We All Should Care

Accept the call for a deeper purpose.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written here. It’s not that I’ve been too busy, it’s not that I didn’t want to, it’s just that I’m not as good at this as the rest of the writers on this site.

Todays topic comes from the thoughts that dance in my head just before I drift off to sleep. This one came to me three days ago.

If there was a way to stop time, would you? Would it be wise? What would you stop time for?

I would stop time for two things. Concerts and a lover.

The lover might be more understandable and accepted, so I’ll start there.

Laying in bed with the sunlight streaming in your window on a Sunday morning after a long night of lovemaking… Tell me you don’t want to stop time?

…If it were only so easy to stop time or bottle it… To sell it would be more precious than gold.

The concerts? When I’m at a concert and I look up into the lights (usually when they’re blue) I want to stop time, embrace and memorize the situation and never leave. It’s those moments that make me miss performing so much.

So what would you stop time for? If you could. How long before you would start it back up again? If ever.

[image courtesy google.com/images]

It’s been a while, since I’ve spoken of Spencer Bell here, and perhaps you’re wondering why, since I did, in all honestly promise a post a day for Spencer.

It hasn’t been that I’m being a slacker, it hasn’t been that I’ve lost the passion to show his legacy to the world, it’s that he deserves so much more than a lukewarm, mediocre post daily.

Quality over quantity if you will.

So why now,right? Why today?

Because after finding out that my grandmother is dying of cancer, reading Richard Bach, reflecting on so many things in this life…
I have been hit with something very bittersweet.

Bach believes, as I always have, that once your purpose on this planet is finished, that you leave this world.
Maybe to begin again elsewhere, maybe to look over the ones you love, all of that is left up to your belief system.

My point? If you’re still here, your purpose is unfulfilled.

Spencer not being with us, hurts so many,(His family, and friends that I cannot thank enough for sharing him with the world) and even though I have a harder time grasping someone being taken from this world so young, maybe he had fulfilled his destiny, his purpose.

Maybe it was to enlighten many about art, and how it should be.
Even though he was extremely talented, he was a firm believer, that music, and any art really, comes from the heart, the soul, it doesn’t matter if the rest of the world thinks you’re good at it, so long as you love it, and are impassioned by it.

That alone is inspirational.

His wit, his bravery, his unwavering sense of self that is very clear in his legacy, it is awe inspiring.

I know that nothing can bring those that were close to him comfort, that they miss him EVERY SINGLE DAY, every minute of every day, and that no reasoning in this world is good enough that he isn’t here.
That nothing eases the pain, the void that is abundantly clear every time something happens that makes them think of Spencer.

I also know that my mere words falter, so often, that if people could read solely what is written upon my heart, and embedded in my soul, that this message would come out more eloquently….

Since finding his Legacy, Spencer Bell has touched my life in ways that are hard for me to explain. He picked me up when I didn’t think I could stand, and forced me to persevere when I wanted to quit.
His legacy has introduced me to friends that I know will last a lifetime, his words, his art, his music resonate more loudly, more beautifully than the most professionally composed symphony.

Once again, Jackson Rathbone (FRIEND of Spencer Bell, human being), said it better than I could ever put it: ” my hero was much younger than I when my hero was immortalized… ” and then “…there’s no grave for the soul no vinyl coffin made of gold”

Every Friday, we have deemed “Spencer Bell Day” on Twitter.. but quite honestly, we should celebrate the life that this young man had, every day. When I started using the hashtag #spencerbellislegendary I meant it very literally.

Nothing, not even death, can hold him back from expressing the depth, the intensity, the erring human soul, that was and IS forevermore Spencer Bell.

[[image courtesy of spencerbellmemorial.ning.com]]

Why can’t I get a great job to cover all my bills? Why did my ex get over me so quickly? Why do friends move on? Why did I or a loved one spend their entire life doing nothing but give, give, give only to end up with some horrible, debilitating or deadly disease? Why must we suffer? Why? Why? Why?

These and countless others are questions we ask ourselves in our many, and quite varied lives. It seems sometimes that life becomes far too much a burden to handle. Even I, the great and powerful Damij sometimes gets overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of all the unanswered questions and endless fall-backs and shortcomings that permeate the foundation of our existence.

We are matter made conscious by whatever means. Particles that formed together to become aware and to identify as “self” and as amazing a process as it is, it often leaves us empty.  Our individuality often leaves us feeling lonely or scared.

A great many people choose some religious or spiritual method in trying to cope with the harsh reality we face every day. There are many others that choose more secular methods and I imagine that there are probably still other who simply never even think that deeply and don’t really care one way or another.

I do realize that I ramble so I will get on with it.

The point that I am trying to make is we are trapped inside these human bodies and with our human consciousness, we have only a very limited perception of what reality actually is. It is difficult for us to understand that sometimes things go on the universe that is not only outside our understanding but also outside our ability to be aware of it. I feel that we are all connected in some way or another, since we are all a part of this universe in which we live. When you have all those questions going through your mind, just go outside and look up into the sky and just think about how even though we are but a blip in the existence of the universe, what choices we make determine the impact on the people that are with us in our lives.That makes us important, I think.

There is simply so much in our lives that we cannot change.  If i could heal all the sick and feed all the hungry and answer all the questions that we all have in and about our lives then by damn I can guarantee you that I wouldn’t be busting my ass all day for minimum wage. With as big of a geek as I am, I’d probably go to the trouble of getting a really cool cape if i could afford it but  for all those things we cannot change, there are many things that we do have the ability to alter. Do your best, that’s all I ask. I may not know you but I have faith in you. I may be walking a different path than yours but I know we have probably often taken similar steps along the way.

I’m going to be thinking about you…yeah you *points*

So what are some of the questions that you all have out there in internet land? Sometimes it feels good just to get it all out, ya know?  Just don’t ask what I’m on, I swear I’m sober. lol

So all of you that read this blog, know by now that Damij writes for We All Should Care, but did you know that he’s a musician as well?
If I don’t show my love and support for my friends, and their passions, their talents, then everything I do in my life, all the soap boxing, it’s all in vain.
Supporting my friends is what I do. Although, if you ask Damij, he maaaay just tell you I’m a tad, pushy. *Laugh* Regardless, it’s because I know he houses greatness. It’s true. Don’t believe me?
Check it out! :

Scroll over it, and it will allow you to play the music as well. It’s quite, what’s the word he used? Nifty. Yeah, that’s it.
I love it!
In fact it will find it’s way to my myspace page as well, I’m sure.

We’re all very proud of you Damij, for taking that step off the curb, even though it’s scary. You’re meant for greatness, remember that.

Alright, where are my fellow “tweeters” at?
That either sounds dirty, or like we’re druggies. Either way lol
Come join me on Twitter today, as I have declared it Spencer Bell Day!
We are going to get the trending topic to be #spencerbellislegendary, and tweet about how incredible his legacy is, all day.
With bouts of humor, probably dreadful jokes mixed in, and lots of heart felt emotion.
My Spencerian Army thus far?
Add us all.

@SpencerBell

@Willow_Raine

@taylor_blue

@hello_jodie

@Damij

@pconway6

We’d appreciate the help, love,and support for Spencer, and Adrenal Cancer Awareness.

If there is one thing I hate in this world (oh, lord, who am I kidding, there’s way more than one thing I hate in this world) it’s people who jump on bandwagons.

For those who are a little lost on what I’m talking about, Princeton’s example from their website defines a bandwagon as “a popular trend that attracts growing support; “when they saw how things were going everybody jumped on the bandwagon”.”

I’ve mostly experienced bandwagoners (yes, I just made that word up) with musical acts. The greatest example of bandwagonism (yep, made up that one too) that stands out in my opinion? In 2002 my [at the time] friends and I met Uncle Kracker and Kid Rock. While I had already had Kid Rock’s album for a very long time, after the Uncle Kracker and Kid shows, my friends went out and bought their entire musical catalogue. Even though they were more into boy bands at the time, just because we met them.

I’m not sure if they thought it would impress them the next time we met them, or what. It pissed me off, that’s all I know. They didn’t genuinely like them, they were disgusted with Uncle Kracker just hours before we met him, so what changed? A bandwagon.

These ‘friends’ proceeded to do that with many musical artists.

I feel that if you attend a concert and are introduced to new music that you actually like, sure, go ahead and buy their sounds. But, I think you should be honest with yourself and not try and impress others or the band because you’re going to end up looking like a fool to others.

I also have found a lot of bandwagoners with the vampire community. The vampire community has been around for many, many years and now it seems that everyone is jumping on the blood-suckers movement. I can say in all honesty that I have been obsessed with vampires since I was a little girl. While everyone was dressing up as princesses and fairies, I was a vampire. While everyone was watching Cinderella, I was watching Interview with a Vampire.

Please don’t get me wrong, I love turning people onto Anne Rice and Twilight more than anything in this world, but I feel that that is more like opening their eyes, not setting them on a bandwagon and telling them to go to the fair.

My current bandwagon complaint is about people who wear plaid for it’s popularity. These are the same people who made fun of Jackson Rathbone and Robert Pattinson just months earlier for living in plaid. Meanwhile, I want to point to my plaid shoes, of which I’ve admired for years.

The title of this post comes from a lyric in Fall Out Boy’s “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” in which Pete Wentz wrote the song when he was frustrated with the “emo scene” that the band was associated with. The lyrics refer to those who blindly followed the trend.

I think that everyone needs to sit back, relax and like things for liking them. Not because it’s Cosmopolitan’s hot pick of the month, not because some blogger told you to buy it, not because there are screaming fangirls all over it, but because it’s awesome, because it fits your unique personality and because you want to. You’ll be happier and more zen that way. I promise.

[[image courtesy of google.com/images]]

I’ve made a pledge. A Pledge to get people to care. I intend on keeping my word, and yet I know it won’t be easy.
I’ve been writing on another site about Spencer Bell, and when I got this site up and running, I knew he had to be my first actual post. He is a young man that was taken well before his time due to Adrenal Cancer. Talented, an artisan, a beautiful soul. He deserves to have his legacy live on.
Before his passing in December of 2006, he made arrangements with his mother to have his works, his art, displayed to the world.
They are all very moving, and were, for me, life altering.
You can learn more about him HERE.
If you’ll notice the picture at the top of the page, that is my wrist, and on it, is a bracelet that says ‘The Music Lives On’ on one side, and on the other, is Spencer’s Memorial Site address.
If you haven’t heard of Spencer, you truly are missing out on beautiful masterpieces, touching stories, some that will make you laugh, others that will touch your heart and make you cry.
He may not be with us in his physical body, but he lives on, through his family, his friends, his fans, and last but certainly not least, his art.
So, I thought, “Hey! I have a great idea!” And thus, my outreach was born.
I have forty bracelets, just like the one that I have on my wrist, to pass out, to the first forty people who go to Spencer’s site, and fill out a profile, listen to his music, read his lyrics,journal entries, and look at his art. Get to know him. Report back to me with your link, your favorite piece, or story that you read about him,and I’ll send you a bracelet. (Not to mention that your soul was fed as well. It’s a win/win).
Then I’m going to forward each of your heart felt messages on, to his family. I know that your words, your feelings, and thoughts would touch them, help them to know that Spencer’s story is being shared around the world. That through him, through them, people will learn about Adrenal Cancer, and we WILL make a difference.

Update: Yes you have seen this post before, but it bears repeating since some people won’t scroll back through all of the awesome articles. Go, get to know Spencer and then report back to me on what you love, like, are impassioned by in his works. Go ahead, I’ll wait