Aaahhh!! What happened to my pretty little world?
[hint] Slate.com is a dandy site for bursting people’s bubbles.. IVF, neuroethics, neurotheology, abortion, addiction, politics and power, they’ve got it all!
Mind..set..
So I fight to get my paper written, and I think I noticed why.
It’s said that men are able to compartmentalize their lives and emotions, whereas women, due to differing hormones that affect brain development, are prone to having “one big pile” of everything that is going on. Surely both genders feel both at various times, but that being the larger theme.
So I start my day in one type of mindset (functional): waking, moving, shaving, showering, eating. And I move to another mindset once those operations are off the check-list, usually the question of, “Ok, what’s going on today? ..in my soul and in my life?” And I startup the conversation with God. But that is a change of mindset. And there’s some inertia there, inside my own brain. Then I have to start my day, go to class, start working on work or schoolwork. If it’s reading or listening, that’s not terribly hard, but still, I do feel a change must occur in my head. I understand my brain to be set in a certain direction, and that I need to say, “stop. turn over here.” but the ‘turn over here’ doesn’t work unless I keep telling myself that for awhile until it’s now rolling on that new track. And when it comes to paper-writing, if I’m already started, it’s easier to get myself back on that track.
update: apparently there’s more truth to this than i knew..
Supposed to.. but aren’t..
I’m supposed to be writing a book review for a class. I know what I wanna say; I’ve got my outline. But dangit, I have to elaborate. And I *clearly* don’t have a problem doing this, it’s just that everything in me is saying, “go write about something else.” Capitalism. Developmental Psychology, blog, wiki, ANYTHING just not what I HAVE to.
Same thing with speeches. I have no problem blabbing in front of people.. UNTIL it’s going to be graded. Then my paranoia of saying, “umm” every 3 seconds comes out and I lose it all.
But I’ve got a new writing style.. hopefully sufficient for my uber-analytic mind and artsy-fartsy heart.
1) I get my outline going with what I wanna say (main points kidna stuff)
2) I come up with all sorts of artsy/poetic phrases that communicate the details
3) I sew them all together in true analytic fashion..
4) ..forming a poetic and structured piece of literature.
Previously, I’d just blab and would fall in love with certain phrases and sentences and have to rip them apart for either more orderly content or just more content. It was a sad occasion. Many tears shed upon many keyboards with sobs of “Why?! Why must I strike my beautiful words with the dagger of formal writing!” Or something like that.
Moved..
Since wordpress is having issues saving my posts, I’m boycotting and moving to Blogspot.com
Grr..
Not happy that I can’t import from wordpress.. but at least it POSTS! (I have issues with wordpress.com NOT saving thanks to time-outs and broken-AJAX. C’mon boys, fix it already!)
And this way i can blog from my phone and nokia n800(they made software for that!)
Jesus, the chef
Who needs Jesus dyin’ on the cross, when you’ve got Joy Bauer tellin’ ya how to have a happy, cranky-free life!
What’s it all about (Al)?
So Dr. Mohler posted. It’s a work of genius according to a lady I overheard a few days ago:
“People do not remain loyal to institutions when they no longer believe in their importance.
The importance of the church is essentially tied to the reality of the Gospel.
When people no longer believe that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, the church becomes a time-consuming irrelevance.”
He’s essentially saying, I’m right, end of game. News DEscribes. And I’m ok with that. Rather, I’m thrilled about that. I don’t want the news explaining reality to me.
Al Mohler took the DEscription of reality and with 2 presuppositions made a PREscription as to why the DEscription is as it is.
Most people aren’t ok with this technique. “How do you know?” and “You’ve never been to Germany- you’ve not talked to the people, understood their position” would easily be heard on the street in reaction to his statements. (Insert cultural-sensitivity here).
He never explained why he has these presupp’s. He takes them as ’self-evident’.
But I look at what he’s writing, and I wonder, “What’s the point? Why, Al Mohler, did you take the 5 minutes to offer your 2 presupp’s on this issue, from this article? What good comes of you writing this?” Did he add anything to what the news did not report? Certainly, he added his 2 statements. To some level, I think he’s simply modeling interpretive technique. I think if you asked him, “What’s it all about (Alfie)?” he’d say he’s “trying to get Christians to see Christian-ly.” And that’s fine if modeling is happening.
What that really means though, on one hand (to the world) that we’re all living with blinders on. That we’re only thinking about things like our Pope tells us to think about them. No independent mind is being encouraged. And to the world, being a lemming is the most in-human thing possible. Oddly enough, I agree.
So now the issue is, “How do leaders lead and develop people who may or may not be able to understand or want development?” If you “think for them” you can be assured that’s either ‘modeling’ or ‘doing it for them.’ As to the latter, I submit “Failure to Launch.” Teachers know that they can lecture about a topic all day, but learning isn’t happening unless the student ‘gets it.’ So I’m left to wonder, “that’s great that you told the world your interp. of German religion, but did anyone ‘get it’?” And that’s a question I can’t answer. I think that’s a question he can’t answer either. The Christian answer here is to say, “Well, God ‘called’ him to address these issues, so that’s what he’s doing. He’s doing his part and leaving the rest up to God.” Honestly, how much of that is just BS? How much is abdicating responsibility? How much of it is ‘wasting time’/ being ineffectual and doing a job half-a*$’d? Part of me wants to say, “if ya can’t do all of it, don’t do any of it.”
Ok.. that sounded more bitter than I meant it..
The World Outside of Me..
Maybe it’s the end of me for me.
I’ve lived thus far just trying to live. To get me normal, up-to-speed.
Now that I have, I’ve found it insufficient.
“So what” about me, “Who cares?” “I’ll survive.”
and with that, I slack down to survival.
But survival was the level I was running from!
but now, having flown to the heights and back down,
“Eh, that was nice. I’ll stay here.. ease.”
But maybe this is when the difference happens-
when something changes, when I stop thinking about me & what I need, but what others need me to be.
“Pfft! Who needs me?! Especially here! And even if they did, I can ’smoke’ ‘em with what I already know.”
but that’s my brain saying, “There’s nothing more than what I know already” and effectively, “God doesn’t have anything for me or anyone else.”
This is laying down my life. and part of me is saying, “God, I’ll start praying if you’ll start working.” Where is death around me that needs life? ..oh yes.. there..
Sorry Jesus, I gave it my best..
I had an funny thought in my head a minute ago.. I think that when I die and see Jesus, I’ll say something like, “Sorry, I tried my best, but people are idiots.” And I get the impression that he’ll reply with something like, “Yeah, I understand, I’ve been trying for a few thousand years too..”
