A popular comedy routine (easily found on youtube) jokes that women tend to remember everything because their brains are driven by emotion. If you take an event, and you connect it to an emotion, it burns in your memory and you can remember it forever. (It's worth mentioning that the same thing happens for men - just not very often - because quite frankly, we just don't care, lol). There's a good number of amusing observations that follow as well, fyi. But that's not what I'm here to discuss.
So given the emotional impact, it goes without saying that everyone in this country (who wasn't still potty-training) will remember where they were on the fatefully tragic morning of September 11, 2001. And while a 10 year anniversary is practically no different than the 8th, 9th, 11th, etc... we find it sentimental enough to reserve a little more time and solemnity this year for those who lost their lives. And we'll reflect on how this event has shaped so much in the past decade.
I don't often waste time with following posting trends on facebook, let alone contribute to them. But a journal entry retelling my own ironic story is worth sharing.
After rollerblading to my 8AM class on a clear and sunny morning at Purdue University, I was awake long enough at the beginning of it to remember Professor Andrisani asking everyone what Aviation news they might have for the class that morning. Mind you, this is AAE190... our intro to Aerospace Engineering class where obviously many students have extensive interest in aviation topics. One student raised his hand to share that right before class, he heard a plane had hit one of the World Trade center buildings. (We were on central time, so it was +15min from the first impact) This sparked a discussion on how little damage an aircraft could typically do to a skyscraper, and I think I even shared my own input on how a B-25 had crashed into the Empire State Building during WWII and done relatively little structural damage... while the bomber of course wasn't as lucky. Speculation was left off with the dismissal that it was probably nothing more than a single engine Cessna with a suicidal pilot. The rest of lecture I don't remember, because I was half asleep. Needless to say, everyone left class that day without any further concern.
Drowsily walking out of the Wetherill building, I refrained from putting on my rollerblades so I could check out IR (Industrial Roundtable - Purdue's huge job fair) on the Purdue Mall. As I crossed the street, I found it odd that right outside the employer booths there was a gold Cadillac parked on the lawn, unattended, with its windows open and radio blaring. Everyone else was too busy going to/from class or interviewing to stop and listen, apparently. I wasn't in a rush, but it didn't take long to gather from the radio broadcast that an aircraft had crashed into a World Trade Center tower, and that it was much more grave a situation than our naive class speculation had let on. Accounts of people jumping from windows tends to catch your attention.
I needed to get to a TV at this point, so it didn't take long on my blades to reach my room in Harrison Hall and watch, dumbfounded, like everyone else.
I knew I was watching something historic, but the scope of the situation to our lives and those directly affected couldn't possibly be grasped yet. Being in Indiana, it was obvious from accounts back home and from friends in SUNY schools that reactions were understandably much more serious there. Many people back in NY had family and friends in NYC at the time, so the panicked concern for those they hadn't heard from yet was mostly missing at Purdue. In the coming days, our particular local concern was mainly with the Muslim student population. Purdue had the largest number of international students in the USA, so there were a few emotionally charged reactions against them on campus, and some tension. But on the whole, it seemed like everyone felt like they were in this together. The 5000 student candlelight vigil at Slayter Center was especially moving.
I'm not one to jump on the hyper-patriotic bandwagon, but such an event should serve to remind us all just how lucky we all are as Americans, living comfortably with such wealth and security. So many people in this world live daily lives without the assurances we take for granted. And while I don't always support the specific decisions of our leaders in pursuit of our security, we should all give thanks to those who put their lives on the line to defend what so many have died for.
The heroes and victims of 9/11 were taken from us as a result of a terrible evil. But we always have a choice in how we remember, honor, and give purpose to our response considering what we've learned from that day. I have a feeling we haven't yet learned everything we're meant to, 10 years later.
P.S. how did I graduate High School over a decade ago... now that's not cool. Almost as uncool as the 90s being 2 decades ago. Pretty sure my head is more than just musically stuck in that era, lol.
ciaofornow :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Changing the Beat.
Have I really not posted since November? Oh where to start. How about what's on my mind right NOW.
What's prompted this entry is nothing short of a breakthrough. I'm finally getting some healthy perspective on a huge issue in my life. I'll attempt the concise version of this story... or not. Here goes ;-)
I've been deceiving myself for years on what's been my biggest struggle. I haven't been able to look fully at what has kept me from 'accomplishment' in so many ways. And it's a huge burden of regret... because it's something I can control.... well not completely, but there's so much I can.
It begins in Elementary school. Most likely 1st thru 3rd grade. Did anyone else's class have a stack of dittos they had to complete every day before lunch? It was probably no more than a couple hours' worth of work, but given the attention span of a third grader, it felt like all morning. At that point in my life I was incredibly unchallenged at school; having the reading level of a 12th grader and constantly raising my hand because I knew the answer to everything... I was an uber-nerd. To keep myself challenged, another classmate and I would have this unspoken competition to see who could get their stack of dittos done the quickest. We'd be glancing over at eat other every now and then, eager to see how far we were in relation to the other. It was a mad rush to complete the spelling, grammar, math, reading, etc, walk triumphantly up to the teachers' desk, and make our way back in triumph to get more break time than everyone else; especially my competition. Truthfully, I was probably beaten most of the time, but was never third. It was fun, and I felt accomplished by this.
Fast forward to Middle School, and on to High School... where my perfectionist tendencies took over and the quality of my work became an obsession at the expense of ever-growing demand for speed. It became apparent in Music, Art, Soccer, etc. where deadlines and speed of work/play mattered more and more. I became discouraged... because I was no longer the quickest or most talented of the group. I stuck with what I valued most... the quality of my work. I excelled at interpretation of a solo, for example, but playing speed was a struggle. Same with soccer... tactically I was sound, but my speed of play and vision were lacking. I began to silently protest the "need for speed" as it were, because it started feeling like something I couldn't keep up with everything else at. I did just enough at each area of my life I was involved in to succeed, but the spirit of excelling at what I do was gone with spreading myself so thin.
So on into college, where I was highly distracted emotionally and socially, and you can see where my decline in efficiency would hinder my ability to excel with a high workload. Truthfully, it only got worse when I graduated, and I was once again highly emotionally compromised... it's in those times I lack the motivation to work harder. As many a journal post revealed in the past few years, I began the process of wiping the slate clean on my life to escape the associations of everything I had previously loved and pursued, everything aside from God... whom I had put on the backburner.
When it all comes down to it, there's a combination of things that have brought me to my current state of idleness, inefficiency, and lack of speed. The combination of being still to hear the Lord's call on my life and wait upon his instructions, along with constant discouragement and emotional distraction made it easy for me to just take it easy, and not worry. Just to trust. While my progress in being remade as a follower of Christ and actually trusting in His guidance has been amazing, my daily habitual patterns and work ethic have remained in a sad, sad state. Mainly because I feel like I have nothing of worth to work on, but mostly because I was sick of devoting myself to dead-end ventures.
So I like to work methodically, and thoroughly... I am know for my attention to detail. This comes at the expense of what I can accomplish on any given day. Not only that, but the hours I spend in distracted reflection of things on my mind and unconsciously being sucked into addictions. Nothing serious... but over the years it's been everything from my constant curiosity of google-ing anything i'm interested in, facebooking, occasional games, and deal searching. I have wasted so many hours online with unnecessary things, it's staggering. And I was ok with it for the time being, because I was waiting on God to show me where to focus myself.
On top of it all, in protest to the way society is heading socially and in the workplace, i've intentionally slowed down my social interactions and work ethic. I didn't want to get caught up in the rat race, as it were... with instantaneous gratification and impatience starting to run rampant everywhere from email/text replies to projects. I no longer wanted to miss important things in life by being too caught up in mydaily work. People are getting so caught up in the speed at which society is demanding our attention that i've done what I can to not let those things rule me. And as a result, i've allowed myself to be inefficient in my work, and daily tasks. My speed at which I accomplish or at least get to most things in life these days is significantly less than other people I know. And I don't prioritize as well as I used to. When others around me are working abnormally fast (and I know they're trying to set an example) I tend to slow down as a result... as if to say "that's nice, but it's not something of value to me".
If I was mentally limited... then this would just be in my nature and something to be embraced for what it is. But this past year has revealed the damage my decisions have caused. I didn't think it was a problem, for so long. Sure, I've been eternally frustrated by my inability to fit music lessons into my time. My inability to stay in shape, or my inability to read the books on my long list... and my inability to do a number of other things I've wanted to accomplish in good time. I see my friends that manage to fit these things, a full time job, and social time all into their week and I wonder where I'm going wrong. At RIT I work quickly enough that I accomplish everything in good time, and I've been told how sorry some are that I have to go. But I don't work quickly enough to get to extra projects... I've always paced myself so that everything gets done right in time. Rarely early.
But what truly broke me wasn't the knowledge that I could do so much more.
It was the realization that i was robbing God of the time He's given me.
I was doing less than I was made for. I could live with selling myself short...
But I can't live with selling Him short.
The Lord hasn't shown me His calling for my life... He hasn't revealed where He needs me to move. How he wants me to move... and it's given me good reason to be still, and stay still. I need his call before I can act, and before I can commit. Perhaps I've been looking at it all wrong for so long, and perhaps I haven't been entrusted with the call because I haven't trusted... and committed... to Him.
It makes so much sense why He's let me struggle in finding time to read His word, and seek his wisdom daily. Why I haven't made time to study or pray anywhere near as much as I've wanted to. I've persevered by slowing down and reflecting more on God... literally, being more still in my pursuit to hear His will and call for my life because I had spent too many years just trying to achieve it by my own power. But not by IMMERSING myself in His word... just beign surrounded by Godly things. I stopped and was still, but for too long. I see now how I took that to an extreme; and it became relative idleness. I've worried so much that I'd continue working at things that got me nowhere that I've been discouraged from working harder on the things before me. It was good for healing and refocusing, for a time, but it's become detrimental. My lack of passion due to these habits, lack of direction, and my inefficiency has been robbing me of relationship with Him, and robbing Him of the ability to work in me as much as He would like to. 28 years old and I'm still struggling to hear what His call is on my life. I have an overwhelming gut feeling that He has so much for me to do, and a message to send to the world... or at least the place in which I'm meant to shine His light anmong the people. Unacceptable.
On top of this, it's been poignantly obvious among my friends in college and even now how much I value the people in my life for their work ethic. I need to be around people who are focused, motivated, and inspired in their lives in what they do and how they serve the Lord. I feel at home around highly effective and expressive people... because I was once that way, when I had a vision for my life; and it was my mindset as well. But what am I doing there if I'm not really among them in the way I live. It's no different with what sets a girl apart when I like her, and what is very attractive to me... women who know who they are as a child of God, what the Lord has called them to, and are passionately seeking it. I miss that in myself, and I want to be found in that place as well with someone. Completely engaged and seeking His will together, and helping each other in that mission. Those who make the most of their time, and live in the joy of His blessings. How can I ever expect to be a true companion to a woman like that someday if our work ethic and approach to life's issues are fundamentally different. I'm robbing God of what He wants for me... and I might be robbing my future family. I wouldn't be ready now for the relationship I'm looking for, let alone be a leader in the family I'll hopefully have someday, God willing.
The work ethic has been a casualty in my search for what His calling is for me. I've been seeking it since I was barely in grade school; and to this day I'm still seeking. I've learned that the greatest purpose in life is to glorify God in what we do and how we love others, but the gut feeling i've had all these years, the most engrained thing in who I am is that I have a message to share to the world; something to accomplish beyond the American dream. Something His people need. Whenever the prospect of "settling down" with a wife and kids and a job and not being sent out for more than (just?) that is suffocating. It's a feeling of selling myself and God short.
Ecclesiastes 12-14 has troubled me enough, stating:
Now that I somewhat understand the folly, my efficiency and focus is being reborn. I'm no longer afraid of being caught up in what I feared would happen if I moved quicker. I see the fruits of this perseverance in the lives of those around me, and most of them have found real balance.
And an unsharpened, idle mind has been emotionally dangerous. This makes the current moment all the more urgent for a change. I've encouraged it by feeling like I need to just 'receive' His word rather than work of my own wisdom. I want to let the Lord speak into my life... and I won't really move until that happens. But I've given 50% to everything else as a result, and that's wasting what He's put right in front of me to do.
I've already made so much more time... what a relief. With a possible full-time position and grad school on the horizon; this past year has been full of perfect timing.
I'll continue to persevere at a new pace; knowing my yarn and pattern will never do justice in covering God's plan for my life. But with persistent practice, the design can only get better :)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ~James 1:2-4Trials have a way of bringing me back to reflection and honest benchmarking of where I'm at. Before I get critical, I can say that the past year has woven so many blessings into the fabric of my story and repaired so many frayed strands that I don't even know which corner to begin describing first. I am so lucky that more than once I've asked myself when reality is going to finally set in.
What's prompted this entry is nothing short of a breakthrough. I'm finally getting some healthy perspective on a huge issue in my life. I'll attempt the concise version of this story... or not. Here goes ;-)
I've been deceiving myself for years on what's been my biggest struggle. I haven't been able to look fully at what has kept me from 'accomplishment' in so many ways. And it's a huge burden of regret... because it's something I can control.... well not completely, but there's so much I can.
It begins in Elementary school. Most likely 1st thru 3rd grade. Did anyone else's class have a stack of dittos they had to complete every day before lunch? It was probably no more than a couple hours' worth of work, but given the attention span of a third grader, it felt like all morning. At that point in my life I was incredibly unchallenged at school; having the reading level of a 12th grader and constantly raising my hand because I knew the answer to everything... I was an uber-nerd. To keep myself challenged, another classmate and I would have this unspoken competition to see who could get their stack of dittos done the quickest. We'd be glancing over at eat other every now and then, eager to see how far we were in relation to the other. It was a mad rush to complete the spelling, grammar, math, reading, etc, walk triumphantly up to the teachers' desk, and make our way back in triumph to get more break time than everyone else; especially my competition. Truthfully, I was probably beaten most of the time, but was never third. It was fun, and I felt accomplished by this.
Fast forward to Middle School, and on to High School... where my perfectionist tendencies took over and the quality of my work became an obsession at the expense of ever-growing demand for speed. It became apparent in Music, Art, Soccer, etc. where deadlines and speed of work/play mattered more and more. I became discouraged... because I was no longer the quickest or most talented of the group. I stuck with what I valued most... the quality of my work. I excelled at interpretation of a solo, for example, but playing speed was a struggle. Same with soccer... tactically I was sound, but my speed of play and vision were lacking. I began to silently protest the "need for speed" as it were, because it started feeling like something I couldn't keep up with everything else at. I did just enough at each area of my life I was involved in to succeed, but the spirit of excelling at what I do was gone with spreading myself so thin.
So on into college, where I was highly distracted emotionally and socially, and you can see where my decline in efficiency would hinder my ability to excel with a high workload. Truthfully, it only got worse when I graduated, and I was once again highly emotionally compromised... it's in those times I lack the motivation to work harder. As many a journal post revealed in the past few years, I began the process of wiping the slate clean on my life to escape the associations of everything I had previously loved and pursued, everything aside from God... whom I had put on the backburner.
When it all comes down to it, there's a combination of things that have brought me to my current state of idleness, inefficiency, and lack of speed. The combination of being still to hear the Lord's call on my life and wait upon his instructions, along with constant discouragement and emotional distraction made it easy for me to just take it easy, and not worry. Just to trust. While my progress in being remade as a follower of Christ and actually trusting in His guidance has been amazing, my daily habitual patterns and work ethic have remained in a sad, sad state. Mainly because I feel like I have nothing of worth to work on, but mostly because I was sick of devoting myself to dead-end ventures.
So I like to work methodically, and thoroughly... I am know for my attention to detail. This comes at the expense of what I can accomplish on any given day. Not only that, but the hours I spend in distracted reflection of things on my mind and unconsciously being sucked into addictions. Nothing serious... but over the years it's been everything from my constant curiosity of google-ing anything i'm interested in, facebooking, occasional games, and deal searching. I have wasted so many hours online with unnecessary things, it's staggering. And I was ok with it for the time being, because I was waiting on God to show me where to focus myself.
On top of it all, in protest to the way society is heading socially and in the workplace, i've intentionally slowed down my social interactions and work ethic. I didn't want to get caught up in the rat race, as it were... with instantaneous gratification and impatience starting to run rampant everywhere from email/text replies to projects. I no longer wanted to miss important things in life by being too caught up in mydaily work. People are getting so caught up in the speed at which society is demanding our attention that i've done what I can to not let those things rule me. And as a result, i've allowed myself to be inefficient in my work, and daily tasks. My speed at which I accomplish or at least get to most things in life these days is significantly less than other people I know. And I don't prioritize as well as I used to. When others around me are working abnormally fast (and I know they're trying to set an example) I tend to slow down as a result... as if to say "that's nice, but it's not something of value to me".
If I was mentally limited... then this would just be in my nature and something to be embraced for what it is. But this past year has revealed the damage my decisions have caused. I didn't think it was a problem, for so long. Sure, I've been eternally frustrated by my inability to fit music lessons into my time. My inability to stay in shape, or my inability to read the books on my long list... and my inability to do a number of other things I've wanted to accomplish in good time. I see my friends that manage to fit these things, a full time job, and social time all into their week and I wonder where I'm going wrong. At RIT I work quickly enough that I accomplish everything in good time, and I've been told how sorry some are that I have to go. But I don't work quickly enough to get to extra projects... I've always paced myself so that everything gets done right in time. Rarely early.
But what truly broke me wasn't the knowledge that I could do so much more.
It was the realization that i was robbing God of the time He's given me.
I was doing less than I was made for. I could live with selling myself short...
But I can't live with selling Him short.
The Lord hasn't shown me His calling for my life... He hasn't revealed where He needs me to move. How he wants me to move... and it's given me good reason to be still, and stay still. I need his call before I can act, and before I can commit. Perhaps I've been looking at it all wrong for so long, and perhaps I haven't been entrusted with the call because I haven't trusted... and committed... to Him.
It makes so much sense why He's let me struggle in finding time to read His word, and seek his wisdom daily. Why I haven't made time to study or pray anywhere near as much as I've wanted to. I've persevered by slowing down and reflecting more on God... literally, being more still in my pursuit to hear His will and call for my life because I had spent too many years just trying to achieve it by my own power. But not by IMMERSING myself in His word... just beign surrounded by Godly things. I stopped and was still, but for too long. I see now how I took that to an extreme; and it became relative idleness. I've worried so much that I'd continue working at things that got me nowhere that I've been discouraged from working harder on the things before me. It was good for healing and refocusing, for a time, but it's become detrimental. My lack of passion due to these habits, lack of direction, and my inefficiency has been robbing me of relationship with Him, and robbing Him of the ability to work in me as much as He would like to. 28 years old and I'm still struggling to hear what His call is on my life. I have an overwhelming gut feeling that He has so much for me to do, and a message to send to the world... or at least the place in which I'm meant to shine His light anmong the people. Unacceptable.
On top of this, it's been poignantly obvious among my friends in college and even now how much I value the people in my life for their work ethic. I need to be around people who are focused, motivated, and inspired in their lives in what they do and how they serve the Lord. I feel at home around highly effective and expressive people... because I was once that way, when I had a vision for my life; and it was my mindset as well. But what am I doing there if I'm not really among them in the way I live. It's no different with what sets a girl apart when I like her, and what is very attractive to me... women who know who they are as a child of God, what the Lord has called them to, and are passionately seeking it. I miss that in myself, and I want to be found in that place as well with someone. Completely engaged and seeking His will together, and helping each other in that mission. Those who make the most of their time, and live in the joy of His blessings. How can I ever expect to be a true companion to a woman like that someday if our work ethic and approach to life's issues are fundamentally different. I'm robbing God of what He wants for me... and I might be robbing my future family. I wouldn't be ready now for the relationship I'm looking for, let alone be a leader in the family I'll hopefully have someday, God willing.
The work ethic has been a casualty in my search for what His calling is for me. I've been seeking it since I was barely in grade school; and to this day I'm still seeking. I've learned that the greatest purpose in life is to glorify God in what we do and how we love others, but the gut feeling i've had all these years, the most engrained thing in who I am is that I have a message to share to the world; something to accomplish beyond the American dream. Something His people need. Whenever the prospect of "settling down" with a wife and kids and a job and not being sent out for more than (just?) that is suffocating. It's a feeling of selling myself and God short.
Ecclesiastes 12-14 has troubled me enough, stating:
"I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."But I can't shake that there's something specific the Lord has intended for me to work on in my life, and not by myself. Something I haven't figured out yet at 28. And something that has effectively kept me from levels of commitment or even being able to be fully committed and in companionship with someone. We'd need to work alongside each other, to some extent, at least.... if not fully devoted to the same call. But i'm still relatively aimless. I don't qualify yet, to put it simply. I won't let myself chase after the wind, so to speak, and without God's call, i've been chasing after a Love that's just as futile. It makes past relationships feel like something that could have worked if I had been ready... although I know that's silly thinking.
Now that I somewhat understand the folly, my efficiency and focus is being reborn. I'm no longer afraid of being caught up in what I feared would happen if I moved quicker. I see the fruits of this perseverance in the lives of those around me, and most of them have found real balance.
And an unsharpened, idle mind has been emotionally dangerous. This makes the current moment all the more urgent for a change. I've encouraged it by feeling like I need to just 'receive' His word rather than work of my own wisdom. I want to let the Lord speak into my life... and I won't really move until that happens. But I've given 50% to everything else as a result, and that's wasting what He's put right in front of me to do.
I've already made so much more time... what a relief. With a possible full-time position and grad school on the horizon; this past year has been full of perfect timing.
I'll continue to persevere at a new pace; knowing my yarn and pattern will never do justice in covering God's plan for my life. But with persistent practice, the design can only get better :)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Giving Thanks
Much to give thanks for :) Happy Turkey Day, everyone! P.S. Lincoln is the man:
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
What 'Ground Zero Mosque'?
Oh, hi blogger. Been awhile, eh? I suppose I've been through a season primarily of action, and less reflection. Let's get back to a balance now, shall we? Ok not so fast, I just had a little video clip to share.
I don't remember the last time I watched Keith Olbermann... I honestly know next to nothing about him. Heck, I don't even turn on the TV to watch Colbert anymore. But it was just so refreshing to hear someone in the media give this a fair and accurate assessment. An honest perspective, where we can confront the blind prejudice so many of us fall victim to on any number of issues. At any rate, this is worth the watch.
I don't remember the last time I watched Keith Olbermann... I honestly know next to nothing about him. Heck, I don't even turn on the TV to watch Colbert anymore. But it was just so refreshing to hear someone in the media give this a fair and accurate assessment. An honest perspective, where we can confront the blind prejudice so many of us fall victim to on any number of issues. At any rate, this is worth the watch.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
You have never talked to a mere mortal...
I'm developing a habit of slowly writing and editing 2-3 blog posts at a time. Too many thoughts swimming around in this head, although I couldn't hold off on sharing this. You may soon see a running theme, tho ;-)
C.S. Lewis = amazing. Excerpt taken from The Weight of Glory:
C.S. Lewis = amazing. Excerpt taken from The Weight of Glory:
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat, the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
ding
Q. What is the meaning of life?
A. I believe the meaning of life is based around the premise that God's ultimate purpose is to glorify Himself. So I believe, as we live we have to find that one thing or that couple of things that God has just clearly wired us for, and offer it back to him and be the best we can be at it and he will then use it for His glory.
~Jazz Musician
(excerpt taken from the Truth Project)
A. I believe the meaning of life is based around the premise that God's ultimate purpose is to glorify Himself. So I believe, as we live we have to find that one thing or that couple of things that God has just clearly wired us for, and offer it back to him and be the best we can be at it and he will then use it for His glory.
~Jazz Musician
(excerpt taken from the Truth Project)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
yet another HEALTH CARE opinion? Why not.
Health Care. The very mention of this topic stirs up strong emotions in a large number of Americans. There's nothing new about the polarization of opinions in this country... in the grand scheme of things, it's just the next issue in line, though no less important to address.
In the last couple years I've largely ignored politics and economics, choosing to use my free time more efficiently with personal endeavors, rather than just immersing myself in current events. I get tired of stupidity spewed from both ends of the spectrum... with the spectrum essentially going from "socialists" to "fascists". The ironic thing is how much they have in common.
Like I said, there's nothing new about this fight. And I've largely ignored it because of the self-defeating nature of getting caught up in the debates. We all have a duty to understand what's going on in our own society, but I love to argue for the sake of exploring an issue... often getting myself in trouble because I play "devil's advocate" for the sake of stirring up discussion, ;-) What disgusts me about the political scene is how it tends to make even admirable individuals twist their reasoning for the purpose of taking a specific side they want to defend. Someone pro-life might vote pro-choice to defend who they normally identify with, and vice versa.
But what saddens me the most is seeing others vehemently voicing a side and being naive to what they're defending or attacking. How self-righteous the voices become. And so it goes with the Health Care bill. Next time someone you know voices their opinion of Washington politics concerning the current bill, ask them to summarize what's in it. How about another example... Bin Laden's audio/video tapes he's been releasing since 9/11. Have you ever actually SEEN/HEARD what he has to say? Ever read a translation of his arguments? Neither have I. And that, my friend, is sad. We take popular sentiment and news outlet bias to heart, and do no research for ourselves. Now OBVIOUSLY I'm not pro bin-laden (that would make me devil's advocate in a literal sense lol) it's the principle of the matter i'm trying to get across.
So guess what... I'm not going to give my own opinion. I know, you're heartbroken, lol. I'm just greatly concerned about human nature, I suppose, and how it rears its ugly head in politics. How much Bush was hated by half the country for his abuses of power, and how much Obama is currently hated for what history may or may not judge as the same. How we've become so polarized that someone worthy of praise for a decision would never in a hundred years receive due credit because of previous judgment ruled upon them.
I admire those who passionately defend what they believe in... when they've done their research.
/end rant
In the last couple years I've largely ignored politics and economics, choosing to use my free time more efficiently with personal endeavors, rather than just immersing myself in current events. I get tired of stupidity spewed from both ends of the spectrum... with the spectrum essentially going from "socialists" to "fascists". The ironic thing is how much they have in common.
Like I said, there's nothing new about this fight. And I've largely ignored it because of the self-defeating nature of getting caught up in the debates. We all have a duty to understand what's going on in our own society, but I love to argue for the sake of exploring an issue... often getting myself in trouble because I play "devil's advocate" for the sake of stirring up discussion, ;-) What disgusts me about the political scene is how it tends to make even admirable individuals twist their reasoning for the purpose of taking a specific side they want to defend. Someone pro-life might vote pro-choice to defend who they normally identify with, and vice versa.
But what saddens me the most is seeing others vehemently voicing a side and being naive to what they're defending or attacking. How self-righteous the voices become. And so it goes with the Health Care bill. Next time someone you know voices their opinion of Washington politics concerning the current bill, ask them to summarize what's in it. How about another example... Bin Laden's audio/video tapes he's been releasing since 9/11. Have you ever actually SEEN/HEARD what he has to say? Ever read a translation of his arguments? Neither have I. And that, my friend, is sad. We take popular sentiment and news outlet bias to heart, and do no research for ourselves. Now OBVIOUSLY I'm not pro bin-laden (that would make me devil's advocate in a literal sense lol) it's the principle of the matter i'm trying to get across.
So guess what... I'm not going to give my own opinion. I know, you're heartbroken, lol. I'm just greatly concerned about human nature, I suppose, and how it rears its ugly head in politics. How much Bush was hated by half the country for his abuses of power, and how much Obama is currently hated for what history may or may not judge as the same. How we've become so polarized that someone worthy of praise for a decision would never in a hundred years receive due credit because of previous judgment ruled upon them.
I admire those who passionately defend what they believe in... when they've done their research.
/end rant
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