jamie's wanderings

 Two days into the new year, 2026, and I met someone that felt like I was looking the mirror, but a long time ago. And I cried. And hope flooded back. How did this go? Friends were invited, suddenly came and all together, the little family and Andrew and I found a place for food. We sat and had pizza. J, (which felt fun because I'm James to my family and my brother is Jay) asked me politely what I did. For an almost 15 year old, I was impressed with their ability to start a conversation. In this day and age, so many teenagers could care less about the older person sitting next to them at the pizzeria. So I gently explained, and they looked me straight into my eyes and I said, I don't think I could sell houses. I don't think I read people very well. I paused. I remember saying such things at 15 years old, and then people realized what that was, and they challenged me. Or they didn't. And I remember those moments so clearly like a bell. And it all came rushing back as I l...

 There is a question that goes around social media as of late, and it says, What radicalized you? And so this blog is the answer to that question. And the other stimulus is seeing a whole lot of hate, prejudice and misunderstanding floating around against Islam. I've spent a lot of time Islam adjacent. I studied it a lot in high school and college, and went to two countries before I celebrated my 21st birthday. that the majority of the population would identify as Muslim. Now, for over 22 years, I have lived in Granada, a city in which for over 700 years was the Shangri la of the Islamic world, full of art culture history medicine and law as a result. Yes, medicine and law as we understand them now, began here. Finally, my personal group of friends for over 15 years has included men and women from different parts of the Islamic world. No names here, but they have done nothing but enrich my life, and helped me learn more about this world I live in. So, when I see extreme posts about...

 This month has been one of deep reflection, art and mystery and I think most end of the years should be like this. We are now on the edges of Christmas, with this week being the first Sunday of Advent. And building up to this point I've been privy to a great deal of art and music that has helped heal my soul But one of the breaking moments I've experienced was today. There is a social media account of a southern US man talking about the culture of that world, and it broke me. See, I didn't grow up in the South, but my Mom's mom and grandma were Nana and Nanan respectively and that shows you they were from West Virginia. Well, this man talked about the church ladies that raised him, comforted him and nurtured him, and just hearing about his experiences brought tears to my eyes and memories that bubbled over. The Thanksgivings my Nana made a dozen pies, and then we snuck in the night before to consume one without her knowledge....with Grandad. Going to my Aunt Jane's...

 Autumn is a season of nostalgia and its probably why elements of it I really don't care for as much as others do. I enjoy a pumpkin spice latte, my favorite holiday (after Easter) is Thanksgiving, and in Andalucia, the air is finally cooler and windows are thrown open, even if the one damn desert mosquito finds you in the middle of the night. These are great, but the darkening days are not my favorite. I actually count the weeks down until Winter Solstice, and rejoice greatly the instant the earth turns again towards the sun. It's probably one reason why we got married in April instead of November. A bit of the nostalgia today stems from the fact that last blog, I closed out my rants on perhaps what some might call the deconstruction of what I believe. I'd like to call it the renewal of it instead, and this blog return to creativity of the present and the future and not what happened in the past and my logical, visceral and intellectual discoveries through it all. And my b...

 Looking back over the posts I've done for the last 2 years, I can see its been a bit of a manifesto, or maybe because that word is tinged with too much negativety, a sort of thesis. Martin Luther did his, and since he didn't have the internet, he pegged his to the door of a building so that all could see and read. This, is my way of pegging it to the door. What the good news God has given us is. What it isn't. And how I, as an American happily transplanted to Spain, have learned in the 22 years (as of 2 days ago) what it looks like to live and work out my own faith in fear and trembling in a world of which I was not raised, but now call my home. These questions are never going away, as life changes and we adapt, we still ask the same questions, and are reminded of these answers and of these, I am not ashamed of them. The good news is God wants to give us abundant life, and freedom, and life that is full of Love, Patience, Peace, Kindness and Joy. In contrast to the bad new...

 I've been privy to a religious meeting with powerful religious fervor. And in more than one expression of faith. It's amazing. And sometimes I've experienced it even outside of a religious context. The connection you experience when a group of people, maybe 3 or maybe 30,000 comes together for a common goal, a cause, a belief. It gives me goosebumps remembering moments of connection to each other and the Divine. Some have been concerts, others worship services, and some just being together in the same room with a guitar and a few voices and suddenly you've been caught into a moment of pure and amazing ecstasy. That dopamine rush is unlike any others, not the one you have during sex or finishing a long race, or picking up a small baby to meet him or her for the first time, or your first kiss or hand hold. That ecstasy is beyond any of those, and all of those are pretty amazing. Why? Because the ones I mention above are amazing connections, but the one we experience with...