Oh, dear girl,

why are you so sad?

"My cherry ribbon

my hips does not go 'round."

Oh, dear girl,

why are you crying?

"My cheery ribbon

your heart can't tie."

Oh, sweet girl,

be sad no more,

for you have my heart.

Legend has it that we are all tied

to a cherry thread in our finger

connected to our hearts...

Does not matter

if your ribbon can not go

'round your hips,

for my hands

can wrap you in burning love

Always remember

that souls are destined to meet

to converge

to unite

and to prevail

Dear girl, be sad no more

For your cherry ribbon

Has wrapped my entire soul...

DA 2013

The Rise of Soul in Social Media.

For many years the superficial has reigned supreme in the war for our collective attention. Fought on the digital battlefields of social media platforms, selfies, post workout pics, and faces that would make Zoolander cringe, captivated more of us than we would like to admit. Entire days of our precious lives have been unceremoniously sacrificed for a rush of endorphins delivered by meaningless memes, valueless vines, and goofy GIF’s. Many of us can relate to falling victim to mindless scrolling and clicking leading you unwilling through a web of connections before landing on your friends-sisters-friends-boyfriends-brothers-cousin Halloween picture from 2009. There is no shame in having survived these trying times. The dark age is over and change is upon us. Evolution is taking place right under our screens. Social Media is developing a soul.

Finding the begining of the shift will prove difficult. Some will say it was the cats. Claiming their antics that once drove us to ecstatic emotional peaks, eventually awoke us to the reality that we have missed three meals and at least two bathroom breaks as we compulsively consumed their meows. Others will point fingers to the “women of instagram” as the breakers of the camel’s delicate back. These women with their divinely sculpted figures, clad in the finest jewels, and skimpiest clothes, some will say that these women were the metaphorical angry girlfriend that broke their metaphorical boyfriends phone and ended the metaphorical spell. Regardless of excessive use of metaphors or the unknown origin of the shift, the fact is it is happening. For a number of reasons.

Our palate for content is being refined. With the abundance of options we are becoming more aware of what we really want. And no it is not Kim K’s duck face. Or ass for that matter, though many would say it is a work of art. We are seeking connection, discovery, and soul. We wish to witness a manifestation of the imagination that has never before been materialized. To see the world from an angle never before captured. Read a series of words that conveys a message that represents something you have always known to be true but needed to see it in this way to fully own your own brilliance.

Self-expression is becoming more complicated, intricate, and authentic. Peer pressure is pushing us to expose more of who we are, to be more vulnerable, more complete more whole. We are being forced to expand our creativity and comfort zone if we wish to keep up with the ever-accelerating train of “being trending”. As a result of that expansion the social atmosphere has changed. The air has become conducive to the creative’s, types who would normally happily remain in their burrows. We are now observing the emergence of introverts, rising from their dens to bless the world with their gifts. Authors, artists, photographers, misfits, madmen, and dreamers are dancing fearlessly on the collective dance floor.

The soul in social media has not fully formed; it is only beginning to emerge. We are seeing in its wake, that new platforms designed specifically with the soul in mind, are grooving onto the scene. As they do, the carvers of culture, wielders of worlds, and bearers of knowledge both ancient and new join their ranks, eager to rain in this new reign. The time is now to turn inside. Open all the drawers and compartments and let it pour out onto a page. Make room for the soul. It will be trending before too long.

Serve up a salad of laughs.

Spray tomato sauce all over the build-a-bear man because he said so.

Run fast over a slippery surface and shout "purple cranes".

Spill coffee on your brand new pant legs and cheer with great joy. Pick up a stack of papers and make them into a house for a family of frogs.

Tickle a frat boy, jump over a bongo drum, listen to a Larry, overturn a lamp post for no other reason other than you feel like doing it and life is short, your last breathe could come at any moment and if it was not filled with fun than what was life lived for.

Bins of burning posters purposefully send smoke into the sky. For what purpose who is to say, we only know it has a purpose because it is happening, and things that happen have purposes. The smoke is thick with chemicals and faded memories. The posters had seen a lot in their time. Drunken college nights, adoring eyes of teenage dreamers, and the sloppy nests of those birds who dared not spread their wings and fly. As the smoke continued to pollute the air a man walked up and began to warm his hands. Finally the posters purpose has been served.