Creative Title Pending...

Right, so today I decide to talk about something much more abstract than normal. Still trying to get away from the academic style of extricating thoughts from theoretical ideas. 

Today I'm thinking about eyes and their supreme significance. The idiom "eyes are the windows to the soul" is a prevelant yet widely underappreciated statement. Clearly eyes are important. Maybe these thoughts will strike a chord with some readers. 

Eye Contact - One of the things my parents taught me early on was the importance of looking someone in the eye. If eyes are the windows to the soul, this is crucial to showing that ther is nothing to hide, but a connection is being made. It's been instilled that it is completely rude and unbecoming to not look someone in the eyes when speaking to them or being spoken to. Maybe this is why I'm wary of people who wear sunglasses? If I can't see the eyes, then how can there be a connection to their soul? What are they hiding? Mysteries abound! 

Another importance in eye contact comes from my days in martial arts. I was taught not to watch the body language or focus on footwork. I was taught to stare straight into the eyes. They tell all. They can't lie. I quickly learned that while it's impossible to lie with the eyes, it IS possible to misdirect or confuse with them. A slight glance indicates where a possible attack is going to be directed, but that knowledge can be used in an elaborate overarching strategy... eyes can be confusing, but they definitely cannot lie. 

Prey - One thing I notice in terms of nature and the importance of eye contact, only prey breaks eye contact. When the predator locks eyes with it's meal, the prey will look this way and that for a way to escape. Anything that stays the gaze can be considered a threat or a challenge. This is why they tell you NOT to stare at apes, gorillas, or other dangerous-types of animals if you run into them. If you keep eye contact, you are a challenge. 

Eye on the prize - When it comes to endurance and running the race, any race, breaking eye contact with the goal can be the difference between success and defeat. Constant focus is crucial to any worthwhile effort. 

With these things in mind, I can conclude that it is NEVER a good idea to break eye contact. Either it will be rude to do so, show yourself as prey, or possibly disqualify yourself from acheiving the goal you set out to do. 

Keep your eyes focused. Do be inconsiderant, be congenial. Don't be prey, be powerful. Don't be a quitter, be a conquerer! All of these things are possible if you set your soul's windows in the proper position. 

Proverbs 29:18.

When Angels Cry

Ok, so mainly my writing style is to tackle some absurdly large and quasi-academic thought and expound upon its implications for the living. Today's post will still tackle something on that level, but the forefront of this post will have a much more personal touch than I'm usually comfortable posting online... here goes.

This week has just felt like the epitome of loneliness. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's the fact that I still live as a bachelor with only a cat (albeit, the most AWESOME cat in the world) to keep me company. Maybe it's the constant fizzling out of any romantic leads in my life. But most likely it's the realization that no matter how many people I find to laugh with, to share with, to love, and enjoy fellowship, everyone of them will someday leave. Where they filled my life with blessings and their presence, they will leave a gaping hole that isn't really possible to fill. 

This is true simply because of how life happens. You meet people in school as a kid. Unless someone moves away (I did), you get to build some pretty stellar friendships for 12+ years. But, unless your career paths and/or scholastic goals lead you to attend the same university, even HS friends eventually fade into the background of a newly acquired life. Facebook helps a bit to keep people in the loop, but even that presents a colder and less interractive way of keeping up with people. I don't have to talk to you directly because I've gleaned all the info I need from your status updates... Bummer...

And college, OH BOY! Some of my best friends came from my time at college... but, again, life takes people in different directions. Now I have a job, people I know are getting engaged/married right and left, they are embarking on careers and other life opportunities and the impact they have on my life fades and becomes less and less. Then, one day, I wake up and realize "All my friends are gone!"

Insert sad-faced emoticons ad infinitum...

But this is life. It happens. And knowing it happens can make it really easy to slip into a deep depression, eat your entire back-up supply of Skittles and trade sleep to watch Friends while aching for their level of awesome friendship (As long as you don't get to the series finalle... that really bummed me out!). 

So today, while I felt this aching, this pain, this emptiness, I took to the road and wound up at my Alma Mater (college) and walked around. I actually ran into a few people I know (it's only been about 3 years since I've graduated). There was a whole campus brimming with fresh faces. Each group had their own inside jokes and idiosyncracies that happen when you opperate in such proximity with bright, young adults. 

And then I realized the beautiful hope that springs from this miserable truth: It doesn't matter the painful, excruciating and cripping loneliness that occurs as life tears the fellowship apart. Life still goes on. Being on campus showed me that. The moments that are available to make new friends and connect with people on similar levels still exist, I just have to take advantage of them. 

It's when we cling to the relationships we once had, romanticize the past to the point of nausium, that we fall headlong into this trap of despairing, empty loneliness. Sometimes, it's ok to accept the fact that certain people don't talk to you anymore. It's nothing to pine over. Life STILL happens. There are still amazing people out there to connect with. But no one can take hold of something new until they let the old thing drop form their hand...

Segueue

Speaking of letting things go; it's Fat Tuesday. Tomorrow begins the season of Lent. Forty-five days prior to Easter, many Christian circles take this time for personal, spiritual purification in response to the Holy day that is approaching. 

Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is the last blow out party celebration where so many engage in one last act of debase behavior (SIN) before spending the next 40 days in pious holiness (until Easter when, fueled by a Peep sugar rush, they do something regrettable and forget about that thing Jesus did on the cross). And of course, everyone else just jumps on the excuse to engage in general revelry... 

This seems ridiculous to me. Taking a "last hurrah" before accepting the obligatory "right thing to do." Same concept of the bachelor party, I guess. Engage in one more night of irresponsible habits while being reminded that promiscuity is off the table once the "I dos" are said. Some say it's the last breath before taking the plunge... I liken it to inhaling a breath of seawater before coming out of the ocean onto dry land. Nothing like starting off on the right foot after decidingly doing a thouand times worse the night prior, right?

People like to do this so that they have something to hang on to while they go through the piety and other "obligations." 

What irks me is when people come to me and say "Hey, this whole 'Christianity thing' just isn't working out for me." I always ask why. "I just never saw/felt/experienced any change so... it just isn't working." 

Going back to a swimming analogy, IT ONLY WORKS IF YOU GO ALL IN! Oh my, how hard it is to grasp this concept! I know it's hard, I had to be reminded of it in my above realization. YOU HAVE to let go of what you clung to in order to receive something new and wonderful!

If people would realize that reveling in debauchery for one more night only serves as a reference point of reminiscing, and that reminiscing is the act that detracts and nullifies nearly any purpose for the purification, then they would stop this silly "I can have my feet in both camps and still win" idea. 

If you're going to really "Try" this Christian thing, you need to take the words of Yoda VERY seriously; "There is no 'try,' DO, you must!" Try denotes that you will give only a minimal effort, test the water, keep some eggs in another basket. DO says that it's time to go all in, give it 100% and let the chips fall where they may. THAT is the only way to experience something truly. 

If you hold back or hold onto the past, it prevents any actualization for a new future. 

So when I hear people say that it's not working out and I ask how much they tried, I face palm on the inside when I hear them tell me "Oh, you know... just prayed and sought..." No life change, no desire to do things differently. They keep going with life as usual and just add a little Jesus on top... People like to think they can hold onto everything else and just adding Jesus will redeem them. Yet people think it is absurdly idiotic for a person to believe themselves clean when all they've done is place a clean, white hat on top of a dusty, muddy, deplorably dirty body. You have to let go of the old in order to embrace the new...

What are YOU still holding on to? What's stopping you from letting go?

Journey's Idiom

Welcome to yet another thrilling addition to my posted thoughts. I can easily see that there are a bunch of you who read and anonymously look at my thoughts. I don't know if they impact your life or if you even disagree with what I say... mostly because so few of you comment or leave any indication that you were here save adding to the counter at the bottom of the page. If you would, read this post with the intent to comment or share a thought. I'd appreciate it!

This week's thought is nested in a tiny bit of frustration. This isn't your normal, every day, got cut off in traffic variety frustration, no, this is the "I'm calling your bluff because you're full of crap but won't admit it" type of frustration. 

I've been a Christian for many, many years. That fact alone has allowed me many opportunities to discuss faith with people of various backgrounds and beliefs. My favorite kind of conversation is when I find someone with similar beliefs and faith and can expand each others' understanding of spiritual truths. Those conversations are most satisfying and overall pleasant. Kind of like discovering a garden of wildflowers just off the beaten path you've travelled often. I treasure those conversations.

But, inevitably, the conversations do occur when someone who hates religion, doesn't believe in God (or any deity), and has a personal vendetta against anyone who happens to express even the tiniest degree of faith. I treasure these conversations too even though they are about as gratifying as a root canal. They are usually intense, filled with venom, misunderstandings (on both sides), and I'm positive they more closely resemble something off of Animal Planet than they do an intellectual debate. 

It's out of these less pleasant conversations that my frustrations spring forth. For the longest while it's been difficult for me to pinpoint exactly WHY someone else's position on denying the spiritual or divine drives me completely nuts. But here's what I think. 

Atheists, agnostics, and people who claim to be "seeking the truth" all share one thing in common (well at least the first and last of that list do... agnostics don't care either way...); they desire the real truth. Atheists believe the truth is that there is no God, nothing divine, nothing outside what can be readily seen or sensed. "Seekers" are searching without a compass and looking everywhere for answers. 

I become easily irritated by both of these truth seekers because their path takes the far, far away from anything resembling truth. The atheist avoids church like the plague and spits on any religious person (but the phlegm in their throat seems particularly reserved for Christians... as opposed to Buddhists) who suggests they come and experience truth for themselves. The wandering truth seeker refuses to make up their mind, much like the agnostic. They just haven't fallen off the log yet. Ugh... indecision is the worst decision a person can make. 

What frustrates me to no end is the sheer reluctance to go where the answers are! To the person who truly wants to KNOW whether or not something is real, you CANNOT make heads or tails without actually experiencing it, or seeking it out. Atheists who say "Christianity is fake. They're ALL hypocrites and put on a facade." Has either had a terrible experience at a church that has failed its mission or has never been to a church that is full of real Christians.

Look, I know people aren't perfect. But if you base your assumptions of whether or not God is real just by the experience that people fail... all you've proven is that people are fallible, not that the whole God thing must be a lie. Sadly, this is what pushes people away and leaves a bad taste in people's mouths.

But, if someone is honestly seeking truth, they won't find it by sticking in their intellectual bubble pondering their assumptions and conjecture on what Truth really is. If you want truth, go to where it's expressed. If you want to see whether or not something is legitimate, don't go to the church that has a reputation for failure. All you'll find there is the proven point that people fail. No, go to the church where things are happening, lives are being changed. Focus on finding God, the Truth, and forget that people can fail. Expect people to fail. 

(Kinda odd how the people who do not hold to the belief that there is a Almighty God who has expressed his desire for our perfection tend to hold Christians more stringently to that standard of perfection than even Church leadership does...) Atheists usually have higher standards and expectations for Christians than God himself... Just odd. 

I've been through doubt and periods of testing my faith. I've wrestled with the questions of "is this real? Can I trust what I've been taught?" And I've found answers to my questions. The trick to seeking truth is to actually seek it! You cannot find what you do not seek. If you seek only the answers you want to see, that's all you'll find. If you honestly seek Truth without reservation or risistance to what it really is, you will find it. 

Athesists... they tend to only see what they want. They've convinced themselves of an philosophical negative. No amount of persuasive arguments or mountains of evidence will ever convince them there is a God. They do not seek, they will not find truth. 

Agnostics and seekers. If they refuse to seek, they will never find. "I haven't made my mind up yet..." Then they never will. 

Matthew 7:7 says "Ask and it will be given to you; SEEK and you WILL FIND; knock and the door will be opened to you."

What truth are you still seeking? Are you really seeking truth, or just the answers you want?

Titles - the superficial signals

Dawn breaks over the horizon. Streams of sunshine bounce through my window and dance on my sleepy eyelids. Morning beckons, luring me out of bed and into the trap that nature has set. I step out the door into the frigid arms of winter... winter? In Florida? This is unexpected and most unwelcome. Colonies of frost merged to form a plane of ice on my windshield. My car's engine roars to life and I sit huddled in the driver's seat waiting for the moment I can turn the dial to maximum red and actually feel summer coming through my vents. Success! The morning commute can begin!

Now I sit with my routine morning coffee. My hopes are full today. They are saturated with expectancy of something great. God blesses consistent preparation and this week it's more than necessary; it's imperative. 

There's much to accomplish this week, this month, this year. If I can't manage a stable system of planning, preparing and implementing, then the goals that were so nobly established for 2012 will become the forgotten failures when I take time for reflection in 2013... It's not easy to manufacture this discipline...

There are so many distractions. More than that, there are so many irritations! Waking up early 30 miles from where you need to be and having to venture out in weather that's 40-50 degrees short of pleasant is not how I would choose to begin a productive day. If I had to choose I would rather my team of servants wake me up by singing "Don't Stop Believin'" while gently massaging my back and scalp with heated pads of cashmere and serving me a rich cup of hot chocolate. Yes, my choices commonly rest in the realm of extravagant improbability, but that's ok... point is, irritations are almost inevitable (until I hit it big on the lottery and hire that team of servants). 

Irritations and distractions annoy most people and that's a normal response. But I believe that these conditions and disturbances don't need to be detrimental to the productivity to which we all aspire. 

Consider this: It's only when the oyster swallows an irritating piece of sand, a particle that scrapes and stings the soft insides, that a solution is discovered and something marvelously valuable is created. Pearls are the result of overcoming irritating distractions. Without these adverse conditions in our lives, we would be immensely productive, yes, but the greatest achievements would probably be lackluster in comparison to what's possible with just a little bit of effort and perseverance.

But when do irritants simply become walls of negativity that deserve to be avoided rather than being absorbed?

The only thing I can understand fully is that not every idiom and stellar illustration serves ALL situations well. I've discovered this week that there are some situations that are better left to more capable hands. They are not for me to meddle with. They are not for me to take on. No matter how I feel about these situations. No matter how badly I would want to take this principle of applying myself and turn a bad situation around, I need to step back. The irritant that comes from realizing this is what's to be internalized, not the actual situation... Some things are too big. Some situations are too great. Some things just need to be let go and allow God to handle it. 

New thought.

Tomorrow is Valentine's day. The day that Western culture has determined to celebrate love, romance, and general altruism between guys and gals. Sweethearts get a chance to be extra giddy. Star crossed lovers a chance to dream of possibilities. Single people another opportunity to experience maximum misery. Stalkers a chance to be sweet... in a creepy way. And money-minded get a chance to profit from the emotions of others. It doesn't matter which perspective you have on the "holiday" because someone is always going to contend with your point of view (Another VERY irritating situation).

Why do people place such an emphasis on being right over being happy? As if somehow being right will cause happiness? As if making others unhappy and irritated with your perfected and enlightened point of view will somehow cause them to "see the light" and abandon their witless ignorance and embrace the cold, hard facts. Why must we abandon joy in order to be right?

Someone once criticized others for celebrating. Their argument: How can we be happy and celebrate and enjoy a feast when others are starving, dying, living in misery? How can we rightly do this when our fellow man, our brothers and sisters, suffer? - In essence, if you're expressing your happiness and celebrating (something those who suffer in depravity cannot do to our extent) you live in ignorance and are unsympathetic to the needs and feelings of those less fortunate. 

The goal of this argument seems to be to compound misery. The Bible does tell us to mourn with those who mourn. But it also tells us to celebrate with those who have something to celebrate! Some seem to think that as long as suffering exists, we must never take a moment to enjoy life and spend all our time mourning for those destitute and hopeless. As admirable a notion as that is, it's wrong.

Christ came so that our love and joy might be complete. That in ALL things we might be able to rejoice in the hope that is Christ Jesus. Do we join our hearts in compassion and humility when we encounter the suffering of others? Yes, that is what is expected from Love. But our default attitude should be expectancy and joy. Celebration of the soul because the greatest news that's ever been conceived has come to fruition. The cross has yielded redemption from eternal sorrow and misery. 

The gloomy brooders remain ignorant of this reality. Their focus is on the disease not the cure. Their focus is on death not the life that has been given. They feel justified and take pleasure in their empathic misery. As they feel for others they avoid the misplaced guilt of enjoying life. Perhaps they also avoid the truth that God hasn't fulfilled their hearts as they expected. Perhaps they simply haven't discovered that a heart can simultaneously exist as broken for others and completely whole in the presence of Christs radiant joy. 

Whatever the reason, whatever the distraction, however irritating others' points of view remain, I cling to this; Christ IS the good news! In him our joy is complete and stronger than circumstance, beyond the misery that this world places indiscriminantly. 

The only question that remains is this: How are you going to share that joy?

Pretend that you like me...

Of all the things I could write about this week I have to choose that which is most cliche and expected: The presidential nominees!... Totally kidding. Much more relevant and disgusting that the menacing propaganda from snakes in suits... err... I mean politicians, is the upcoming holiday referred to as St. Valentine's Day. 

Even though this holiday has survived the centuries as a day of love, for a growing number of people it has burrowed into their hearts and planted seeds of distaste and even hatred. Many argue that Valentine's Day has become too commercialized and since someone seeks to profit from the occasion, every instance of store bought romance is defiled by the lust of money. Others see it as an insult to a different kind of jealousy. They see happy couples everywhere expressing their shared love and realize the emptied void of their own hearts and nobody to cling to. 

Well... maybe if they'd figured out that you need to buy a girl some candy and a stuffed animal, then they wouldn't be alone on Valentine's Day OR "Single Awareness Day (S.A.D.) as it's most notably labeled. 

If I may be irate at single people for a brief moment; you people need to grow up. "Oh, we're so upset that other people flaunt their relationships in our faces..." Stop whining just because you haven't grown out of your awkward "ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME" stage in life. Let other people be happy and celebrate the fact that they have found happiness. Otherwise, people aren't going to even pretend to be sad at your funeral. Just saying.

We have such a twisted view of love. We demand it be pure and devoid of any trace impurities that lie in the human psyche. We maintain that is must be whole-heartedly selfless and flamboyant; risking all, neglecting the cost and so powerfully persuasive that nobody in their right mind could help but fall under its power. 

This may be too much to expect from a human being... While I do agree that standards need to be extended far higher than they are actually expressed, I also believe that people need to be more understanding when talking about their expectation for "true love."

Where do we get this concept of love? Hopefully it's from the Bible and not a Disney movie. Warped concepts of love plague our society and it's not just what we expect from the other person, it's how WE express it. 

Consider James as he defines love. It's not that WE love God, but that he loved us. He sent his Son to DIE in our place. He came down in person. Humbled himself, allowed people to beat him, mistreat him, abuse him, and kill him...

Just so we would get the picture and love him too, right? 

Wrong. His motivation was not to cause us to love Him back. God didn't say "Jesus, go down and make a grand gesture. Surely if these humans see what I'm willing to do for them, then they will finally love us!" God loved. Period. The motivation WAS love; his love for us. Not the promise of our love for him. He would've still shown his love (as he had throughout the entire Old Testament) even if not a single person decided to love God in return.

Ok, so what does this have to do with Valentine's Day? Guys and Girls, if you love someone, then you shouldn't be so disheartened or dismayed if they do not return the affection you give them on Valentine's Day. If your love is contingent on their reciprocated affection, then you don't have love for them at all. It's just your desire to have your ego stroked. It's lust under the guise of "true love."

If your love is real, it won't matter if they ever even give you the time of day (although WHY you love this person in the first place may be called into question, you NUT!) because true love LOVES despite the reaction. No more of this silliness over the fact that your prospective Valentine didn't gush over the flowers or chocolate or other gesture you gave. Are you loving just to be loved in return? That's not love. 

Think about that BEFORE you invest in too many chocolate hearts, ok?