Tag: perspective

Categories
culture politics

Restriction vs Empowerment

Photo by Tony Young

My 6-year-old son frequently wants to use sharp knives and it is not uncommon for him to get them out of a drawer unsupervised when he has a task that he believes would be served by using a sharp knife. He likes to use then for reasonable things but as far as I can figure out I have only two options to solve this: I can make the knives less and less accessible or I can teach him how to use them safely. In order to make the best decision on how to handle this I should consider the real issues surrounding the situation rather than simply reacting to the immediate danger.

The whole conundrum reminds me of the issue of gun violence in our society. If we want to make a decision that will actually make a positive impact on the situation we have to understand what is really happening in context.

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Categories
life thoughts

Not Enough


photo credit: garlandcannon

Sometimes I find myself feeling stuck in life; feeling that no matter what I do I have no real meaningful choices. I have described it as having, in any decision, a choice that is blatantly obvious (like deciding whether or not to wreck my car), or a choice that is meaningless (like deciding between Cheerios and Rice Krispies for breakfast).

Laura has asked me before if I have ever prayed for options and the answer is that I have with the result that I have still never felt like I had a real choice. Either the way was clear or the choice was inconsequential. As I thought about the feeling of impotence that comes with seeing no alternatives, no options to choose from, I realized that I was wrong about never having any options – especially in times that I have prayed for options. There have been plenty of instances where the choices really were black and white such that I would never take one of the options presented (wrecking my car for instance). The other times that I have felt stifled I realize that there are two different types of situations. First is when I have desired something only to be guided away from it. The second is when I have desired to do something and the answer from the spirit when I ask about pursuing it has essentially been “what are you willing to give for it?” The answer has virtually always been “not enough” or at least “not enough for the price that would likely be required.”

Anytime I am called upon to do something I am willing to do do whatever is necessary to complete the task but whenever I am left to choose my own direction I am unwilling to take significant risks for something I feel is entirely of my own choosing. That makes it sound like I don’t trust my own judgment, or that I don’t trust that I will be supported in my own choices.

There have been times when I have been willing to give enough but in the two cases that I can clearly recall – one resulted in me getting what I worked for on something that, so far as I can see, is transitory and unimportant while the other resulted in me putting in a lot of effort and making a lot of progress before I was instructed to abandon the pursuit (at least temporarily – maybe I have not seen the end of that yet).

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Categories
culture

Exerting Ourselves

I ran 14 miles this morning. I got past 13.1 (half a marathon) in less than half of my desired marathon time. Three things came out of this run. First, my watch rubbed the skin off a small area of my wrist. Second, my body ached within minutes after I finished running – normally I feel fine until the next day after a long run. Third, I began to think about what it means to physically push ourselves to our limits.

I don’t really think I pushed myself to the limit today, but I certainly came closer than I have for a long time if ever. As I considered this though, two ideas struck me: our limits are personal and subject to change over time and our ancestors pushed themselves much more than we usually do. That second idea seemed more profound to me than the first, perhaps because I think we should be a little more like them. I’m not sure that the security of basic necessities that we generally face in this country makes us better or stronger.

Our ancestors worked so hard because they knew that if they slackened their efforts they ran the very real risk of coming up short on their basic needs. If you plant too late in spring you might not have enough crops to last you through winter. If you stayed in your warm house all winter you would have no ice to use in the summer. Not only did they have to work hard, but they had to work smart and plan ahead.

I will not argue that their life was better than ours overall, but I am confident that there are things we could learn and apply in our lives that they just lived even if they did not consciously know those principles that we have now largely lost.

Categories
life

Not My Will but Thine

I have been thinking about the prayer offered by the Savior in Gethsemane – specifically the plea “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39; see also Mark 14:36 or Luke 22:42)

I have had two realizations as I have pondered this plea. First, “let his cup pass from me.” Before I really thought about this I think I treated it as a line rehearsed for a play. I never really thought of it like that, but I did not recognize the truth behind those words. Christ really did not want to endure the suffering that he was facing. He really did wish that His Father would take the cup away. However, what he really desired was the results which that suffering would bring. The ability and opportunity to act as intercessor for men at the judgment bar, thus enabling mortal men to achieve exaltation.

The second realization (which came in the last few days) was enlightened by the first realization (which I had much earlier). “Not as I will but as Thou wilt.” Even as he sincerely prayed to have the cup removed, Christ knew the will of God. He did not merely have a pretty good idea of what His Father wanted from Him, He knew. Christ poured His whole soul out to His Father even where His will did not match the will of the Father. I have often prayed to do the will of the Father without knowing what His will was. I think it has often been an effort to avoid discovering what my own will was. “I want what You want so just show me where to go” or “I want what You want so, whatever happens I will assume that it was what You wanted.”

I think that the ideal situation is to know and own our individual will and to discover the will of the Father. We should then do the will of the Father whether it agrees with our own will or not. The reason that should inspire us to take that course is that we love our Father and our Savior and that our overarching desire is to return to them. That desire should be greater than any individual wish we may have that conflicts with what They want for – or from – us.

Categories
life

Walking Blind

I spent much of last night awake and thinking about my current situation. It is not the unemployed factor that I was considering, but the repeated bouts of frustration and hope. Each time I get an interview I hope something will come of it. Each time I hit a roadblock I just want to give up in the search. In the back of my mind is the omnipresent desire to be in a situation where employment was optional so that I could focus my time on just helping anywhere that I could be useful.

As I thought last night I began to wonder if I should be more focused on humbling myself so that I could accept whatever the Lord has in store. Another option might be that I need to be more humble so that I can hear the will of the Lord and follow Him. Right now I feel as if I am being tossed about. I hope for every possibility because I don’t know what the Lord desires for me with regard to employment. Neither do I know what lesson He may have in mind for me to learn from my unemployment.

Categories
life

What is “Me”?

As posted here, I lost my job yesterday. Naturally the people around me ask how I feel after that. I understand the question. This is one of those things that can be taken very hard. Thankfully I am completely at peace with this, although I was in shock when I first heard the news.

As people have asked how I am, I have answered that I have never been among those people who identify themselves with their job. Consequently, losing my job does not leave me feeling like I have lost a part of my identity. After saying that a few times I have found myself wondering – is there anything with which I do identify myself?

As far as I can tell so far, there is only one thing that could be taken away from me, even temporarily without my consent with which I identify myself. That is Laura. Besides that I identify myself with my desires, my goals, my potential as a child of God, and my role as a husband and father. None of those things can be stripped from me involuntarily, and some cannot be taken even if I were willing to give them up.

I hope that is a good thing.