her phone for the time. It was closing in on four in the morning, late enough to stir her to her feet. "Need a ride somewhere?" She declined, pointing that she's not to far past the opposite end of the corridor. She shook my hand and made her way down. Delaying a moment longer, I slowly compressed the tripod, looking up to catch her blindly waving goodbye.

Her name was Gail.

Limited Warranty

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The pen itself cost $4.44

No Questions Asked

Looking at my routine day, I find
myself reflecting on the choices of
my recent past. Much of the doings
labeled as impulsive acts, resting on little
experience. Yet, it is these choices
that I pride the most. Now, between
puddles and thunder I smile each
time my hand consciously shifts
through gears, a feeling I sought
out with no prior experience and
perhaps even a slight worry that I
was subconsciously inflating the
worth of. Other impulsive acts have
lead me to yearn for a snow covered
hill, so that I may strap a board to
my feet and slalom through the
fresh powder. A thought that instantly
invaded my mind, now entertaining
me during the sunless months.
For leisure, I now frame my thoughts
in the view finder, celebrating yet
another hobby which seems to have
no legitimate parent. Simply a choice
bred in dreams. I have always loved
these things, even before having the
tools to act out. There was no question
in my mind that suggests otherwise.
Perhaps sometimes it's best not to ask
questions, or inversely interpret them
as doubt and possible warnings.

Relativity

Einstein, and others, have gifted us with a wonderful thought that seems to not get enough attention from the philosophical world. "distance and time depend on the observer, and that time and space are perceived differently, depending on the observer."

My application of this concept is aimed toward the idea of an instant. During a discussion about the all-knowing-ness of God, someone made a comment that seems to have struck a chord with me. It is said that God knows exactly what we are going to do, contrary to the popular belief most hold regarding free will. At this point, someone introduced me to the thought that relevant to Him, our lives begin and end in an instant. If it would be accepted that God does not exist in any one time, but rather spans the spectrum of future and past, it would be possible for, what we have labeled, destiny and free will to co-exist.

I'm not here to talk about that, however. While I still can't find reasoning that would prove our Creator as "lacking flaws", this may be the closest that I can currently get. Suppose that our creation, evolution and even death, is part of an instant during which our engineering is taking place. Even if our perfect creation occurred in exactly a split second, would it be perceived to us in the same way? Perhaps the moment that our consciousness began to even remotely come together, so did our relativity.

If this is the case, imagine how much progress we have made in our Gods instant. My vision is that by the time we're done, we too will have created an instant of our own. After all, if God is in fact powerful beyond our understanding, would our final state not lead us to the same scope of doing? Consider that in the instant that we finally do create the perfect sub-universe, it will in fact expand, learn and engineer one of its own.

Relativity may in this case suggest that we will never run out time when all we really need is an instants.

Forbiden Topic

Often time it is said that we will never fully understand the concept of God, as He is too complex for us to fathom. It seems to be a reoccurring argument that God is the greatest that anything could be, and yet he seems to have not given his children the ability to fully grasp his understanding.

Consider our own offspring and the infamous question "Where do baby's come from?" As parents, or even society, we provide as complete of an overview of the process as possible. It is until the question develops to "Where did we all come from?" do we stutter and offer, at best, ideas that we may have concocted. I believe that any parent, if infused with the answer, would provide the details to their children. However, humans have apparently been denied the possibility to completely understand God's existence. Furthermore, there seems to be the same disability for God to provide us with answers as we have as parents, mentors, as beings.

This raises a question in my mind regarding the omnipotence of God. Clearly there is limitation to his power and flaws to his character. The flaws are perhaps most clearly visible when we consider our own lacking. Why should we be created in a way that is unable to understand our own creation? Was this beyond His limitations, or is He perhaps feel that we are unworthy of this gift? Does he value himself so highly as to deny us the ability to love Him in the same way we love our family? I feel that either of those points suggest that the traditional God of the western world is in fact not perfect, but shares the same concept of vanity, pride or at least the limitations of creation.

On the other hand, perhaps He is neither vain nor proud. Perhaps he understands, much like any other parent, that one day the child will grow up and need to leave its home. Maybe He understands the pain and discomfort associated with fending for oneself and in turn realizes that it may be best for us not to know of his existence. Perhaps we were given free will, and the lack of understanding as a symbol of our release.

Obviously, both of these ideas can derive others along those same lines. To me it seems apparent that in order for the Creator to be free of flaw, there must be no demand of allegiance or sacrifice. However, it is also simple to consider that if God does wish us worship him in a neutral way, there was clearly a design flaw to make us unable to comprehend his existence fully.

There is, however another idea, which may rest slightly better with many, but still stir the feathers of those whom have dedicated their life to faith and unquestionable belief. That idea, unfortunately, will be left for another day.

Words

I can not find the words describe
Some the stories I imbibe.
The meaning I assume imply
They were my doing - not a lie.
Other tasks have long been told.
Words of fiction typed in bold.
Padded, to be dipped in gold.
Not to me have they been sold.
Times not forced to be recapped
Yet in mind, living trapped.
Memories which have been mapped
The truest ones, selfishly kept.

Reason

We often times talk ourselves into being something we're not.
My drunken state can form clear thoughts and make decisions,
with some focus and effort exerted on my behalf. Dreams are
different. In my dreams my guardian came to me and held me
back. Just knowing that she was there made a world of difference.
I tried to reason myself awake but my dream took over.
It took me to a familiar place, yet I didn't recognize it. A joy
came over me as though I belonged there, a feeling I've only
felt once before. I slowly began to wake up, finding myself
trying to hold onto my dream. Perhaps if I make it a memory
it will change me. I'll reason that it wasn't a dream, but an
experience.