Writing is battlefield for wit, attention span, and those pesky rules of grammar that always seemed to get in the way of me actually getting anything written. My blogger account is packed full of countless unfinished drafts, those ideas that, regardless of their worth or lack thereof, will never be published. I love to think and I love to write, that is I love to express my ideas to others in a calm and reflected manner; very much unlike my attempts at holding conversation. Yet all the time in the world doesn't seem to allow me to express all the things I want. So for once, here it is, all of it; the jumbled mess that came to mind over the course of a five hour, highly caffeinated drive from KY to TN.
Literary heroes who explain the world how they see it...the way it actually is.
Bad things happen in the world and denying it is a lie about 70% of existence. I applaud those authors who write about the grungy aspects of human actions. Being able to relate to the dark side of human experiences isn't pleasant but it affirms that bad times are a big part of what it means to be human, and in that, there is immense comfort. "Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh." -George Bernard Shaw
The homeless and why I slept on a mattress stained with cat piss.
That statement probably made you uncomfortable just now; and think, you didn't even sleep on the mattress! There are boundaries most people have established about many things and it all comes back to how we wish to be seen. Some are more universal and practical than others, like not wanting to reclaim a mattress from the otherwise empty dumpster behind your work, soaking it in bleach, and calling it your own. Others are much more trivial, such as referring to an ipod dictionary for spell check...let's see what happens when I stop using it (please don't think less of me). The point? There is a lot of griping about an economic apocalypse and environmental fall out. "Organic" is one of the biggest fads of our day, any jamoke on Wall Street can attest to that. But there is something further to be done before we as individuals can actually make a difference. Think you can save the world and still encourage every family to strive for a 200,000 sq ft home with a hummer parked in the drive? Bet the next decade proves you wrong! Work in the food industry some time, you'll get a whole new definition for waste.
Stealing from Mega-Corps.
Walking through the isles of a certain distribution giant whom it has become fashionable to boycott, I mentioned to a friend how enticing the donuts looked. She agreed, opened the glass door, snagged an apple fritter, and went about her business munching down. At 11 PM with 30 some odd pastries left, it is common knowledge those things are going to the dump and at 55 cents apiece, taking one isn't going to bring down a multi billion dollar corporation. On one hand I had a deeply ingrained idea that taking something without paying for it is stealing. But with the ultimate harm mega-corps do to communities, that is, the world and how much they waste, I'm thinking lady justice may need to remove the blind fold and tweak her scales. So where does that leave the moral high ground? You tell me.
How much does God intervene on a daily basis?
I don't have a PhD in theology and just like the majority of the masses too much talk about what actions a supreme being does or doesn't take / has or hasn't taken hurts my brain. But what if it's as simple as a game of "Good Decision, Bad Decision?" Personal religious beliefs aside, try to indulge me. God is omniscient and knows everything that will ever happen, not to be confused with predetermining what we will do. Historically God has given us instruction on right behavior, a guide to what will lead to a happy life. From there it is up to us. Why knowing what will happen isn't the same as predetermining what we will do: We know from experience that touching a hot stove will burn us. Subsequently we "know" that without that knowledge a young child will eventually touch the stove and get burned so we tell them not to because it is dangerous. Some will follow the instruction and be fine (good decision), others will touch it anyway and get burned (bad decision (sin)). So it isn't that God causes or withholds pain from the world, simply that sometimes God will hold our hands back from the stove top, but we must realize that sometimes we must take the hint that God has given and experience some lessons on our own.
The Breakdown
Spelling errors- 10 (you didn't think I was really going to leave them did you?)
other pesky gramatical errors? you find 'em!
Time it took to write this...too long
How uncomfortable this wooden chair is: Quite.
Number of comments I hope you share on any of the above ideas: Several
No comments:
Post a Comment