I should post...

My chair is getting old and ordinary…so now I’m sitting on my desk. Since my desk will probably get old (as a seat) a lot faster than my chair usually does, it will maintain its unordinary rank as a novelty in my life. Simple pleasures are important and very much worth pursuing.

At this point, y’all are probably muttering pointed insults at me and my pleasant excuse for a life. “Get a life…somebody has way to much time on his hands…gosh, you’re weird…go fly a kite…etc.” Just FYI, “muttered insults” are obliterated by the cyberspace…and even if they aren’t, I’m not listening.

Now that I’m done procrastinating, the reason for this post is that I wanted to pass on a quote my dad emailed me. Be inspired and GET A LIFE!
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"Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical plan once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and daughters are going to do things that will stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon, beauty. Think big."

- Daniel Burnham

metaphysics of being

Georgetown! I’ve been here at the library, studying the metaphysics of being, and listening to the same repeat play-list all day long. On the fifth floor, I’m curled up in pinkish-maroon chair next to a large window. I wonder how many other people have sat in this same chair studying these same things. From my position, the window outlines a limited view of the alley below. On the other side of the alley are student apartments, characterized by red brick walls, regularly spaced fire escapes, and shade-drawn windows. I wonder what sort of lives are lived behind those shades. Looking forward, through the alley, I can see the sun, slowly setting over the Potomac River. I am the only person in the world who is watching, observing, studying, and thinking in this specific perspective and location. I wonder how many other people are also wasting time thinking about the insignificance of their individuality.

It’s interesting… sometimes I wonder why I do the things I do. Right now, at this moment, I’ve just finished wondering why I wrote what I just wrote! Why sacrifice the time (if only five minutes) to sit, contemplate, and express a moment in my life; a moment that is so irrelevant for you and so meaningful for me? Even further, why was it meaningful to me? Why do I care what you think? Do I care? Why do I think? Do I think? Do I?

After some consideration, I think the answer to all of the above starts with a yes and evolves into and explanation of man. Because humans are created in the image of God, we have the same innate tendencies toward unity and diversity that exist within the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Because of my natural need to think and feel, I am creative out of need for diversity (I want to be unique), I communicate out of need for unity (I need people), and I reflect and think out of my need for both unity and diversity (because of sin, the opposites are not mutually coexistent). Because I am made in the image of God, I am, I do think, I do care, I am unique, and I am part of a greater whole.

Wow, I am so weird! I honestly don’t have a clue where all of that just came from. Now that I’ve satisfied my randomness for the day, I should really get back to studying... Cheers!

questions for today

There are many things that I don’t understand... My ignorance seems to grow inversely with every passing day, hour, and second of my studies. Today, in PBR, the ubiquitous question was reconsidered for the ump-millionth time, “if God is good, if God is sovereign, and if God created the world, then how is it possible for evil (pain) to exist within his creation?” Rather than being bothered by the usual question of evil, I was bothered by the idea that “pain” is so often discussed interchangeably with evil. Is pain really an evil? I’m not convinced that it is. Did pain exist before the fall? I am tempted to believe it did. Does pain add or detract from the physical, social, and religious aspects of life? I would say it can add to and enrich all three aspects. Should a distinction be made between physical and emotional pain? It seems like a good idea…I guess I’m not sure. Would virtues like courage and determination exist in a painless world? I really can’t see how they would. And finally...deep breath...hold on to your seat...I claim no responsibility for the following question. Was the fall really a fall for everyone? It was obviously more than detrimental for the majority if mankind, but I’m not thinking about the majority. What about those of us who have received grace through faith; the chosen; the Christians? Because of the fall, I’ve noticed that Christians now have both knowledge of good and evil and immortality of the soul. Before the fall, we had only immortality. The fall: is it possible that it was down for the damned and up for the saved?

Yes, I have many questions. Questions are good. Questions cultivate the mind. Active questioning is the sort of thing that people do when they wish to know something. I also have opinions. Opinions can be good. Opinions can cultivate the mind. Opinions can also be wrong. And so...enjoy reading my endless questions.