Although there are differing opinions as to when summer starts, I have decided that it is officially summer in Wisconsin. Why? It wasn't having corn on the cob on Memorial Day or the recent warm days we have had, but the fact that I experienced my first mosquito bite last night.
Summer is here. I love summer in Wisconsin - brats, the drive-in, corn, camping, Bocce ball and croquet, the Fourth of July at the lakefront, lakes and boats in every direction, sleeping with a fan on and the windows open, the sudden appearance of people everywhere out on bikes or walking, the different pace of life, the long days, and lightning bugs dancing on the corn stalks in a farmer's field. Enjoy!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Blog Length
Anyone who knows me, knows that I used to journal religiously. My room in my parents' house is filled with journals. However, the older I got, the less I wrote. I don't think it is because I had less important things happening in my life, but rather I did not have the same pressing need to document my life.
As I reflect, I think the main reason I still continue to journal is that it is therapeutic. It is not that I have more going on in my head or life then most people, actually it is probably less; but, rather it is the way I process through everything that is going on in my life. I come to the point where the only way I can remain sane is if I get all of my thoughts out of my head, if only for one brief moment.
So, as one who needs to write out my thoughts, what is the appropriate length for a blog entry? Is there some sort of etiquette in regards to length? Or is there just the realistic knowledge that people will tune out after a few paragraphs?
As I reflect, I think the main reason I still continue to journal is that it is therapeutic. It is not that I have more going on in my head or life then most people, actually it is probably less; but, rather it is the way I process through everything that is going on in my life. I come to the point where the only way I can remain sane is if I get all of my thoughts out of my head, if only for one brief moment.
So, as one who needs to write out my thoughts, what is the appropriate length for a blog entry? Is there some sort of etiquette in regards to length? Or is there just the realistic knowledge that people will tune out after a few paragraphs?
Friday, May 25, 2007
Ripples
Lately I have been surrounded by many people who have all types of good news: babies and pregnancies, new or better jobs, incredible days of growth, or passing a big test. I have genuinely been happy for everyone as they enter into new and better stages of life. Their joy has been a pebble or rock dropped in the lake, and I have felt and participated in the ripples of their happiness.
The problem is that I no longer just want to be moved due to the ripples of other people’s happiness. I want to experience a joy of my own, I want my good news to be the cause of ripples. I don’t need a rock thrown into my lake, just a pebble. I need a bit of joy that is all mine – though I am willing to share. I want other people to feel and participate in the ripples of my happiness.
I have felt incredibly selfish about this feeling, as if desiring my own happiness means that I am not happy for others. I truly want our lake to be one where pebbles and rocks are continually dropped, where I live in a community that can daily be encouraged by one another as we feel the ripples – the ripples of joy and sadness.
The problem is that I no longer just want to be moved due to the ripples of other people’s happiness. I want to experience a joy of my own, I want my good news to be the cause of ripples. I don’t need a rock thrown into my lake, just a pebble. I need a bit of joy that is all mine – though I am willing to share. I want other people to feel and participate in the ripples of my happiness.
I have felt incredibly selfish about this feeling, as if desiring my own happiness means that I am not happy for others. I truly want our lake to be one where pebbles and rocks are continually dropped, where I live in a community that can daily be encouraged by one another as we feel the ripples – the ripples of joy and sadness.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Closure?
Closure. The word is pregnant with meaning. It is referenced in all sorts of situations as the balm of woe. How many times do we hear, I just need closure? What is that? But upon finishing The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I find that closure isn’t at all times what we want. What we want is everything to be neatly sewed up and to end the way we want it to end, not the way it does. The trilogy ended. All questions were answered to a large part – except the one that is most glaring in my mind, the one that leaves a gaping hole. Why didn’t Frodo live out his days in the Shire? I know a smarter person could explain this to me, but although there was ample closure to the books, it wasn’t what I wanted. Why did Sam and Frodo have to part? Why did Sam move on to a normal life while Frodo did not or could not? Why did Frodo receive so little respect and acclaim compared to Merry and Pippin? Was it merely the clothes they wore? Or is it that some of the greatest achievements in life aren’t recognized and acknowledged? Does that change their greatness?
The more I think about it, the more I wonder about what happens the first time Aragorn comes to the Shire and Frodo is not there. What will he think? Will he understand? I guess the closure isn’t really there. More questions spawn as I think on it. Rob Bell would probably be thrilled (if you wonder about this or the next comment, just reference Velvet Elvis). He and Sean Penn would celebrate the mystery.
This whole idea just makes me think of literature in general. I have been asking a lot of questions about literature of late. Maybe it is because I have been thinking a lot of late. The whole reason I started the trilogy was I decided that I needed to read a great story. I outlined a plan of Austen and Tolkien. Two weeks ago I started with The Hobbit, jumped to Austen’s Mansfield Park, and then without taking the intended breaks to revisit other Austen works between the books of the trilogy (due to the fact that I was quite unsettled with Mansfield Park – I can’t even start that diatribe), I finished the trilogy last night. I needed a great story. I needed to run into a world and lose myself, instead of being lost in the world that surrounds me.
Sorry for that digression, back to my questions. If you have an answer, please tell me.
Who is writing the great stories of our time?
Are we living in a time of great stories?
Are there any great stories left or have they all been written?
I would especially like an answer to the last one as it dates back to a conversation Peter and I had years ago.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder about what happens the first time Aragorn comes to the Shire and Frodo is not there. What will he think? Will he understand? I guess the closure isn’t really there. More questions spawn as I think on it. Rob Bell would probably be thrilled (if you wonder about this or the next comment, just reference Velvet Elvis). He and Sean Penn would celebrate the mystery.
This whole idea just makes me think of literature in general. I have been asking a lot of questions about literature of late. Maybe it is because I have been thinking a lot of late. The whole reason I started the trilogy was I decided that I needed to read a great story. I outlined a plan of Austen and Tolkien. Two weeks ago I started with The Hobbit, jumped to Austen’s Mansfield Park, and then without taking the intended breaks to revisit other Austen works between the books of the trilogy (due to the fact that I was quite unsettled with Mansfield Park – I can’t even start that diatribe), I finished the trilogy last night. I needed a great story. I needed to run into a world and lose myself, instead of being lost in the world that surrounds me.
Sorry for that digression, back to my questions. If you have an answer, please tell me.
Who is writing the great stories of our time?
Are we living in a time of great stories?
Are there any great stories left or have they all been written?
I would especially like an answer to the last one as it dates back to a conversation Peter and I had years ago.
Welcome
Although there isn’t a title for my blog yet, I decided to finally start. I am hoping the title will come as an epiphany as the blog takes shape, right now it seems to just be spurred by what I am reading and thinking. Undoubtedly, since I have so much on my mind, my entries will be long and frequent in the beginning; they will then fade like the length of day in the winter.
I will be upfront in the beginning. I am not going to pay super close attention to grammar. The two-fold reason is that this blog is not for you, it’s, in all my selfishness, for me. Secondly, I don’t want to focus on the end product and get caught in the trappings of trying to obtain that which is beyond my reach – perfection (though I hope it will be readable. Should the readability be suspect, please leave a note).
Finally, besides commenting that I think Doogie Howser was the first blogger, please don’t use my blog as an excuse to think you know what is going on in my life. Don’t just read a script and cast it aside when done.
I will be upfront in the beginning. I am not going to pay super close attention to grammar. The two-fold reason is that this blog is not for you, it’s, in all my selfishness, for me. Secondly, I don’t want to focus on the end product and get caught in the trappings of trying to obtain that which is beyond my reach – perfection (though I hope it will be readable. Should the readability be suspect, please leave a note).
Finally, besides commenting that I think Doogie Howser was the first blogger, please don’t use my blog as an excuse to think you know what is going on in my life. Don’t just read a script and cast it aside when done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)