Funny can sometimes be an understatement!
www.mothergooserocks.com/headandshoulders.html
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Only In My Dreams?
I had a dream last night. To be honest it kind of worried me. Miroslav Volf was in it. I have never met him. I have never even seen a picture of him. So what the heck is a major theologian/philosopher doing in my dreams!?! Is my love of books becoming psychologically fatal?
He was a really nice guy, and he spoke sort of like a wise, old grandfather. We discussed some things about God, but mostly we talked about how our lives often seem to be so divergent from our beliefs. I remember thinking, "I can't believe I'm talking to Volf." "Everybody back at Duke would be so jealous." I knew I was dreaming, but it was still cool.
I've been wanting to read more of his stuff. He talks a lot about Identity, Otherness, and Self in terms of our faith. I have never read his books on those issues, but that is exactly where our dreamy conversation stayed. Why do we fail to be the people that we so desperately want to be? Am I who people really think I am? Am I who I think I am, or am I deceiving myself in delusions of piety!?!
Who dreams about theology and theologians? What does this say about me? Is my subconcious crying out for me to find my identity and self. To know who I am and what I live for...To align my perceived self with my actual self. Should I get that tatoo? Will I help my wife with more household chores? Will I love that person who frustrates me almost daily (this person really does exist). Do my actions define me? What determines my identity? Can we truly be ourselves. Is that possible with all of the tensions and contradictions that fill who we are and what we think, feel, and believe? Who am I? Who are we?
I found a paradox that has come to mean a lot to me...I am not who I am, and yet that is exactly who I am. This struggle is life and faith. Being who we are and aren't. Only in my dreams am I me, yet I am me.
Thanks Miroslav. I really enjoyed our conversation. I left it humbled and hopeful. Next time though, I prefer to meet you in person:)
He was a really nice guy, and he spoke sort of like a wise, old grandfather. We discussed some things about God, but mostly we talked about how our lives often seem to be so divergent from our beliefs. I remember thinking, "I can't believe I'm talking to Volf." "Everybody back at Duke would be so jealous." I knew I was dreaming, but it was still cool.
I've been wanting to read more of his stuff. He talks a lot about Identity, Otherness, and Self in terms of our faith. I have never read his books on those issues, but that is exactly where our dreamy conversation stayed. Why do we fail to be the people that we so desperately want to be? Am I who people really think I am? Am I who I think I am, or am I deceiving myself in delusions of piety!?!
Who dreams about theology and theologians? What does this say about me? Is my subconcious crying out for me to find my identity and self. To know who I am and what I live for...To align my perceived self with my actual self. Should I get that tatoo? Will I help my wife with more household chores? Will I love that person who frustrates me almost daily (this person really does exist). Do my actions define me? What determines my identity? Can we truly be ourselves. Is that possible with all of the tensions and contradictions that fill who we are and what we think, feel, and believe? Who am I? Who are we?
I found a paradox that has come to mean a lot to me...I am not who I am, and yet that is exactly who I am. This struggle is life and faith. Being who we are and aren't. Only in my dreams am I me, yet I am me.
Thanks Miroslav. I really enjoyed our conversation. I left it humbled and hopeful. Next time though, I prefer to meet you in person:)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Go Duke!
Ahh...March Madness!
Everybody wear your blue and white and root for the Dukies! Having grown up a diehard Purdue fan and having my degree from there, I didn't think that I would ever end up rooting for another team besides Purdue. That all changed when I first experienced a Duke game at Cameron.
It was a surreal experience to be sure. The arena, it's actually more of field house, is quite small. It only fits around 7800. In the student sections, you seem to be sitting right above the floor. It felt like sectionals in high school. Everybody jumped up and down the entire game. Like a bunch of cells forming a single organ, we cheered together in perfect timing. It amazed me that we were making up cheers together, but the crowd sounded like they knew them by heart.
It was so loud, too. Here we are, undergraduates and graduate students of the South's finest university, and we are screaming our heads off, saying childish things all for the sake of a game. Future doctors, lawyers, engineers, CEO's, politicians, ahem pastors, all possessed by the Blue Devils of basketball.
The funniest part of the experience was the old guy who got the crowd started. He looked to be mid-70's. He had the dress and look of a lawyer, but as he stood, the crowd hushed looking for their cue. He pulled up his Duke-blue towel, started waving it around, and yelled, "Let's go!" The crowd went crazy and stayed crazy for the rest of the game. I have never seen a group of people all gathered together for one thing, one purpose, be so united. There truly was a spirit that possessed them. Their allegiance was to Duke, to coach K, to J.J. We were one body. We were family. We were Duke.
What if we had that unity everyday? What if all of humanity decided to cheer each other on, and be one family? I guess I want to be that old man...I want to wave my towel around and yell, "Let's go!" I want to see the fieldhouse Earth erupt in one accord, as one body, as we struggle in this game of life. But who am I? I'm not famous. No one knows me. I have no great charisma or position. But, then I think...The old man wasn't always cheering as "The Old Man." He just cheered on his own...for himself and his team...and eventually people followed. His enthusiasm and his spirit caught on. I guess if I want to the world to cheer each other on, I need to start cheering and start loving first. Aye, there's the rub.
As my family is visiting today, I'll be enjoying my Blue Devils playing and, of course, winning. Go J.J.! Go Coach K! Go Duke! I hope you enjoy watching Duke, too. It's a life changing experience. Just ask the Old Man.
Everybody wear your blue and white and root for the Dukies! Having grown up a diehard Purdue fan and having my degree from there, I didn't think that I would ever end up rooting for another team besides Purdue. That all changed when I first experienced a Duke game at Cameron.
It was a surreal experience to be sure. The arena, it's actually more of field house, is quite small. It only fits around 7800. In the student sections, you seem to be sitting right above the floor. It felt like sectionals in high school. Everybody jumped up and down the entire game. Like a bunch of cells forming a single organ, we cheered together in perfect timing. It amazed me that we were making up cheers together, but the crowd sounded like they knew them by heart.
It was so loud, too. Here we are, undergraduates and graduate students of the South's finest university, and we are screaming our heads off, saying childish things all for the sake of a game. Future doctors, lawyers, engineers, CEO's, politicians, ahem pastors, all possessed by the Blue Devils of basketball.
The funniest part of the experience was the old guy who got the crowd started. He looked to be mid-70's. He had the dress and look of a lawyer, but as he stood, the crowd hushed looking for their cue. He pulled up his Duke-blue towel, started waving it around, and yelled, "Let's go!" The crowd went crazy and stayed crazy for the rest of the game. I have never seen a group of people all gathered together for one thing, one purpose, be so united. There truly was a spirit that possessed them. Their allegiance was to Duke, to coach K, to J.J. We were one body. We were family. We were Duke.
What if we had that unity everyday? What if all of humanity decided to cheer each other on, and be one family? I guess I want to be that old man...I want to wave my towel around and yell, "Let's go!" I want to see the fieldhouse Earth erupt in one accord, as one body, as we struggle in this game of life. But who am I? I'm not famous. No one knows me. I have no great charisma or position. But, then I think...The old man wasn't always cheering as "The Old Man." He just cheered on his own...for himself and his team...and eventually people followed. His enthusiasm and his spirit caught on. I guess if I want to the world to cheer each other on, I need to start cheering and start loving first. Aye, there's the rub.
As my family is visiting today, I'll be enjoying my Blue Devils playing and, of course, winning. Go J.J.! Go Coach K! Go Duke! I hope you enjoy watching Duke, too. It's a life changing experience. Just ask the Old Man.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
The Lotus: chapter 1, The Beginning
I just started my first blog! How exciting!
I chose the name "The Lotus" for the Asian water lilly by that name. In Eastern philosophy and religion the lotus is the symbol for purity. The snow white flower blooms from beneath the water. Life flowering. Beauty from unexpected places. Peace and purity above the dark waters of life. Untouched in one sense, but a part of the pool nonetheless. For me, it's a symbol of a beautiful and serene life growing in purity from unexpected places.
Sometimes we don't do things we've wanted to do for a long time. A blog is exactly that for me. Where else can we speak and be heard? No one listens, but here...here we are heard. We speak, and we listen. Isn't it so sad that we must connect to outlets for our souls to open and blossom forth. Our machines become the faces, but our hearts are exposed. The tender shoots are so gentle. May this be a place of peace and openness for you...
I chose the name "The Lotus" for the Asian water lilly by that name. In Eastern philosophy and religion the lotus is the symbol for purity. The snow white flower blooms from beneath the water. Life flowering. Beauty from unexpected places. Peace and purity above the dark waters of life. Untouched in one sense, but a part of the pool nonetheless. For me, it's a symbol of a beautiful and serene life growing in purity from unexpected places.
Sometimes we don't do things we've wanted to do for a long time. A blog is exactly that for me. Where else can we speak and be heard? No one listens, but here...here we are heard. We speak, and we listen. Isn't it so sad that we must connect to outlets for our souls to open and blossom forth. Our machines become the faces, but our hearts are exposed. The tender shoots are so gentle. May this be a place of peace and openness for you...
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