We All Should Care

Accept the call for a deeper purpose.

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]]

I met an amazing man today, but forgot, like the winner that I am, to ask his name. He had been sitting in front of the Walmart entrance since 9 A.M (it was 5 p.m by the time I made his acquaintance) taking up donations for a remarkable organization.
One that I didn’t even know existed, but since hearing about it, I can say that I am beyond proud to be a residence of the Charlotte metro area.
The organization? U.C.A.R.E (United Cancer Alliance Reaching Everyone).

Their Mission Statement as taken from U.C.A.R.E:

“United Cancer Alliance Reaching Everyone, Inc. (U.C.A.R.E.) is a non-profit organization, founded in Concord, NC and is based in Charlotte, NC. U.C.A.R.E. was organized to provide financial assistance to individuals and the families of individuals receiving cancer treatment in the Charlotte, North Carolina Metropolitan Area and vicinity.”

How can you help? Well, I’m glad that you asked!

* You can DONATE to the cause

* You can Volunteer to help spread the word and collect donations

* If you own or operate a business, you can become a Sponsor

You don’t have to live in or around the Charlotte, NC. Metro area to help, donations are accepted from all over.
The only requirement is that you have a giving heart.

It’s beautiful when people reach out to help those in their community, see, there IS good in this world, you just have to look a little closer.

Recently, I have found myself once again single and let me tell you, I am at a loss! From the time I was 18(which honestly, I was mere days from being 19 when I had my first, real girlfriend/relationship), I have been in one kind of relationship or another with only a small bit of time elapsing between them and now, here I stand again feeling the way I did all those years ago.

I feel awkward and confused. I don’t really know how to spend my days and my nights are rather boring as well. I have been trying to bury myself in my job and now that I have my studio set up again, I shall soon be burying myself in yummy, yummy sounds. Through all this fear and confusion, I am seeing a bright light at the end of the tunnel…the prospect of once again finding out who “I” am. Currently, I am a 30 year old (as of monday) overweight guy with a penchant for writing articles about greens and masturbation. I am a writer, a poet, a musician, a good friend and a great lay (ladies ;D). Ok, scratch that last part but I am those other three things, which you now probably cannot for the life of you recall thanks to the mental images of chunky, sweaty man-love now gripping the very core of your being .(It’s natural)

Anyway, the point I am making is this. When we are in relationships, no matter what kind, we almost inevitably lose a part of ourselves along the way. Just be conscious of what parts you are losing before you find yourself running solo and no longer knowing quite how to handle it. I feel that it can often lead to either running back to the one that hurt you or to jumping headfirst into yet another bad relationship.

I’ve been getting into contact with my old friends and trying to spend some time with my new ones. I have been trying to get back into some sort of shape other than round and am starting to work on myself and the goals I long ago set on the back burner. I am developing new routines for myself and ultimately, I think that the changes I have made are positive changes and will yield results that will totally give my mind a boner from all the awesome that I am allowing to once again enter into my life.

Granted, I’m no expert at this but I’m sure there’s at least one person out there thinking, “Man, I sure wish somebody knew what I was going through.” Unfortunately, that someone is me. *WIGGLE*

Find your interests. Find your friends. Find your flaws and fix them and always remember, even though you are single, you are not alone!