I have been spending the last little while doing a little bit of spiritual work, which is interesting, since I am revisiting a lot of things that I used to do on a regular basis. Contemplative prayer, reading the Bible more regularly....heck, I'm a regular born again Christian, let me sign the waiver!
That aside, there is something to be said for the spiritual life, whatever that means to each of us. Everyone has a side of themselves that needs to be nutured, a side which is different from our emotional and rational faculties. Without putting too much emphasis on the dogma or ideals associated with the third side of ourselves, we can just call it 'the spiritual.' I am a big fan of Rudolf Otto's "Idea of the Holy."
Otto had some really great things to say after the Great War. A lot of people were confused about the place of 'meaning' in a thematic sense, and for Otto, the Holy was something mysterious, terrifying, and yet attractive all at the same time, something we could understand from the realm of personal experience without relying on the events in history to be explained to us fully. The numinous, or the feeling of 'something that is not me' that encompasses the Holy, and having a feeling of other-than-me is what creates a great, ethical world that allows us to see a big picture. Or something like that. (Never said I can always coherently recount my lessons in philsophy properly.)
The major point is that religion and religious experience is not reducible to something else. We can say that our spiritual faculty, whatever that means, is something necessary and in need of nourishment on a regular basis.
So find that spiritual food that makes you feel healthy. I am doing my best to include my daily intake of the spiritual, myself.
And now, I am off to feed the part of me that needs sleep. =)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
VOW: ABC's of Love. A Valentines Day love song
Disclaimer: I had to work Sunday, which is why the VOW and TOW were up today on Monday.
Cheers and Happy Valentine's everyone!
TOW: Peace in Our Time
*Disclaimer: It's the long weekend, and I had to work on Sunday, so that's why TOW and VOW will be put up today.*
What is a peaceful society? Many great philosophers, and political thinkers, have debated this question, and the question of whether peace is even possible for human beings. Today I would like to talk about a different kind of peace: inner peace. I'm not suggest the other questions about peace aren't important but a) I'm not a political scientist of any kind, b) it's kind of not a subject I can put on my blog without people sending me mail telling me what errors I made in the discussion and c) why can't people get together like toast and jam? It should be so simple.
Inner peace, however, is really, really hard to achieve. We are constantly confronted by negative comments people make about us and the world around us, and we often don't find balance when, say, someone just spilled coffee all over your new dress shirt on the bus. When confronted by various situations in our life that challenge our level of inner peace, however fragile that might be, we often say, "Why me?"
Yes, indeed, why me? Why you? Why them? Why, why, why? No one has any idea, really. But there it is. No matter how hard we try, there always seems to be that one thing that craps on your parade like a flock of pigeons with a full bladder and explosive dihearrea. And at times like these we can only wonder what we did to deserve such an unfortunate lot in life, and we must be the unluckiest person alive, except for maybe that guy who was hit by lightning 24 times over a period of 7 years. He was really screwed.
Philosophy has a lot to say about the role of inner peace in our lives. Perhaps the most sage advice amongst all the musings on inner peace are the ones that refuse to accept that inner peace is circumstantial. Because, maybe not surprisingly, inner peace isn't about finding balance, it's about finding meaning.
The reason for this is simple. You can always be more balanced, more in tune with keeping everything in harmony. (Good luck with that, by the way). These sorts of people are the ones who become stereotypes, the Western bankers who 'find balance' with feng shui or cafeteria-style Buddhism. When Murphy's Law kicks in, however, they are going to find themselves on a rapid river to Unhappy Land. (And no, you're not tall enough to ride the rides in Unhappy Land. You just stand around watching everyone having a great time.)
When we search for an anchor of meaning in our lives, however, circumstances become less important. They are not challenges to our inner peace, they are only challenges to our daily lives. In other words, we are free to be peaceful not because the world around us is inherently peaceful, but because our search for meaning leads us to inner peace. We all have the ability to rise out of the rubble, and make ourselves anew. We can shed that skin of unhappiness, and put on that Shiny Robe of No Problem-ness. (It's pretty shiny.) And reflecting on the bigger problems that face us in our day to day lives, whether it be of a political or moral nature, the question is not 'how did I end up in a set of circumstances like these?' but rather 'what am I going to do now that I am in circumstances like these?"
Stick that in your inner peace pie-hole and chew on that, Mr.-Guy-Who-Spilled-Coffee-on-My-Dress-Shirt-On-the-Bus.
What is a peaceful society? Many great philosophers, and political thinkers, have debated this question, and the question of whether peace is even possible for human beings. Today I would like to talk about a different kind of peace: inner peace. I'm not suggest the other questions about peace aren't important but a) I'm not a political scientist of any kind, b) it's kind of not a subject I can put on my blog without people sending me mail telling me what errors I made in the discussion and c) why can't people get together like toast and jam? It should be so simple.
Inner peace, however, is really, really hard to achieve. We are constantly confronted by negative comments people make about us and the world around us, and we often don't find balance when, say, someone just spilled coffee all over your new dress shirt on the bus. When confronted by various situations in our life that challenge our level of inner peace, however fragile that might be, we often say, "Why me?"
Yes, indeed, why me? Why you? Why them? Why, why, why? No one has any idea, really. But there it is. No matter how hard we try, there always seems to be that one thing that craps on your parade like a flock of pigeons with a full bladder and explosive dihearrea. And at times like these we can only wonder what we did to deserve such an unfortunate lot in life, and we must be the unluckiest person alive, except for maybe that guy who was hit by lightning 24 times over a period of 7 years. He was really screwed.
Philosophy has a lot to say about the role of inner peace in our lives. Perhaps the most sage advice amongst all the musings on inner peace are the ones that refuse to accept that inner peace is circumstantial. Because, maybe not surprisingly, inner peace isn't about finding balance, it's about finding meaning.
The reason for this is simple. You can always be more balanced, more in tune with keeping everything in harmony. (Good luck with that, by the way). These sorts of people are the ones who become stereotypes, the Western bankers who 'find balance' with feng shui or cafeteria-style Buddhism. When Murphy's Law kicks in, however, they are going to find themselves on a rapid river to Unhappy Land. (And no, you're not tall enough to ride the rides in Unhappy Land. You just stand around watching everyone having a great time.)
When we search for an anchor of meaning in our lives, however, circumstances become less important. They are not challenges to our inner peace, they are only challenges to our daily lives. In other words, we are free to be peaceful not because the world around us is inherently peaceful, but because our search for meaning leads us to inner peace. We all have the ability to rise out of the rubble, and make ourselves anew. We can shed that skin of unhappiness, and put on that Shiny Robe of No Problem-ness. (It's pretty shiny.) And reflecting on the bigger problems that face us in our day to day lives, whether it be of a political or moral nature, the question is not 'how did I end up in a set of circumstances like these?' but rather 'what am I going to do now that I am in circumstances like these?"
Stick that in your inner peace pie-hole and chew on that, Mr.-Guy-Who-Spilled-Coffee-on-My-Dress-Shirt-On-the-Bus.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
TOW: Missed Chances
I've decided that a good way for me to keep my blog from jumping the shark for the third time is to start serializing what I do. So, my new thing will be to write a thought of the week. And I will keep it at five paragraphs. (short like a celebrity marriage!) So today, let's talk about missed chances.
I am in the middle of a life transition, from youth to adulthood, from being a student to being a worker bee, and from being an irresponsible, lazy son-of-a-gun, into a goal seeking, money hungry butt-face. Nice change. (Maybe I was always a big butt-face, though.)
I feel like it's usually at these times that we feel like we missed a chance somewhere else. Did I really forget to kiss that someone special or interesting when the moment presented itself? Was I really too tired to have a serious conversation with someone that needed it? Did I just miss the last bus? As if I'm getting a taxi--you think I'm made of dollar signs?!?! NO, I do NOT have a jacket, THANKS FOR ASKING.
I digress.
We often feel we missed chances when we actually notice change is happening. We wake up one day and say, "Yep. I'm thirteen." Next day, "Yep, I'm twenty." Suddenly, "Yep, I'm twenty-five, almost thirty...someone kill me."
It's like a rollercoaster ride. We start of slowly, and it's easy enough to enjoy, but then you start going up. At these times we say, did I really maximize thirteen? Should I really have used acne cleanser that had Frankenstein on the label? What about twenty? How much sex should people have at twenty? Why didn't I finish my degree instead of just working at the Country Kitchen for four years? What the crap happened? Suddenly the rollercoaster ride starts going faster. Not as much fun once people start throwing up over the side.
The reason we fear missed chances and sometimes regret them is not because we missed them, but because we realize that we are changing. As we become older, we change. When we catch ourselves, red-handed in the cookie jar, and say, "Aha! I know you, you're the me I might be in about five years!" We get scared and maybe even a bit depressed. We are scared of the person we might be in other's eyes, and we are scared of the person we may not be able to be. Possibility suddenly changes into inevitability. I can't become different. This is who I am. I missed my chance.
The truth is, perhaps, that we think eventually we can't change, or even worse, that we are happy leading ourselves down a miserable path. Suddenly, we really do start missing chances because the past makes us afraid of the future. I'm afraid I haven't had enough experience in life to say what you should do to transition from this sad ending into a happy ending because, I mean, it's not like I hit my mid-life crisis yet. I'm saving that for a hot red sports car...maybe?
I am in the middle of a life transition, from youth to adulthood, from being a student to being a worker bee, and from being an irresponsible, lazy son-of-a-gun, into a goal seeking, money hungry butt-face. Nice change. (Maybe I was always a big butt-face, though.)
I feel like it's usually at these times that we feel like we missed a chance somewhere else. Did I really forget to kiss that someone special or interesting when the moment presented itself? Was I really too tired to have a serious conversation with someone that needed it? Did I just miss the last bus? As if I'm getting a taxi--you think I'm made of dollar signs?!?! NO, I do NOT have a jacket, THANKS FOR ASKING.
I digress.
We often feel we missed chances when we actually notice change is happening. We wake up one day and say, "Yep. I'm thirteen." Next day, "Yep, I'm twenty." Suddenly, "Yep, I'm twenty-five, almost thirty...someone kill me."
It's like a rollercoaster ride. We start of slowly, and it's easy enough to enjoy, but then you start going up. At these times we say, did I really maximize thirteen? Should I really have used acne cleanser that had Frankenstein on the label? What about twenty? How much sex should people have at twenty? Why didn't I finish my degree instead of just working at the Country Kitchen for four years? What the crap happened? Suddenly the rollercoaster ride starts going faster. Not as much fun once people start throwing up over the side.
The reason we fear missed chances and sometimes regret them is not because we missed them, but because we realize that we are changing. As we become older, we change. When we catch ourselves, red-handed in the cookie jar, and say, "Aha! I know you, you're the me I might be in about five years!" We get scared and maybe even a bit depressed. We are scared of the person we might be in other's eyes, and we are scared of the person we may not be able to be. Possibility suddenly changes into inevitability. I can't become different. This is who I am. I missed my chance.
The truth is, perhaps, that we think eventually we can't change, or even worse, that we are happy leading ourselves down a miserable path. Suddenly, we really do start missing chances because the past makes us afraid of the future. I'm afraid I haven't had enough experience in life to say what you should do to transition from this sad ending into a happy ending because, I mean, it's not like I hit my mid-life crisis yet. I'm saving that for a hot red sports car...maybe?
Friday, February 06, 2009
Tomorrow's Saturday
I have to work.
I know it's only for six hours.
But boy, it's my weekend.
Then again, I have nothing to do.
My life is so BORING now that I work full time again. I forgot how BORING it makes everything.
I'm seriously going to starting writing short fiction again at this rate because I'm bored with life.
It's a bad sign.
But I'll put up a cartoon this weekend. I have several in the making. And maybe some more pictures related to that trip....I took...like...a month...ago?
Sigh. I'm so behind.
I know it's only for six hours.
But boy, it's my weekend.
Then again, I have nothing to do.
My life is so BORING now that I work full time again. I forgot how BORING it makes everything.
I'm seriously going to starting writing short fiction again at this rate because I'm bored with life.
It's a bad sign.
But I'll put up a cartoon this weekend. I have several in the making. And maybe some more pictures related to that trip....I took...like...a month...ago?
Sigh. I'm so behind.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Internet fixed
Hey guys,
Sorry, I am finally finished moving, and everything here is great, but today was the first day we could finally get the internet under wraps. FINALLY. I seriously hate setting up a wireless connection.
I start training for my new job on Thursday, so I have a lot to finish before then. Until then, though, I plan to watch the entire series of Dead Like Me. And eat Lucky Charms. And maybe post on my blog. And hope the new job doesn't fire me before I even get a paycheck. Har de har har.
Anyways, more to be posted later! Stay tuned!
Sorry, I am finally finished moving, and everything here is great, but today was the first day we could finally get the internet under wraps. FINALLY. I seriously hate setting up a wireless connection.
I start training for my new job on Thursday, so I have a lot to finish before then. Until then, though, I plan to watch the entire series of Dead Like Me. And eat Lucky Charms. And maybe post on my blog. And hope the new job doesn't fire me before I even get a paycheck. Har de har har.
Anyways, more to be posted later! Stay tuned!
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