The other day, I was sitting outside of my mother's house, locked out. The weather wasn't bad, which I was eternally grateful for, but from the looks of the clouds, it wouldn't stay that way for long. My mom and her boyfriend were out and about somewhere, and I had no way of getting a hold of them.
My cell phone was inside the house, along with the rest of my belongings. I didn't bring it with me, as there is no such thing as cell phone service here... only dead zones. That being said, I took a walk to pass the time, as sitting around on the front porch was getting rather boring, and quickly.
I walked down the hill to the creek that marks the end of the property. I stared at the water for a while and reflected about everything that's going on in my life, and everything that has already happened, and started looking towards the event horizon that holds the future things that will happen to me. Sometimes getting in to these contemplative moods works out rather well for me. Other times, not so much.
This time, I feel that I was very fortunate.
After becoming bored with the water, I walked a little further in to this thicket that is on the property. I sat on a rock and thought about all of the decisions that I've made in life that led me to that exact point. I can't say that I was impressed with myself.
There was something bothering me... something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It wasn't until I started my way back to the locked and empty house that it hit me. On my way back, I was presented with a choice. That choice was to move forward through a patch of foliage that was more than likely some form of poison ivy or poison oak, or go up a muddy hill and around some rocks to avoid the possible poison. I made my choice in haste, and rather foolishly.
I walked directly through the unknown foliage.
As soon as I was done, it hit me. The thing that was bothering me about my reflections; the missing link, if you will.
You see, what I realized almost immediately is that I did what so many of us human beings are constantly doing throughout our lives: I took the path of least resistance. I'm not quite sure why I did this. The nearest I can figure is that it's in our instinct to do things like this. I took the way that was easiest, and as a result, I would possibly have itchy skin and a visit to the doctors office as a way of once again teaching me about cause and effect. If I were to have taken the path less travelled, i.e. the uphill way that would have involved some relatively hard work and yet no blemished skin and even, quite possibly, a better sense of accomplishment, I wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.
Believe me when I tell you, I started getting giddy over this prospect. It wasn't long before my mind went to other areas with this new information. I made the connection to what the Bible says about taking the path less traveled, and that's why I'm here today, writing this blog.
I know that I said that I wouldn't preach at you all, and believe me when I tell you that I'm not. I'm not in a good position to preach to people.... I'd be way too much of a hypocrite. All I'm saying is that Jesus couldn't have been too far off with his advice to stick to the path less traveled. Sure, it's harder work, but.... it's what is gonna keep you safe.
With this newfound realization, I immediately set to work, thinking about all of the times in life that I took the path that was most commonly travelled, and how they all invariably ended in tragedy for me.
There was the decisions I made when it came to drugs. I had some good times, sure, but I firmly believe that because of those decisions, I can no longer realize my full potential. The decisions that I made when it came to schooling. Sure, I graduated a year ahead of my class, but... what do I have to show for that, exactly? Nothing.
Time and again, we, as human beings, are forced to make decisions. I look back at history and I see what it was that made the great people so great: they took the paths less travelled, and the results were amazing. These are the people like Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, and so on. Sure, these people made their mistakes in life, but they did something that so many of us - myself included - have problems doing: they moved passed their problems, and made something so much better of themselves.
And so I offer this as a challenge to all of us: at least once per month, let's make a decision in life to take the path less travelled, and see what happens. I look forward to the results.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Killing Time
The other day, I was playing World of Warcraft, and a Guildmate of mine said that he was "killing time as time was killing him." This is a concept that, I believe, anyway, escapes the confines of our conscious minds and is something that we, as humans, take for granted.
There is some terrible news that I have, and it's something that we've all already heard time and again, and yet, for whatever reason, tend not to think about. Just in case you weren't around - or weren't paying attention, for that matter - to hear it, I shall say it once again for your benefit:
You are going to die some day.
I know, I know... Shocking, right? That's just the problem. All too often, the case is that it is shocking to most people. A lot of us actively avoid thinking about the fact that we have a very limited time on this miserable little sphere that we call a planet. Instead, we make all sorts of plans for the future, securing our bank accounts, landing a job that we feel defines us as a person, etc. Hell, most of us don't even make it past our pursuit of the almighty dollar. We tend to ignore death as if it is nothing more than a fairy tale that we tell our children to frighten them into compliance with the rules.
Why, I ask, do we do this? We are all guilty of this. It's not as if we aren't reminded that our time is limited in this life on a daily basis. Not a day goes by that we don't hear of someone that we either know or admire passing away. We even hear news of the deaths of strangers. I really don't feel as if our treatment of the dead is all that respectful, either. We have really gone downhill as a society in this country when it comes to the subject of death. We have gone from revering the dead and respecting our limited amount of life to doing nothing more than allowing the passing of the living to fall through the cracks of bureaucracy.
Do you know what happens to people who die of any cause at all? After the proper authorities are notified and the body is taken off to the morgue, they are assinged a serial number. From there, the medical examiner (a glorified term for a mortician, really) has approximately 48 hours to fill out the appropriate forms for a death certificate. Yes, we need a certificate that states that we are officially dead, these days. After that, the form is mailed off to some other agency whose sole job is to mail it off to the World Health Organization. In this process, the deceased is assinged at least four more serial numbers. They lose their names, identities, and everything else that made them a person. They are no longer someone's son/daughter/husband/wife/neice/nephew etc... They are nothing more than a statistic, at that point.
This, I believe, is entirely inexcusable. We no longer fear death, and therefore categorize it as a way of rationalizing. It's a foreign concept to the lot of us. We go about our day to day lives, doing anything and everything we can to prolong them. There is at least five new diets created every day, each one claiming to be more healthy than the last, and, therefore, expanding your lifespan.
I normally wouldn't have a problem with this, but most of us are only out for ourselves. We want to be the last man standing, so to speak. Rather than using our time on this planet wisely, we splurge it all away, and for what? Honestly, I want you all to think about that for just a few minutes at the very least. What, exactly, is it that you are living for? Is it really all that worth while? Is it really something that people will talk about for generations to come?
I'm not saying that we should all strive to be great leaders and impacts on history and society. What I'm saying is that, thanks to the disregard of death, we have lost all sense of community. There are many factors that led to the loss of community and brotherhood here in America, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened with that, but I'm not going to beat a dead horse on the subject. If you honestly don't know the answer to that, then allow me to point out to you that you have at your disposal one of the greatest tools ever created to gather information, and it's literally at your fingertips right now as you read this.
Listen: I'm not here to scare you all into changing your ways. Realistically speaing, nobody is going to be able to change over night, and I accept that. What I am doing, however, is trying to redirect your thinking to another light. Consider my words here today. Stop killing time, because it's a waste. Instead, utilize your time to do something actually worth all the effort that you put into it. Make it something you can be proud of, and that others can actually respect you for. Do something for your community, or even something small and nice for your parents or significant others. Start small, and then work your way to the bigger things. It all comes in time, which, if you take what I'm saying to heart, you'll find will stop killing you if you can just utilize it properly.
There is some terrible news that I have, and it's something that we've all already heard time and again, and yet, for whatever reason, tend not to think about. Just in case you weren't around - or weren't paying attention, for that matter - to hear it, I shall say it once again for your benefit:
You are going to die some day.
I know, I know... Shocking, right? That's just the problem. All too often, the case is that it is shocking to most people. A lot of us actively avoid thinking about the fact that we have a very limited time on this miserable little sphere that we call a planet. Instead, we make all sorts of plans for the future, securing our bank accounts, landing a job that we feel defines us as a person, etc. Hell, most of us don't even make it past our pursuit of the almighty dollar. We tend to ignore death as if it is nothing more than a fairy tale that we tell our children to frighten them into compliance with the rules.
Why, I ask, do we do this? We are all guilty of this. It's not as if we aren't reminded that our time is limited in this life on a daily basis. Not a day goes by that we don't hear of someone that we either know or admire passing away. We even hear news of the deaths of strangers. I really don't feel as if our treatment of the dead is all that respectful, either. We have really gone downhill as a society in this country when it comes to the subject of death. We have gone from revering the dead and respecting our limited amount of life to doing nothing more than allowing the passing of the living to fall through the cracks of bureaucracy.
Do you know what happens to people who die of any cause at all? After the proper authorities are notified and the body is taken off to the morgue, they are assinged a serial number. From there, the medical examiner (a glorified term for a mortician, really) has approximately 48 hours to fill out the appropriate forms for a death certificate. Yes, we need a certificate that states that we are officially dead, these days. After that, the form is mailed off to some other agency whose sole job is to mail it off to the World Health Organization. In this process, the deceased is assinged at least four more serial numbers. They lose their names, identities, and everything else that made them a person. They are no longer someone's son/daughter/husband/wife/neice/nephew etc... They are nothing more than a statistic, at that point.
This, I believe, is entirely inexcusable. We no longer fear death, and therefore categorize it as a way of rationalizing. It's a foreign concept to the lot of us. We go about our day to day lives, doing anything and everything we can to prolong them. There is at least five new diets created every day, each one claiming to be more healthy than the last, and, therefore, expanding your lifespan.
I normally wouldn't have a problem with this, but most of us are only out for ourselves. We want to be the last man standing, so to speak. Rather than using our time on this planet wisely, we splurge it all away, and for what? Honestly, I want you all to think about that for just a few minutes at the very least. What, exactly, is it that you are living for? Is it really all that worth while? Is it really something that people will talk about for generations to come?
I'm not saying that we should all strive to be great leaders and impacts on history and society. What I'm saying is that, thanks to the disregard of death, we have lost all sense of community. There are many factors that led to the loss of community and brotherhood here in America, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened with that, but I'm not going to beat a dead horse on the subject. If you honestly don't know the answer to that, then allow me to point out to you that you have at your disposal one of the greatest tools ever created to gather information, and it's literally at your fingertips right now as you read this.
Listen: I'm not here to scare you all into changing your ways. Realistically speaing, nobody is going to be able to change over night, and I accept that. What I am doing, however, is trying to redirect your thinking to another light. Consider my words here today. Stop killing time, because it's a waste. Instead, utilize your time to do something actually worth all the effort that you put into it. Make it something you can be proud of, and that others can actually respect you for. Do something for your community, or even something small and nice for your parents or significant others. Start small, and then work your way to the bigger things. It all comes in time, which, if you take what I'm saying to heart, you'll find will stop killing you if you can just utilize it properly.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Re-Awakening
Greetings, and salutations to you all!
I know factually that this blog has received absolutely no traffic whatsoever since I posted in it over three years ago. Today is the day that I hope to change all of that. Like the phoenix of legend, this blog has risen once more from its own ashes.
The blog posts will not be frequent, I am sure. They will, however, be written in such a way that they will (hopefully) invoke a great amount of thought within those who read them. The goal of these blogs is to expand horizons and open minds to new ideas. I am not here to preach at any of you, nor am I here to try and stir up controversy. Those days are done.
For those of you who don't know my name already, I am Rob. I am, as of this writing, twenty-four years of age. I like to consider myself a man of devout faith in Christ, although my actions don't always show it. I am not perfect in any way, shape, or form. I am nothing more than a sack of meat and water that is wandering about this planet just as aimlessly and cluelessly as any of you who may currently be reading this.
You see, I used to be an atheist, but I got better. That said, as an atheist, I used to read the Bible to tear it apart and use its own statements against it as a weapon of blasphemy. There were, however, certain things about it that I had liked, such as the fate of Lot's wife. Maybe I should explain.
Everbody knows about the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gamorrah. They are the two cities that Bible thumpers always reference when speaking out against homosexuality and witchcraft, and they always do it without fail. Inside of two of these cities, there was but one righteous man, by the name of Lot.
After a series of events, Lot and his family were guided from the cities by an angel of the Lord. They were told not to look back, or else God would punish them the same as He was the cities. Well, Lot's wife looked back, and because of that, God struck her down and turned her into a pillar of salt.
Before becoming cured of my affliction of atheism, I always smiled at that little story. Cruel, I know, but I just couldn't help it. In my eyes, Lot's wife was a hero of the human race. You see, at the time, it never occured to me that there was a meaning between the lines of the words. Sure, I knew what symbology through writing and allegories were, but I figured that since the Christians believed every word of this story book was absolute truth, they must think that this is what actually happened. There was no symbolism, merely words about the punishments that God gave out.
Anyway, I found her to be a hero due to the fact that what she did was a very human thing to do. While it never occured to me that she was looking back on the cities in a figurative way, I took it literally and always envisioned her turning around to look at the cities being destroyed. That was the human part of her action, and I admired her for it.
I tell you all of this because I, too, am a pillar of salt. We are all pillars of salt. And so, from one pillar of salt to many, I bid you welcome to this blog and what will hopefully be a wonderful journey down many edifying paths. I look forward to writing and sharing these thoughts of mine, and I hope that you all look forward to reading them.
Again, I am not here to preach to people about God and faith and the like. I am here to exorcise my own demons - my thoughts - because they are driving me crazy being trapped inside of my head with nowhere to go and nothing else to do than drive me nuts.
You are now entering the most prized possession that I have: my mind. You are all about to get a rare glimpse inside the Cynic.
I know factually that this blog has received absolutely no traffic whatsoever since I posted in it over three years ago. Today is the day that I hope to change all of that. Like the phoenix of legend, this blog has risen once more from its own ashes.
The blog posts will not be frequent, I am sure. They will, however, be written in such a way that they will (hopefully) invoke a great amount of thought within those who read them. The goal of these blogs is to expand horizons and open minds to new ideas. I am not here to preach at any of you, nor am I here to try and stir up controversy. Those days are done.
For those of you who don't know my name already, I am Rob. I am, as of this writing, twenty-four years of age. I like to consider myself a man of devout faith in Christ, although my actions don't always show it. I am not perfect in any way, shape, or form. I am nothing more than a sack of meat and water that is wandering about this planet just as aimlessly and cluelessly as any of you who may currently be reading this.
You see, I used to be an atheist, but I got better. That said, as an atheist, I used to read the Bible to tear it apart and use its own statements against it as a weapon of blasphemy. There were, however, certain things about it that I had liked, such as the fate of Lot's wife. Maybe I should explain.
Everbody knows about the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gamorrah. They are the two cities that Bible thumpers always reference when speaking out against homosexuality and witchcraft, and they always do it without fail. Inside of two of these cities, there was but one righteous man, by the name of Lot.
After a series of events, Lot and his family were guided from the cities by an angel of the Lord. They were told not to look back, or else God would punish them the same as He was the cities. Well, Lot's wife looked back, and because of that, God struck her down and turned her into a pillar of salt.
Before becoming cured of my affliction of atheism, I always smiled at that little story. Cruel, I know, but I just couldn't help it. In my eyes, Lot's wife was a hero of the human race. You see, at the time, it never occured to me that there was a meaning between the lines of the words. Sure, I knew what symbology through writing and allegories were, but I figured that since the Christians believed every word of this story book was absolute truth, they must think that this is what actually happened. There was no symbolism, merely words about the punishments that God gave out.
Anyway, I found her to be a hero due to the fact that what she did was a very human thing to do. While it never occured to me that she was looking back on the cities in a figurative way, I took it literally and always envisioned her turning around to look at the cities being destroyed. That was the human part of her action, and I admired her for it.
I tell you all of this because I, too, am a pillar of salt. We are all pillars of salt. And so, from one pillar of salt to many, I bid you welcome to this blog and what will hopefully be a wonderful journey down many edifying paths. I look forward to writing and sharing these thoughts of mine, and I hope that you all look forward to reading them.
Again, I am not here to preach to people about God and faith and the like. I am here to exorcise my own demons - my thoughts - because they are driving me crazy being trapped inside of my head with nowhere to go and nothing else to do than drive me nuts.
You are now entering the most prized possession that I have: my mind. You are all about to get a rare glimpse inside the Cynic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)