“The natural [wo]man is an enemy…”
(Mosiah 3:19 in the Book of Mormon)
Toughest critic, newfound cynic, cross examine everything
Radar for threats, emotional debts, I trust only reluctantly
Riches on my mind, not quite as kind, eyeing the world ambitiously
Only a shell of my former self, where is that girl I used to be?
How can I retain my purity after tasting the fruit of iniquity?
Can I regain my innocence in the face of spiritual dissonance?
Struggle between who I am naturally
And the person that I need to be
Caught up in ideal identities
(My best friend and my enemy)
No easy victory in this internal war
I’ve lasted this long; I’ll keep fighting some more
“Got no choice but to fight, so fight on.” -John Mayer
“Life is this constant series of epiphany after epiphany. ‘Oh, I know this now. I didn’t know that then. You’re a different person today than you were yesterday.’ ”
-The lovely and effervescent Ms. Taylor Swift
Totally true! We’re always learning through trial-and-error experiences and unintentional lessons. Epiphanies can be painful, but they can also be enriching and even comical. And the real problem would be living all this time and NOT learning anything. So we just gotta try to take things in stride, I think.
What epiphanies have YOU had?
Here is the original context (so inspiring, as always):
life is a constant series of epiphany after epiphany…
So I am just looooving this chance that I have to write. To express myself and to say things that are valuable and can speak to others. It’s a gift to have the means, the skills, and the freedom to create as I do. Often times during the day I am inspired and think of things to write about! I have to keep it tucked in my mind (or in my notebook) til I can finally get to it. And I do get to it 🙂 So yes, I love the opportunity to write.
But it takes its toll, too! Inspiration is often inconvenient. Like often the best ideas come at really inopportune times (like in the middle of the night). It’s something many artists deal with. John Mayer, Natasha Bedingfield, and Taylor Swift to drop some big names. And it takes energy. Mental, emotional, physical energy. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t complaining! Not in the least. Just expressing that truly committing oneself to one’s chosen art form can be pretty tiring.
This is one of those Mayer songs that I didn’t quite grasp or understand the first few times I heard it. But a recent listen helped me realize it is a subtle masterpiece. John pines for an older, simpler time when true art was recognized and appreciated. A time when people weren’t “celebrating broken things” like publicity stunts, reality shows, and the sick culture of the glorification of celebrity. The nostalgia for something real and substantial is a theme that appears in Mayer’s music again and again.
On a personal note, this song perfectly describes my feelings on what I call the artist’s own solution:
When no one has yet expressed what is lacking and
desperately needs to be expressed, you do it yourself.
Much of my own blog is this: no one (at least that I know of) has written some things that need to be written, so I do. I have found that I often have the gift to be able to find the words to describe the feelings/ viewpoints of others, so perhaps they might at times think to themselves that Katherine “Speak[s] for Me” (the title of John’s song)! I believe this is one of the major reasons why my blog has done so well in a relatively short time period.
Other times, some artists have already found the words to express (and often surpass!) what I feel, so I borrow from them! In case you haven’t noticed, John Mayer often is my biggest source of inspiration (duh!).
Okay, I’ve taken a terrific tangent from the song which inspired this particular post. So I’m gonna get back on track! 🙂 Though “Speak for Me” is only 3:04 in length, I could write pages upon pages about it’s chord structure, rhyme scheme, thematic substance, literary/grammatical structures, et cetera. As I said earlier in this post, this song is a subtle masterpiece.
Just one brief detail which I wish to analyze:
I’m not mad about it
But I’m not that mad about it
I’m not mad about it
But I’m not that mad about it
Repetitive? Yes. Lazy? No. Seemingly simple, but cleverly complex? Definitely! The first connotation of “mad” is angry, while the second connotation is crazy/happy about. True to character, John rarely (if ever) becomes angry about things that he wishes were different, but instead expresses a sadness. This is how I often feel myself; not one to get belligerent (except on rare occasions), but on the contrary just am sometimes sad.
Alrighty time to wrap it up for this post. As is the theme of this song, I often am disappointed in the the overall lack of quality in our world today. Not only in music, but just in people and society altogether. Our problems are far from few, and I often get frustrated when I see people compound what is already less than ideal by their (lack of) actions, words, and attitudes. But thankfully in an age of gimmicks and phonies, there are some constants we can count on. Among other things, I can always find something (to borrow the words from Ms. Taylor Swift) “good and right and real” in the music of John.
2) I haven’t seen a ton of Billy’s stuff, but what I have seen is almost always disrespectful, sacrilegious, discriminatory, inappropriate, racist, unkind, profane, rude, obscene, and just overall mean.
3) I don’t hate anyone except for Satan (although Maher makes me reconsider somewhat…).
4) I validate people who have concerns with organized religion (or otherwise doctrinally strict life philosophies). Read more here about this:
5) I don’t think all atheists are bad people (read more here!).
6) I VERY MUCH think that Bill Maher is a bad person (and I don’t make comments like that very often!).
8) There are public figures who poke fun at Mormonism (and other religious/cultural groups as well) in a way that is NOTunkind or belittling. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are the ones that come to mind at the moment.
9) If you’re dying for a television fix of a gray-haired man, may I suggest checkin’ out Anderson Cooper? I am a fan of his stuff. And I even wrote him a lil’ poem!
10) We may find others’ (religious) beliefs (very) odd, but still we must find the humanity and decency to show some level of respect, even if we do not (fully) agree.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I’m not worried about (permanent) damage that Mr. Bill Maher will do to the image of the LDS Church (cuz he can’t!). No way. We’re here to say. And he’ll be left to his own sad life. (Sorry if this is a lil’ mean-spirited).
Still, Billy Boy bugs me so much so that I devoted
(a lot of) time and effort to writing this post.
Come on now, Maher. Change yo wayz a lil’ bit, huh?
BILL MAHER PUTS A SOUR taste in my mouth…
and if I’m gonna have those particular taste-buds activated,
I’d muuuuuch rather it be because of something like this:
🙂
PS. I understand that his last name does not naturally rhyme with the word “sour;” I twisted it for a stylistic purpose. Lots of artists do this kind of thing (slant rhyme is the exact term). John Mayer does it in his song “You’re No One ’til Someone Lets You Down.” Check it stat!
PPS. Not gonna lie, I’m quite proud of this post and its plethora of literary/journalistic/celebrity/religious/historical references. Go count ’em!
When I first started my blog, I was too liberal in posting it on friends’ Facebook walls. Don’t hate me too much, I was just excited! 🙂 And don’t worry either; I’m smarter than that now. Still, internet spam is a problem that annoys pretty much everyone at some point or another. And when it comes to my own mistakes, I always take blame when necessary. So beefit up and watch my sincere and meaty apology!You won’t wanna miss it:
(and you know that fork ain’t for nothin…)
Hope ya’ll enjoyed that. Because it wasn’t my favorite thing in the world. So sorry again for spamming. But now:
This post might be borderline offensive with the juxtaposition of some of the people pictured. Once again, I hope to spark discussion and thought without ever making my ownOPINION explicitly and fully clear.
intentional ambiguity!
thunderbolt of blasphemy
Ann Coulter is someone who Katherine believes gives conservativism a VERY bad name (for the most part).
“One can have a strong intelligent opinion and even be persuasive
can and will bring us lasting happiness. Thus, I greatly value missionary work.
But I value religious freedom just as much.
Blink and you might miss that there are TWO pictures
of Natasha Bedingfieldon this post.
Also, John Mayer is brilliant and has forever changed my life,
but he will be the first to tell you that he has at times had a very stupid mouth (read more about it here).
And Katherine would like to remind you that EVERY. SINGLE. PART. of this post serves a purpose (I don’t believe in fluff, remember?).
Also, I try hard not to toot my own horn too much, but go on and count the number of allusions/references I made in this post………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
(don’t love this song, but am sad I didn’t mention DECEMber in the video AND I love Taylor’s whole look here…)
Anyways, libraries can be amazing, but even the great American transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson knew that they could be problematic:
“Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views, which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books.”
~The AmericanScholar (this address is SO powerful. Read (about) it!
And to further illustrate (figuratively AND literally!) this idea of library limits,
allow me to borrow some palabras from my dear friend:
“They read all the books, but they CAN’T FIND THE ANSWERS!”
~7 time Grammy Winner (and thief of Kat’s heart) John Mayer
(and more than just part of Katherine’s [K]orazón…)
Seriously though. Yah, it can be totez awkward. But avoiding it is worse. And let me tell you, there is NO LIMIT to the dirty little secrets/ videos/ “tips” these days with the technology that is rampantly available. And without your help, your kids will find them, and maybe even use them in a way that can and will hurt themselves, and others, not to mention breaking your heart in the process. So it’s time for you (and all of us) to Be a (Wo)Man! And talk about S-E-X.
PS. I still don’t love the memories of the birds and the bees talk with my parents.
T-Swizzle’s SNL alter-ego doesn’t either
(it’s clean enough for Taylor to do it, for Katherine to include it on this blog, and also to appear on the same post as Elder Ballard in case you are wondering..):
(sorry the quality is not that great)
PPS. I am NOT anxiously awaiting that talk with my own children (or nieces/nephews/young women). But not totally dreading it anymore either….
is one of the things I take into consideration when writing this blessed blog. It is certainly not the only thing (duh!), and it’s also not necessarily the mostimportant thing either. But it still clearly holds clout in the court of Kat’s mind. It is a priority. A major one, too. And it’s not that I’m afraid of being called in to my Stake President for chastisement when I occasionally employ a pseudo-swear or playfully tease my viewers with the exposure of a juicy shoulder. Not even close (I do not fear excommunication or any other lesser form of Church discipline). It’s just that I have many different identities. One of them is Mormon. One of them is disciple of Jesus Christ. Those things are not necessarily exactly the same, but there is definite overlap, huh? 🙂 And those particular identities strongly influence (but do not completely dictate) my choices. And my outfits. And my words. And my puns. And my music. And my song lyrics. And my pictures. And my jokes. And my videos. And my topic/subject matters. And my posts. And my entire blog! And although the Church is merely a vehicle through which to fully live/experience the gospel, it is a vehicle we must help keep clean.
(check out that last General Conference link/ talk: it’s BOMB! and it is heavily influenced (or even appropriately plagiarized) by the Great Mormon thinker Eugene England. Also, after my vehicle metaphor, I realized I need to vacuum my car this week…)
~Gavin Degraw (Listen to this song, too. SO GOOD!)
So back to the main point of this post. Just remember this:
Katherine Cares about the Church.
And although I am still pretty new to this whole blogging thing, I am conscious of some of the repercussions I may cause (and am causing!), in whatever small/medium/big (or completely microscopic) way . Mormonism is my mother tongue, my homeland, and, although I love to travel, when it comes to my faith, I ain’t never leavin!
So hopefully the Church’s image isn’t hurt when I post pictures like this:
And I think now would be an excellent time to remind you that Mormons no longer practice polygamy (if they do, it’s some off-shoot brand that is not recognized by the Brethren), and also that I wrote a smashing article about a girl who was born into a polygamous family, then later joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Check out the published piece of pie! Oh, and just so you know, Vilate’s story has gotten even wilder. Like, out of this world crazy. In a good way, though. Stay. Tuned.
And for my beloved readers, how clean do YOU keep the image of your church (or family name/affiliation, etc.) How clean do you keep your literal car? And which is more important (trick question…)?
Watch this video to find out the ONLY church ttopic
[or insecurities/baggage/ idiosyncracies/lips/WHATEVER!] be asscarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
Oh, except that when it comes to lips, I prefer red
over white (LITERALLY) 8 days a week.
🙂
PS. I am VERY careful about how I portray violence (if at all) in this blog. So I understand if that first picture is a bit offensive, but I just love how it captures what so many of us do to ourselves. Britney ain’t perfect, but that’s pretty genius I think.
Nature vs. nurture is a theme as old (and relevant!) as any other in literature/ music/ film, etc. So when it comes to our own lives and relationships, how much will we incorporate what we’ve seen from example (for good and for bad), and how much will we be pioneers and break new ground?
I ain’t perfect, but I am conscious of those who may look up to me.
And again, no money directly from this blog yet (but indirectly yes!), so it’s highly possible that I am grossly over-estimating any influence I may or may not have. Oh, and this post just wouldn’t be complete without a little Taylor:
And countless, countless others. These people are often UNBELIEVABLY GIFTED, but when they get brought up in conversation, unfortunately that all often just gets forgotten because of mistakes they’ve made.
Just one more reason to keep my clothes modest. That and I haven’t hit the gym in a while.
I am a better singer than Taylor Swift (whom I absolutely ADORE by the way), and my guitar skills are prob about the same if not better. Other than the whole song-writing thing (I merely dabble while girlfriend churns out hit after hit), why am I not selling out world tours? Taylor rocks it to millions……..
and Katherine just sits in the woods and plays to the trees 🙂
#kinda kidding, kinda not…
#couldn’t we have photoshopped out that weed so you could see my fingers better?
#I still wanna share a stage with Natasha Bedingfield…
(it’s not mine, I googled it…)
