I'm moving my blog here:
eliaking.blogspot.com.

For fun, you might also check this one out:
eliadena.blogspot.com.

Happy New Year, everyone!

So, here's the truth: a while ago, I posted on here that I wanted to stop using myspace so much, that I wanted to focus more on face-to-face relationships, etc. But here's the problem. I can't stop checking myspace. I try, but it just sucks me back in. So I am getting messages, comments, etc. I'll probably stick with blogger for blog stuff, and of course, I'll keep up the website (www.eliaking.com).

That's all for now...

So I went to an amazing drum clinic at a local music store last night. There were three guys making some incredible music. Bass, drums, and saxophone. That's all. They were playing along, and we were all bobbing our heads, and all of a sudden, they sort of took off into uncharted waters for me, musically speaking. They took turns soloing, then they'd all solo at once (which I realize, technically, wouldn't be a solo anymore)...Some of it was really out there. But as I looked around the room, I realized that just about everyone was still nodding along, perhaps more in approval than in rhythm. At that point, I wondered how many of the other guys in the room, like me, felt as though they had snuck into some secret society, where jazz made sense to everyone. In reality, I was just faking it.

This got me to thinking on the way home that when it comes to spirituality, we are all, to some extent, faking it. For every one of us, there comes a time when our journey takes us outside the boundaries of what makes sense to us. That doesn't make it wrong, necessarily. But I realize that sometimes, the best I can do is nod my head and play along. Sooner or later, I hope it will start to make more sense to me.

Once upon a time, somebody said "talking about jazz is like dancing about architecture." This has never made more sense to me than it did last night. There are some mysterious things in life that we may never fully comprehend. And as I listened to those three guys making music, I hoped that someday, I'd be able to put people in touch with some bigger mystery. Until then, I suppose I'll just have to keep nodding along.

Now I realize that I may or may not have made up the word Christian-ist, and I realize that may or may not be all that important. But what IS important is what it means. With memories of Easter and the taste of chocolate bunny still still lingering, I realize that part of the reason so many religious people don't get along is that they put their faith in Christianity, not in Christ. This may not be all that profound, but it's a challenge for me, having grown up in a particular religious tradition, to put my own (or worse, other people's) conceptions of Jesus aside to get to know the real Jesus. The real problem? My own laziness. It's so much easier to quote someone else than to take responsibility for our own journey.

I realize this is all somewhat vague, but I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and that usually leads to confusion, at least on my part. But I'm not confused about this: I'm lousy at loving people. My own ego gets in the way more than anything else. Someone says something that bruises my pride, and my gut reaction is to say (or think) something bitter. But the point of everything Jesus taught was that we need to learn to love the people who aren't easy to love. I'm afraid this is something that's going to take me a really long time to learn.

I just ran into an old friend. In high school, we were great friends, hung out all the time. But we kind of had a falling out over something really stupid...Ok. It was a girl thing - not like you might think. He wanted to date her and I didn't think he should. Anyway. Not important now.

What is important is that we had seen each other on and off over the years, and we had been "friendly," but never really talked like friends, until today. It was weird. I had never thought there was any unfinished anything, but just catching up on each other's lives made it feel like the past was really behind us.

I guess all of this is to say that I'm realizing more and more everyday that the most important things we invest in (whether time or money or energy or whatever) are the relationships that ultimately define who we are. If you're waiting to work through something because it's uncomfortable, don't put it off any longer.

I realize that all of this sounds ridiculously self-help-hug-yourself-too-much-Frasier...

But it's true.

All the best...

Note to self: people read blogs that are updated.

I've got to get better about this, I suppose. It's just so hard to keep up with the internet. Why? Because it's LIGHTNING FAST! I, on the other hand, am not lightning fast. I'm only approximately 55-words-per-minute-fast, and that doesn't even take into account whether I'm on a dial-up connection.

What I am, apparently, is corny. Now if the internet were all about corn, I'd be Bill Gates, or something like that. But I'm just slow me. I guess that's not all bad. I'd get into too much trouble with all that money and fame and fortune...

Oh well. I hope you're doing well, however fast you are.

So I'm playing for this thing called STANDOUT at Andrews University this weekend. Funny thing is, I woke up this morning with Johnny Cash's voice. The sad thing is, I don't know any Johnny Cash songs. I guess it's just another reminder that God has more important things to do here than inflate my ego.

It's great to be playing with the brothers FADE, although, somehow this was labeled as a Plan C reunion. But alas, Glenn is not here. So a reunion is probably the wrong word. We'll maybe look back with a little nostalgia, but Plan C without Glenn is like...well, it's just not Plan C. We miss you Glenn. Hope you're doing well. I guess Evan isnt' here either, so it's not really FADE.

But whatever we call ourselves, it's fun to play music with friends. And I should be clear that we're not just here for entertainment (ours or yours). We sing because we believe in something a lot bigger than us. We sing because just talking isn't enough. There's something in us that moves us to make noise that's more emotional than just words. Words don't serve their purpose if they're not living up to their full potential.

...And I've used too many of them. I hope you're doing well, and I hope you're living up to your full potential. I'm still trying to do the same...

In order to be a bonafide MySpace cool person, you've got to have a blog. So here goes. I'm in Southern California right now hanging out with friends and family. It's been a great time. The only thing I regret is that it takes so flippin' long to drive anywhere that it feels like we're not doing that much (although we have plenty of time to talk in the car).

Anyway, despite the traffic, it's been a great trip, and I'm having a blast playing music, hanging with friends and the fam, and going to eat at Lotus Garden...