Punta Mita Surf Lessons

Conversation Over the Roar

We are living proof of ourselves.    We are living proof of what we have agreed to become, of what we need, of what we want.     In the downtown streets of Chattanooga,  I played music in the loft today,  I plugged in my amp,  opened the windows, and turned on our flickering rows of cheap string lights..  I put my hands and fingers to the strings and just let out goodness.       And there was no hiding here.. no shame.. no darkness and hostility..  only the feeling of being accepted and desired.  Both by myself, and by God.      Admiration from across the room as well... wearing underwear and a grin.    

Andrew Tipton

Devour Me

Andrew Tipton

Higher Self Part 1

At the end of this year I found myself. 
I am covered in sawdust and smoking a cigar.  Its 2am in the morning, I'm standing in the doorway of our family's woodworking shop...  leaning against the doorframe and staring up at the stars above the tree line.    I've been working on design projects all night..  piecing together walnut and cherry; shaping and creating smooth joints and edges.   discovering the slyness of grain, the seductive aromas of freshly planed timber.       I can hear my Fleetwood Mac album starting to skip..  there are my empty bottles of Victoria beer and scraps of crumpled sand paper.
As I stand there..  I grin to myself, and contemplate what inspiration brought me here tonight?   
I feel like part of a higher self - a deeper and more vivid version.  



Andrew Tipton
  

Born of the Woods. Ruled By None.

Sitting across from you..  both of us wearing ourselves in the open.     I watch the words bouncing from my mouth, off of your eyes.. and into the street.  And the bicycles run them over in front of Regions' Field.   The IPA in my glass stares up at me,  grinning back at me,  looking delicious.  
And for a second I want to fight to hold on to my anger, my struggle to work over the world's insufficencies.   but that thought faulters.    And I grin. 
  And I'm left with the serene silence of your company..  the of the moment..  that we're here and the world is a quiet creature.    Inhaling, exhaling, admiring the stars...  who are also silent and spectacular.   
I am overwhelmed with gladness to be here.     This is not the story you read about!!   or have ever known!!    This is not the wheel turning over and over..  or the headstone laying in wait for you..    it is something else.    Born of the woods, ruled by none.     I am enthralled, no matter where it leads. 

Andrew Tipton

The Vandals of North Point St.

Call me crazy,
but I never saw this coming,
your phone call, the exuberance in your voice describing the way those apartment keys feel in your hands. 
San Francisco!!   You sly one.    You extraordinary magician.
There was the broken glass, the door half dented.. I remember the sadness and desperation in your eyes.
Ahhh.. I felt so much anguish that afternoon..    like maybe?!   
Maybe we shouldn't be here..?
Maybe I was wrong to take you sailing..? 
And I never in a thousand years would have believed..  that the universe was secretly conspiring..  that it's intention was to lead you somewhere incredible.. somewhere you never could have gone otherwise!    
We pretend that we know where goodness comes from...  like we can see it, like we can say with the utmost clarity..  YES, NO, YES, NO.  
YES.  This is good for me.    NO. This is bad for me.
But we are clueless!!  
Goodness doesn't play by our rules,..  it doesn't speak the same language or abide by our emotions. 
Its wrecking havoc, and in the same instant..  setting us up for something wonderful.  
I love that I know this much of the story..  that I was with you for every step of the way.. 
The heartbreak and the hope and the realization..     all of it.
Because it shatters my fear into pieces!!
It makes me realize that I don't have all the answers..  that the universe is not anxiously awaiting my perfect decision.   
This is a wild adventure..   we should keep our hands open.. and our eyes gleaming.
I'll visit you soon.



-Andrew Tipton

Give Fear Up

Listen to me now universe,
I do not beg of you..   I stand with shoulders broad,
straight and tall, and lean,  and a hunger.
the glow has travelled away, and returned again
there is war here, 
there is fixation and a madness,

I tell you,
fear is a liar.   And I must give it up.   






Andrew Tipton