mmmkay

so i am in porto right now. it´s in the north of portugal. i spent a few days in lisbon, and part of me wanted to stay another day, certainly there were more things to do there, but something else in me really felt like moving on. i have to be to santiago de compostela by tuesday (it´s in northwest spain). i have a flight from there to barcelona. and then i will stay in barcelona until next saturday or sunday before i jump on a bus back to madrid. then i can be in madrid during semana santa with david (since he has the week off from classes).

today i have been especially uninspired. i fell asleep, still fully clothed, at about 9 last night, and this morning, after breakfast and showering and all, i laid back down and fell asleep for another hour. i dont know what´s going on, but i feel spent. so i walked into town, and i was sitting on a park bench on the main strip, trying to motivate myself to go somewhere. i decided to stop into a little cafe and grab a coffee, and then i thought i better try and reserve a hostal in santiago, because i didn´t have one for porto and i ended up having to stay in a place way outside the center. so here i am, paying to use the internet in this cafe, and then this guy comes in and starts using the computer next to me. and he is asking me something, and so i say, "no, no faro portuguese." and he replies, "do you speak english?" so then we talk for a second, and come to find out he lives in northwestern spain, and he is driving home tomorrow. he offered me a ride, i dont know if i will take it or not, but i can meet him here at the coffee shop at 12:30 tomorrow if i want to.

anyway, that´s kinda what is going on presently. i feel quite exhuasted, and im not really sure why exactly. the other night in lisbon i wrote something in my journal that i would like to share:

...as i watch the beauty of Your creation tonight, the glory of light and seascapes, i cannot help but desire You, maker of all things great and small, more. the west is exploding in rays of pink and yellow over the masses of ships resting in the harbor. but my eyes have turned to the east, where the deeply red painted horizon is covering the houses as their lights begin to dot the shoreline.

my hands--cold, my feet--hurting and filthy, and the nearby construction site--clanging with drilling and machinery are all begging for my attention. but to see the scarlet of the sky wonderfully reflected off the water of the bay steals it back. You are jealous of my love, my eyes, my heart, and you have them oh Lord.

it takes waters so fresh, and waters so still to cast such a captivating reflection. so i petition that You would purify my heart and calm my mind that i may too echo such beauty...breath...

create in me a clean heart oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me. oh how i desire to reflect the crimson heavens like the tranquil sea below...

the sun has set, night has come, i must move on


later that night i met these two people in the hostel that were baha´i. it is a middle eastern based religion that pretty much attempts to merge all religions and beliefs into one. the 411 is that the source of all religions is God, and all the prophets were speaking the truth of God, within their own time. we talked quite a bit, their names were mona and navid. a lot of what they said was actually right on, but a lie that is close to the truth, is stil a lie, and often even more deceiving. i asked mona how Jesus can be right in proclaiming that He is the very Son of God, the Way, the Truth, the Light--yet at the same time any other prophet or teaching that doesn´t affirm those things be truth. both of them said that they believed all of what Christ speaks about Himself, that they believed He came as the Son of God and gave His life for sinners. i dont understand why there is any need for anything beyond that. i asked if the founder of baha´i, bahá'u'lláh, claimed to be God. and they said no. they said that all of the prophets: abraham, moses, buddha, Jesus, muhammad, and bahá'u'lláh all came to reflect, like a mirror, the true intentions of God to mankind. then i asked if you affirm that Jesus is God, then why would you want a reflection. It´s like settling for for a audio track through a set of headphones when the live band is playing the music right outside your door (i didn´t say that, i´m not that quick on the draw). anyway, it wasn´t really going anywhere, there was hardly a disagreement because everything i believe they said they believe (more or less). they said there is a vibrant baha´i community in portland, so for those of you in portland don´t be alarmed if you begin to hear more and more from them. i have many more thoughts on the discussion, but i think i have written long enough. thanks for stopping by.