Okay, so i'm in serious spring cleaning mode right now and can't seem to ration out any brain function for anything but that topic. Have you ever realized how much emotional baggage there is tied to old stuff? Here's a question for you. What is one thing you have never been able to get rid of, even though you no longer have a use for it, and why? I'll go first ...
My dearest aunt, my Aunt Ellen, died 15 years ago from cancer. I have a sweater that I bought on a shopping trip with her about 18 years ago. I can't seem to let go of this sweater even though it's been at least 10 years since i've worn it. I feel like i'm letting go of her if I let go of the sweater. I realize I feel this way about a lot of things. Holding onto things has become a way of holding onto the past for me. This is why i've decided to do some major spring cleaning. I feel like I can no longer grow as a person until I allow myself to let go of some of the baggage from the past.
~Celena
Friday, March 23, 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Wishing Cont'd...
I had a few more things come to mind in the past day or so regarding what we've been discussing so I thought I'd share them.
The first thought comes in terms of the questions you've asked regarding why we are the way we are, most notably in the self-centered area, and how we can move away from that. Recently, I listened to a podcast that featured a panel discussion between three key emergent theologians and practitioners, Phyllis Tickle, Pete Rollins, and Brian McLaren. McLaren was asked a question regarding the movement's emphasis upon ecology and the like and his answer was quite thought-provoking, at least to someone who's still in process. To paraphrase, McLaren essentially said that we've become so enamored with and have emphasized our doctrine of the Fall of man so much that we've neglected the doctrine of creation. This was a truly beautiful thought because it does explain so much. Why do we have a throwaway society? Because we have a society that for hundreds of years has lived with the thought that "What does it matter anyway? It's all gonna burn up!" Now, while this may or may not be true, it doesn't give us license to screw the damn place up! Just thought that was an interesting tidbit.
Secondly, I've been slowly reading this book entitled, Endangered Pleasures by Barbara Holland. The book is somewhat of a nostalgic read as Holland recounts so simple pleasures that have sort of gone the way of the Dodo due to progressive technology and information but it also highlights some points of simplicity that we, as a wickedly busy and hurried western society, have just forgotten. Naps, leisurely strolls, hanging out in bed on lazy Sunday mornings. All of these fall obsolete by our postmodern standards. We must produce to be productive. As such, we must possess in order to be happy. Yet, this book points out that some of the most precious and delicious pleasures are those that come free and create the most beautiful and lasting memories. It's an interesting read that, while not directly speaking to our issues here, seems to hint at what could be.
- andy
The first thought comes in terms of the questions you've asked regarding why we are the way we are, most notably in the self-centered area, and how we can move away from that. Recently, I listened to a podcast that featured a panel discussion between three key emergent theologians and practitioners, Phyllis Tickle, Pete Rollins, and Brian McLaren. McLaren was asked a question regarding the movement's emphasis upon ecology and the like and his answer was quite thought-provoking, at least to someone who's still in process. To paraphrase, McLaren essentially said that we've become so enamored with and have emphasized our doctrine of the Fall of man so much that we've neglected the doctrine of creation. This was a truly beautiful thought because it does explain so much. Why do we have a throwaway society? Because we have a society that for hundreds of years has lived with the thought that "What does it matter anyway? It's all gonna burn up!" Now, while this may or may not be true, it doesn't give us license to screw the damn place up! Just thought that was an interesting tidbit.
Secondly, I've been slowly reading this book entitled, Endangered Pleasures by Barbara Holland. The book is somewhat of a nostalgic read as Holland recounts so simple pleasures that have sort of gone the way of the Dodo due to progressive technology and information but it also highlights some points of simplicity that we, as a wickedly busy and hurried western society, have just forgotten. Naps, leisurely strolls, hanging out in bed on lazy Sunday mornings. All of these fall obsolete by our postmodern standards. We must produce to be productive. As such, we must possess in order to be happy. Yet, this book points out that some of the most precious and delicious pleasures are those that come free and create the most beautiful and lasting memories. It's an interesting read that, while not directly speaking to our issues here, seems to hint at what could be.
- andy
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Wishing for Easy Answers...
I wish there was an easy answer to your questions that you ask regarding our "me first generation" but if there were, I don't suspect we'd be in this predicament in the first place. Indeed, how did we get here? When did human life, creation, and so much get pushed aside and our lives seen as simply ours? I'm not entirely sure but I'll throw some ideas out that we can bat around.
First, you're right that technology has made our world a very interesting place. I think it has contributed to both our betterment and decline in several ways. One, we have the potential to be better connected within our community via the Internet, cell phones, and all varieties of wireless capabilities. The problem is, the more plugged in we are with technology, the more disconnected we seem to become from one another. I think that technology, in it's purest form, is great. Yet, we have created technologies designed to minimize our workload that has actually doubled it because now we're multi-tasking, doing two jobs at once because it's so easy. The Internet and the lure of the web has drawn us away from our family, as people find virtual conversations and interaction more appealing than the ones in their very home. "Gotta check my MySpace!" is the cry of a new generation. And who's to say, no matter which side of the pro/con conversation you come down on, how many homes have been affected by online porn. Likewise, and perhaps a bit outdated, the advent of television on demand, with it's nine bajillion channels to choose from, has also sucked us into the void. There is so much going on, so much information for us to consume, that we do nothing but that. What happened to the quiet, the simple, the sublime?
I hate to sort of repeat myself but in an earlier post I discussed the virtues of the monastic way and their emphasis upon simplicity. I think this is essentially what our generation needs but instead they find themselves doing what they've learned, consuming in a fruitless effort to be filled. You name it, drugs, sex, material goods, all these things are but pacifiers for a generation of people that are searching. Bono and U2 may have coined the phrase of a world when they sang, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."
My thinking on the issue, at least to some degree, is that the great philosopher and thinker, Sartre, was right. We have a "God-shaped hole" within all of us. We consume in order to fill this void yet the only thing to fill it adequately and fully is God. Now, the problem with this concept, although I think it's true, is that the very people who claim to be the people of God seem to have lost sight of Him! The western Church, by and large, seems to have been taken with the consumer mindset as well, offering goods and services for the price of attendance. The Church has come to be market driven, allowing the whims of the people rather than the communion and peace of a holy God to reign over them. This is a tragedy. For as the Church has become consumed with the "mega" things, the real things, the children of God, have gone suffering. I think the world is in search of this God, the real God, who can fill that void. The problem is that the Church is, instead of modeling and mirroring that God, is hiding Him.
I'm not sure I really went where we were leaning but, oh well. At least we've got the conversation back up and running...
- andy
First, you're right that technology has made our world a very interesting place. I think it has contributed to both our betterment and decline in several ways. One, we have the potential to be better connected within our community via the Internet, cell phones, and all varieties of wireless capabilities. The problem is, the more plugged in we are with technology, the more disconnected we seem to become from one another. I think that technology, in it's purest form, is great. Yet, we have created technologies designed to minimize our workload that has actually doubled it because now we're multi-tasking, doing two jobs at once because it's so easy. The Internet and the lure of the web has drawn us away from our family, as people find virtual conversations and interaction more appealing than the ones in their very home. "Gotta check my MySpace!" is the cry of a new generation. And who's to say, no matter which side of the pro/con conversation you come down on, how many homes have been affected by online porn. Likewise, and perhaps a bit outdated, the advent of television on demand, with it's nine bajillion channels to choose from, has also sucked us into the void. There is so much going on, so much information for us to consume, that we do nothing but that. What happened to the quiet, the simple, the sublime?
I hate to sort of repeat myself but in an earlier post I discussed the virtues of the monastic way and their emphasis upon simplicity. I think this is essentially what our generation needs but instead they find themselves doing what they've learned, consuming in a fruitless effort to be filled. You name it, drugs, sex, material goods, all these things are but pacifiers for a generation of people that are searching. Bono and U2 may have coined the phrase of a world when they sang, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."
My thinking on the issue, at least to some degree, is that the great philosopher and thinker, Sartre, was right. We have a "God-shaped hole" within all of us. We consume in order to fill this void yet the only thing to fill it adequately and fully is God. Now, the problem with this concept, although I think it's true, is that the very people who claim to be the people of God seem to have lost sight of Him! The western Church, by and large, seems to have been taken with the consumer mindset as well, offering goods and services for the price of attendance. The Church has come to be market driven, allowing the whims of the people rather than the communion and peace of a holy God to reign over them. This is a tragedy. For as the Church has become consumed with the "mega" things, the real things, the children of God, have gone suffering. I think the world is in search of this God, the real God, who can fill that void. The problem is that the Church is, instead of modeling and mirroring that God, is hiding Him.
I'm not sure I really went where we were leaning but, oh well. At least we've got the conversation back up and running...
- andy
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