The Cup Of Silence

I have been re-reading Love Thy Neighbor: A Story War by Peter Maass. Though his Sarajevo was war-torn, it reminds me so much of my Sarajevo. A Sarajevo I first saw on TV, in 1984. Then again in 1994. A third time in 2007, with my own eyes. A Sarajevo full of life on the surface, with much death in the soul. A truly bittersweet place.

I have not forgotten Bosnia.

I have come far too close to loosing much of what I have been working for, these past eight months. I have come to my senses often enough to realize that this stage in the race is necessary to obtain the goal.  I have allowed myself to be distracted along this road. I am sure more things will steal my attention again, before its over. But here I am, thinking as clearly as I can at this moment, envisioning my dreams.

I have a bit of video footage from Sarajevo. Footage from my own JVC camcorder. I have told many of you that I plan to make a video. I have even shown some of you a very, very rough version of my idea. Now I say this going into seventy-hour work week,but I promise to have that video completed by August 23. Maybe setting a deadline is unimportant to you. Maybe you will love me no matter what. The deadline is for me. Some amount of structure to my dream, in a time where my vision must indirectly be put on the back burner.

That said, I am very excited about a couple of things. One – I am going to have all of my ducks in a row to buy that Nikon D60 I have been talking about. The magical day is Monday, July 14th, 2008. This is personally perhaps a bigger step than some of you know. Photography is a way that God allows me to express myself, and worship Him. My soul misses this interaction, with camera in hand.

Two – A commonplace book. Spoon got me started on it. I am actually copying him (while he copies Milton, and others). I have linked my commonplace in the side bar of this blog, under “links.” While preparing to travel to the Balkans last year, I referenced many different sources, gathering information about Sarajevo, and beyond. I have been working hard at putting all of these sources in one “commonplace” (aha…you get it, don’t you?) . So there it is. You might find it interesting.