Our value cannot be changed; we can't get more of it or lose any of it. We can't get more of it from people or lose it at the whim of an angry insult.
It would make sense to isolate oneself in order to really be in union with God, away from all the mess that people create. It would be simpler, perhaps even to such an extent that personal development in certain areas could grow much more fully than otherwise. But, it turns out, our calling is to others, not just God.
Carrying out interactions with others is fulfilling a calling in obedience, including all the fears involved. How different the outlook when all the difficulties involved in this journey suddenly become a cost of privilege; the fear of people is no jail sentence in itself, but rather a variety of bumps in the road of freedom. We've confused the nature of traveling with prisoner's chains and have in that trade imprisoned ourselves between walls as strong as we allow them to be.
When the misconceptions of the mind are allowed to hold power over doing, self becomes the biggest obstacle to doing great things; even an open field can look like a prison to the one who seeks a dark closet.
The trail to intent
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
at
7:55 PM
This evening I caught myself almost declaring my love to a particularly delicious munkki/pastry as I laid my eyes on its sugar covered circleness. Then I realized hey, the good thing about this munkki is its taste; its value is determined by what it's designed to be and not by how it looks, despite its sight being the thing that brought about my pastry passion.
That got me thinking; isn't the same thing true for, say, beauty? A stunning landscape or work of art looks incredible, but its value is more than what the eye sees; there is a mind and intention behind it that, if ignored, becomes a hugely valuable piece lost. So many things I've experienced as valuable have been but a shadow of what they could have been had I realized the signature behind the sensory thing; how full an experience or realization when the nature of the thing met is understood through an appreciation of its true character and the wonderful intent of the mind at work.
6Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
-Luke 12:6-7
That got me thinking; isn't the same thing true for, say, beauty? A stunning landscape or work of art looks incredible, but its value is more than what the eye sees; there is a mind and intention behind it that, if ignored, becomes a hugely valuable piece lost. So many things I've experienced as valuable have been but a shadow of what they could have been had I realized the signature behind the sensory thing; how full an experience or realization when the nature of the thing met is understood through an appreciation of its true character and the wonderful intent of the mind at work.
6Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
-Luke 12:6-7
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Freedom, meaning, purpose, and truth all meet here
Monday, November 9, 2009
at
12:13 AM
So, what' s the thing that makes sense of life? I'd say it's the thing that seems the most out of place in the natural world, the thing that most brilliantly reveals what life is in its fullness; love. But what is love, exactly? Turns out we've been given instructions:
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails.
-I Corinthians 13:1-8
It can only be understood through action, which makes it something we seem to be designed to reflect, as a mirror becomes lit in its reflection of the sun. To understand the truth above along with the truth of the love we are continually receiving from a source beyond understanding is to live so free that the word's meaning becomes bigger than its definition can contain.
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Trading intersections for gas vs. brake
Sunday, November 8, 2009
at
11:53 PM
Kindness demands an enormous amount of self-control, especially when the circumstance is one that would more easily guide emotion and attitude toward bitterness or anger. When it comes easily, things are good; like finding your arms, hands and fingers after steering a car with your teeth.
So, is there ever a reason to be unkind? Sure there are, but are they good ones? All things considered? The principle of kindness is such a comfort to hold onto when a relational compass is sought. It makes a choice simple in its direction toward a certain attitude; even if kindness itself isn't reached, at least its opposites are left behind. Life is good when direction is chosen, when chaos in attitude is solved and replaced with whether or not to be courageous in the pursuit of what is good.
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
-Ephesians 4:31-32
So, is there ever a reason to be unkind? Sure there are, but are they good ones? All things considered? The principle of kindness is such a comfort to hold onto when a relational compass is sought. It makes a choice simple in its direction toward a certain attitude; even if kindness itself isn't reached, at least its opposites are left behind. Life is good when direction is chosen, when chaos in attitude is solved and replaced with whether or not to be courageous in the pursuit of what is good.
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
-Ephesians 4:31-32
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Not a bad place to be
Thursday, November 5, 2009
at
1:47 AM
"For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."
-Romans 14:8
Truth is incredible; it is always a welcome guest because it does not change depending on perspective. Every imaginable thing of life between birth and death fits neatly into the borders painted by the truth above. How can such a complex mess fit into such a simple box? God's ways are more than very high above ours, but His truths are simple, because we don't confuse him. Most of the mess is messy because I don't recognize its relation to truth; it becomes unknowable and chaotic when the point of reference is ignored.
Faithfulness is a strong rope that links the messes of life to truth; knowing it and living it brings the truth of life into focus, moving the doer from being into living. Doing those little things right clears away grime in surprising amounts.
-Romans 14:8
Truth is incredible; it is always a welcome guest because it does not change depending on perspective. Every imaginable thing of life between birth and death fits neatly into the borders painted by the truth above. How can such a complex mess fit into such a simple box? God's ways are more than very high above ours, but His truths are simple, because we don't confuse him. Most of the mess is messy because I don't recognize its relation to truth; it becomes unknowable and chaotic when the point of reference is ignored.
Faithfulness is a strong rope that links the messes of life to truth; knowing it and living it brings the truth of life into focus, moving the doer from being into living. Doing those little things right clears away grime in surprising amounts.
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Oi, the sneakiness
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
at
1:12 AM
"All virtues are especially helpful to evil when one becomes aware of them. This is especially true of humility."
-C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters
Me: Laadidaaa, blahblah...thought pops in for a visit: "Hey, I totally just avoided getting mad at that guy for responding to my American style greeting with a cold stare. I am one huuumble duuude." Fail.
Me later: mpa, mpa, chillin in the empty thought box in my head. Boom! Important thought alert! "Hey, I should pray for my friend who needs that important thing." +0.389 seconds..."I'm preetty good for feeling the need to pray for that. OH LOOK, a butterfly. That reminds me, I'm hungry." Ugh, FAIL.
Beware of the sneakiness, I urge you.
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man."
-Proverbs 3:3-4
-C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters
Me: Laadidaaa, blahblah...thought pops in for a visit: "Hey, I totally just avoided getting mad at that guy for responding to my American style greeting with a cold stare. I am one huuumble duuude." Fail.
Me later: mpa, mpa, chillin in the empty thought box in my head. Boom! Important thought alert! "Hey, I should pray for my friend who needs that important thing." +0.389 seconds..."I'm preetty good for feeling the need to pray for that. OH LOOK, a butterfly. That reminds me, I'm hungry." Ugh, FAIL.
Beware of the sneakiness, I urge you.
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man."
-Proverbs 3:3-4
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Flowers are....useful?
at
12:09 AM
Giving a girl flowers is funny. She can't eat them, and she won't use them to build anything. There is very little tangible benefit from receiving them, but there's value if she chooses that to be the case. The flowers will be almost meaningless if she doesn't at the time feel a positive intention behind the one giving them; they're something given whose value depends very much on how the receiver recognizes the giver.
Encouragement is like flowers, except you can give it to guys too without causing a panic. Plus it's way cheaper; win-win! It doesn't cost the giver anything, and it can mean as many good things as the receiver needs it to mean. It is a precious thing indeed to become someone fully alive whose encouragement always feels like a sweet gift when it is received; what a great aim, to strive to be that which gives the gift the intentioned meaning it deserves. Nothing but good can follow.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."
-Matthew 5:14-15
Encouragement is like flowers, except you can give it to guys too without causing a panic. Plus it's way cheaper; win-win! It doesn't cost the giver anything, and it can mean as many good things as the receiver needs it to mean. It is a precious thing indeed to become someone fully alive whose encouragement always feels like a sweet gift when it is received; what a great aim, to strive to be that which gives the gift the intentioned meaning it deserves. Nothing but good can follow.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."
-Matthew 5:14-15
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Let's be half-way babies.
Monday, October 26, 2009
at
12:52 AM
I think one of the best measures of maturity is the willingness to let loose in joy while among the more insecure whose inaccurate definition of maturity demands that childlike expression is lesser than restrained politeness.
By whose standard of measure is "adultness" and "grown-upness" determined? It seems that those things are often based on how far one has come from being free to express what's inside along with how well intentions and responses can be wrapped in a specified box. That standard makes little distinction between the suppression of joy and the suppression of displeasure because it makes suppression the main rule. Huh? Those things are so different.
I say let loose with that joy like you did back in the day when diapers were a thing of the recent past and cheerios were happy little rings of pure delight. Being a joyful manbaby without the tantrums sounds pretty good.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
-Matthew 5:8
By whose standard of measure is "adultness" and "grown-upness" determined? It seems that those things are often based on how far one has come from being free to express what's inside along with how well intentions and responses can be wrapped in a specified box. That standard makes little distinction between the suppression of joy and the suppression of displeasure because it makes suppression the main rule. Huh? Those things are so different.
I say let loose with that joy like you did back in the day when diapers were a thing of the recent past and cheerios were happy little rings of pure delight. Being a joyful manbaby without the tantrums sounds pretty good.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
-Matthew 5:8
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Keep it simple
at
12:22 AM
I think simple things that are nice are nicer than other nice things because of their simplicity. Simple things don't depend on fancy tricks or long-winded explanations of why they're great because they are what they are, and are themselves quite fully, just by being.
I think one of the best things about complexity is that it offers a contrast to simplicity; maybe complex things are just simple things excessively wrapped. Or maybe they're a mix of wrappings between simple things.
Truth and confusion seem to dance together in much the same way as simplicity and complexity. The core of the truth is in there somewhere, in the midst of the jumble that prefers to confuse. Fortunately, the source of truth doesn't change and the number of truths present remains the same.
People can often seem complex, but I think in the end they're simple; there's truth in them that makes them treasures, and that, a simple truth in itself, makes much of life simple at least in theory. Love, the act and attitude of appreciating that truth in practice, is at the heart of it all. Neat and oversimplified on paper; exciting, wonderful and messy in real life.
"And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever."
-Isaiah 32:17
I think one of the best things about complexity is that it offers a contrast to simplicity; maybe complex things are just simple things excessively wrapped. Or maybe they're a mix of wrappings between simple things.
Truth and confusion seem to dance together in much the same way as simplicity and complexity. The core of the truth is in there somewhere, in the midst of the jumble that prefers to confuse. Fortunately, the source of truth doesn't change and the number of truths present remains the same.
People can often seem complex, but I think in the end they're simple; there's truth in them that makes them treasures, and that, a simple truth in itself, makes much of life simple at least in theory. Love, the act and attitude of appreciating that truth in practice, is at the heart of it all. Neat and oversimplified on paper; exciting, wonderful and messy in real life.
"And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever."
-Isaiah 32:17
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Oooh, shiny things!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
at
12:01 AM
Guys, like children, often have a reputation for being drawn to shiny things. I suppose you can extend that to some women when it comes to diamonds, though that might just be all those diamond commercials speaking. Anyhow, getting back to business.
The Perseid meteor shower is tonight. Nerdy but totally cool..ish. Shooting stars are such a spectacle, so romanticized as a sort of fleeting beauty; a moment of bright something. They are great. They are also usually smaller than a grain of sand, which is not so impressive. I like the surprise of it, the flash; or maybe I'm drawn to the tragedy of witnessing the cremation of a piece of old sand.
Unfortunately for my need to be dazzled, it's cloudy tonight.
That makes me think. I'm pretty sure that if we never saw them, they'd not be called "shooting stars." They'd probably just be labeled as nothing more than space sand burning up in the sky; out of sight, out of mind.
What I find surprising now that I'm thinking about this stuff is how impressive they are to me, when while I'm looking for them I am ignoring the 2,000 or so stars visible before my eyes. Not only that, but one of those bright dots is actually a galaxy, made up of 400 billion stars. That's insane! And bigger than a grain of space sand. I know these things, but they don't impress me the same way because I don't see them in the same flashy way as I do meteor showers.
This bothers me, because it makes me wonder what else I might be missing by covering up real awe with my fleeting desire to be entertained and dazzled by something relatively insignificant but so very shiny.
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."
-Galations 6: 9-10
The Perseid meteor shower is tonight. Nerdy but totally cool..ish. Shooting stars are such a spectacle, so romanticized as a sort of fleeting beauty; a moment of bright something. They are great. They are also usually smaller than a grain of sand, which is not so impressive. I like the surprise of it, the flash; or maybe I'm drawn to the tragedy of witnessing the cremation of a piece of old sand.
Unfortunately for my need to be dazzled, it's cloudy tonight.
That makes me think. I'm pretty sure that if we never saw them, they'd not be called "shooting stars." They'd probably just be labeled as nothing more than space sand burning up in the sky; out of sight, out of mind.
What I find surprising now that I'm thinking about this stuff is how impressive they are to me, when while I'm looking for them I am ignoring the 2,000 or so stars visible before my eyes. Not only that, but one of those bright dots is actually a galaxy, made up of 400 billion stars. That's insane! And bigger than a grain of space sand. I know these things, but they don't impress me the same way because I don't see them in the same flashy way as I do meteor showers.
This bothers me, because it makes me wonder what else I might be missing by covering up real awe with my fleeting desire to be entertained and dazzled by something relatively insignificant but so very shiny.
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."
-Galations 6: 9-10
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Manageable fun-size world
Saturday, August 1, 2009
at
12:14 AM
What would it be like to give in to the best thing ever? The things keeping that best thing at bay would seem a bit crazy once the letting go happened; like why were they there in the first place? The ability to remove really points toward the desire to put into place originally. Why? Lots of things scare our pants off.
There's this thing called cognitive consistency. It's the need to eliminate what we feel doesn't belong in what we recognize, to keep things safe. It's why horror movies cause irrational but emotionally satisfying screams, even in big manly men who grunt and destroy things. We're continually trying to make sense of what's going on around us, and to take control of it in some feeble way to help ourselves deal with the junk. I'd call the control artificial, as we basically convince ourselves of what we want to see regardless of how things really are. There's a lot of blocking out of things undesired, things to be ignored; like closing the doors as you walk through your house until you've got a windowless corner room to function in.
How can you know you're living full unless you've let it all go at one point? Or conversely, how and when do you remind yourself that "hey, I didn't used to be stuck in this room and I'm totally gonna go chill out on the hammock that I'm pretty sure is still in the back yard?"
Our heads are far too small and dense a place to build an adequate world within; less living inside it, more using it to look outside.
There's this thing called cognitive consistency. It's the need to eliminate what we feel doesn't belong in what we recognize, to keep things safe. It's why horror movies cause irrational but emotionally satisfying screams, even in big manly men who grunt and destroy things. We're continually trying to make sense of what's going on around us, and to take control of it in some feeble way to help ourselves deal with the junk. I'd call the control artificial, as we basically convince ourselves of what we want to see regardless of how things really are. There's a lot of blocking out of things undesired, things to be ignored; like closing the doors as you walk through your house until you've got a windowless corner room to function in.
How can you know you're living full unless you've let it all go at one point? Or conversely, how and when do you remind yourself that "hey, I didn't used to be stuck in this room and I'm totally gonna go chill out on the hammock that I'm pretty sure is still in the back yard?"
Our heads are far too small and dense a place to build an adequate world within; less living inside it, more using it to look outside.
Luke 6:27
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
Here's to knocking that default cognitive consistency off track. And everyone knows fun-sized snacks leave something to be desired.
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What's wrong with today?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
at
10:45 PM
I get so inspired by people's stories of drastic change; stories of coming out of something unforeseen, perhaps an accident or illness, in a way that defies the expected. It gives a glimpse of what it feels like to live free, start over, and have a new perspective.
But what's wrong with today? Why do we demand an intense awakening that somehow proves that we're meant for something important before we re-evaluate what we're up to? Circumstance is circumstance, and depending on an unlikely one to guide life's orientation is a risk that seems a bit irresponsible.
We judge a great deal based on the past; on what we've experienced. Oddly, we forget what awaits us; we don't pay much mind to the inevitability of running out of days to breathe. Is that universal fact not just as worthy to be an instrument for change as rarely experienced circumstance? It is an important priority-driving urgency that's forgotten in the pace of all the busy and finding it is up to us, not chance.
But what's wrong with today? Why do we demand an intense awakening that somehow proves that we're meant for something important before we re-evaluate what we're up to? Circumstance is circumstance, and depending on an unlikely one to guide life's orientation is a risk that seems a bit irresponsible.
We judge a great deal based on the past; on what we've experienced. Oddly, we forget what awaits us; we don't pay much mind to the inevitability of running out of days to breathe. Is that universal fact not just as worthy to be an instrument for change as rarely experienced circumstance? It is an important priority-driving urgency that's forgotten in the pace of all the busy and finding it is up to us, not chance.
"And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you." Luke 12:29-31
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Mmmmm...
Friday, July 24, 2009
at
5:33 PM
It's so nice to be full of food; to be content, comfortable, and falling into a caloric coma. It's hunger that gives purpose to eating, and it's hunger that makes the first tasty bite so much better than the last could ever be. Everyone gets hungry, everyone eats. Not everyone gets full. It's easy to complain about food; about how it wasn't good enough because it didn't provide what was sought. No one complains about being hungry in the same way; it's not something that's determined by one's taste, it's just as inevitable as we all know it to be.
We're hungry for all sorts of things, and for some reason we often assume that all of the other hungers follow the same rules as the one dealing with eating. Well they don't. Every time mediocrity sneaks its way into what bothers us, there's a realization that we're not satisfied. What would change if instead of wondering why the food isn't filling, we wondered whether that particular hunger is worth satisfying? So much of what we're after is but a shadow of something greater; something at our core that gets at questions of purpose and meaning.
Maybe when we get what we don't want and don't get what we want to need, we've forgotten that we can choose our hunger. How wonderful to be starving for something every morning that can be found without limit and whose steady supply comes at no cost to us! That's the tasty stuff.
All this talk of food creates in me a need for pizza, and this is a hunger I'd like to chase down. Must go.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6
We're hungry for all sorts of things, and for some reason we often assume that all of the other hungers follow the same rules as the one dealing with eating. Well they don't. Every time mediocrity sneaks its way into what bothers us, there's a realization that we're not satisfied. What would change if instead of wondering why the food isn't filling, we wondered whether that particular hunger is worth satisfying? So much of what we're after is but a shadow of something greater; something at our core that gets at questions of purpose and meaning.
Maybe when we get what we don't want and don't get what we want to need, we've forgotten that we can choose our hunger. How wonderful to be starving for something every morning that can be found without limit and whose steady supply comes at no cost to us! That's the tasty stuff.
All this talk of food creates in me a need for pizza, and this is a hunger I'd like to chase down. Must go.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6
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Ready, Set...Go
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
at
4:53 PM
How nice to have an outlet for expression, but how oddly difficult to get past the inertia that somehow builds up. I've been of the mind that the supply of blogs outweighs the demand for them, but the appeal of an accountability for expression has won me over whether the audience be imaginary or real. I won't promise entertainment or even any real benefit from the posts to follow, but what they'll be made of is the attempt to get a bit lost in what I think we've all got a bit of inside; I think truth dances around behind our floating words on the fixed pages that many leave blank, so it's my plan to fill those pages a little.
Grasping truth is great; change isn't included in its hobbies and it lets you build foundations around its roots. Hopefully truth will really dig the tunes and get down on this dance floor. My worldview is one based on the Bible, so that's the road from which is see the scenery; this being the case, I imagine posts will have a lot to do with stirring up those who call themselves followers of Christ. If you're moved to get in on the action, leave comments and let's boogie, dancing's good for the soul.
-teo
Grasping truth is great; change isn't included in its hobbies and it lets you build foundations around its roots. Hopefully truth will really dig the tunes and get down on this dance floor. My worldview is one based on the Bible, so that's the road from which is see the scenery; this being the case, I imagine posts will have a lot to do with stirring up those who call themselves followers of Christ. If you're moved to get in on the action, leave comments and let's boogie, dancing's good for the soul.
-teo
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