This is a "holiday" I never liked. Not because I've never had a valentine with whom to share the day, but because of the absurdity behind it. The fact that our society literally takes a day and highlights the importance of having a significant other doesn't make sense to me. Why is it so important? Sure, I wouldn't mind having someone to share my story with - and I theirs - but it doesn't define me.
When Valentine's day rolls around, I don't start scrambling, hoping that I'll come across my soul mate within the allotted time. In fact, the day would go completely unnoticed - if people wouldn't harp on it.
One of my co-workers said to me today, "You need a boyfriend. It'll make you happier."
I don't remember what I said. I just remember that I walked away and rolled my eyes. Yes, because my happiness is exactly proportional to whether or not I have someone in my life I call my boyfriend, I thought. I wanted to tell my co-worker that I was fine without a boyfriend, because I have a Heavenly Father that loves me regardless of the stupid things that I do.
I have yet to meet a guy (or girl, for that matter), that through it all, dating, engagement and marriage, to love every facet of his/her girl/boyfriend-fiance-wife/husband. Inevitably, all those little things you used to find cute turn into the biggest annoyances the longer you spend together. Even the happiest couples I know fight and disagree. Everyone always seems to think they'll saunter into marriage and it'll always be roses and poppy fields. That you just go frolicking through life, hand-in-hand, without a care in the world.
This day doesn't bother me because I find myself alone. It bothers me because we've turned what could have been a day to celebrate relationships and instead flipped it on its head. Valentine's day has become this thing to exemplify how if you're important, if you're special, then you've got someone to share Valentine's day with. It kind of makes me sad when I see beautiful girls say things like, "I'm so happy I finally have someone to share Valentine's day with!"
...So? No offense deary, but you've gotta learn to be okay with who you are and who God sees you as before you can learn to properly love another person. At least, learn to love them in the right way. But that's just me. Little ol' me. I've never been in a relationship and I don't know if I'll ever get married. So maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm way off base. Something tells me I'm not though.
Thankfully, there are places like Chick-fil-A that spent the day handing out flowers to their female customers, telling them, "Happy Valentine's day ma'am." Do you realize how refreshing that was? For a large company to look at the world and say, "Y'know, every woman is beautiful, whether she's got a guy in her life or not. Let's celebrate that instead of emphasizing how you've gotta have someone, or you're no one."
Like I said though, I may be wrong. I may be a hypocrite and whenever I am in relationship, I'll be all gung-ho for Valentine's day. I'd be surprised if that were the case though. I'm not really a flower's & chocolate kind of girl. But who knows. Maybe that'll change. Maybe my cynical heart still has some hope.
Well, here's hoping you had a wonderful day - whether you celebrated Valentine's day or not. And guess what? You're beautiful. Or handsome, if you happen to be a guy and you're reading this. In which case, I congratulate you for trudging through the muck of my blog writing! I always kind of thought my writing didn't appeal to guys.
Happy adventuring.
Currently Writing: Zero Point
Currently Listening to: "Transformation" by the Cinematic Orchestra
Showing posts with label I don't think I properly conveyed my point - if there even was one. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I don't think I properly conveyed my point - if there even was one. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
I'd Much Rather Just Stay Ignorant
This week, on "What Bugs Susan"...
We have faxing at Staples. You'd think in today's world, faxing would be obsolete. I mean, you can scan and email just about anything. Yet every day we've got a line out the wazoo for faxing. So right above this fax machine we've got this sign that says, "Self-Service Fax Machine". Pretty self-explanatory, right? It's even got instructions labeled all over the thing on how to use it.
Today I had this woman with a strong Spanish accent come in and need faxing done. Normally, when I have nothing else going on, I say, "Sure, step right on over to the fax machine and I'll walk you through it." I'm all about teaching a man to fish so he can feed himself for a lifetime.
The woman then proceeds to tell me she doesn't have her glasses and can't read the fax number. Then - as if to mock me - she says, "That's the number. 484..." I almost asked, "I thought you didn't have you glasses and couldn't read the number?"
It's as if she wanted to say, "I'd rather remain ignorant, so why don't you do it for me?" but she didn't have the courage to just call herself what she was - lazy.
The worst example of this though was a woman about a month back that came in and set her brand new phone down on the counter and said, "I need to email a document I have on here to you." I proceeded to tell her how to do it. She shook her head and waved her hand, saying, "No, you need to do it. I don't know how to work that thing. Anyway, whenever I come in here, they do it for me, so just do it for me." She spent the rest of the time yapping to her friend about what she may or may not want for lunch.
I literally want to scream at these people. They have no clue how good they've got it. Worse though are those that know precisely how spoiled they are, and they revel in it. I get it. We live in an incredibly awesome time. Technology is fascinating and can do just about anything. In my direct area, homelessness and poverty are pretty non-existent (aside from struggling college students). Aside from the occasional shooting, crime is minimal in my hometown.
None of this excuses laziness and selfishness.
One of my friends from school and I used to occasionally remind one another of how good we had it. She was thankful for indoor plumbing and I was always thankful for the fact that I could walk up to a refrigerator and suddenly have something to quiet my rumbling stomach. We did this to remember that we aren't dying. In fact, we're flourishing. We live in a country that (for the time being), is for the free. A good chunk of our society has it so good, they don't know what a real depression would be.
I've been lucky enough to not only have parents who refuse to let me be ignorant, but to have driven all over this country and seen with my own eyes the devastation of poverty. I've seen houses that look about ready to cave in. I've seen homeless individuals huddled on street corners, begging for something to eat. I've offered lunch to the hungry in New York City. I've repaired houses for those suffering from hurricanes. And I've listened to them in these moments and every time, I've thanked God for what He's given me.
Don't be ignorant and don't be lazy. Take control of what you can. Feed yourself, don't just steal someone else's time and energy. Give more than you take. Offer what you have and then double it. I understand. That's a hard bill to swallow.
Swallow it anyway.
Currently Editing: Genesis
Currently Listening to: Ludovico Einaudi's "Divenere"
We have faxing at Staples. You'd think in today's world, faxing would be obsolete. I mean, you can scan and email just about anything. Yet every day we've got a line out the wazoo for faxing. So right above this fax machine we've got this sign that says, "Self-Service Fax Machine". Pretty self-explanatory, right? It's even got instructions labeled all over the thing on how to use it.
Today I had this woman with a strong Spanish accent come in and need faxing done. Normally, when I have nothing else going on, I say, "Sure, step right on over to the fax machine and I'll walk you through it." I'm all about teaching a man to fish so he can feed himself for a lifetime.
The woman then proceeds to tell me she doesn't have her glasses and can't read the fax number. Then - as if to mock me - she says, "That's the number. 484..." I almost asked, "I thought you didn't have you glasses and couldn't read the number?"
It's as if she wanted to say, "I'd rather remain ignorant, so why don't you do it for me?" but she didn't have the courage to just call herself what she was - lazy.
The worst example of this though was a woman about a month back that came in and set her brand new phone down on the counter and said, "I need to email a document I have on here to you." I proceeded to tell her how to do it. She shook her head and waved her hand, saying, "No, you need to do it. I don't know how to work that thing. Anyway, whenever I come in here, they do it for me, so just do it for me." She spent the rest of the time yapping to her friend about what she may or may not want for lunch.
I literally want to scream at these people. They have no clue how good they've got it. Worse though are those that know precisely how spoiled they are, and they revel in it. I get it. We live in an incredibly awesome time. Technology is fascinating and can do just about anything. In my direct area, homelessness and poverty are pretty non-existent (aside from struggling college students). Aside from the occasional shooting, crime is minimal in my hometown.
None of this excuses laziness and selfishness.
One of my friends from school and I used to occasionally remind one another of how good we had it. She was thankful for indoor plumbing and I was always thankful for the fact that I could walk up to a refrigerator and suddenly have something to quiet my rumbling stomach. We did this to remember that we aren't dying. In fact, we're flourishing. We live in a country that (for the time being), is for the free. A good chunk of our society has it so good, they don't know what a real depression would be.
I've been lucky enough to not only have parents who refuse to let me be ignorant, but to have driven all over this country and seen with my own eyes the devastation of poverty. I've seen houses that look about ready to cave in. I've seen homeless individuals huddled on street corners, begging for something to eat. I've offered lunch to the hungry in New York City. I've repaired houses for those suffering from hurricanes. And I've listened to them in these moments and every time, I've thanked God for what He's given me.
Don't be ignorant and don't be lazy. Take control of what you can. Feed yourself, don't just steal someone else's time and energy. Give more than you take. Offer what you have and then double it. I understand. That's a hard bill to swallow.
Swallow it anyway.
Currently Editing: Genesis
Currently Listening to: Ludovico Einaudi's "Divenere"
Monday, December 3, 2012
Communion
It's just grape juice and a cracker, right?
Sure, if you're only looking at it as it appears. In truth, it's far more than that. Communion isn't supposed to be something we just do because it's always done. The idea behind communion is to remind our forgetful selves of the selfless act Christ was born to commit.
I wear this ring on my right ring finger. It says "Passion" on it, because I try to remind myself that I live for a greater purpose. That God's love abounds in my life and that I live to further His Kingdom. Yet, even with that reminder slapped to my hand, I forget exactly what it is that Jesus did. Not only did he accept the punishment of death, but he endured the torture that came well before death finally greeted him.
Worse still, he experienced separation from God. For however long that lasted, I don't know, but he endured it. He looked death square in the face - and with some fear too (I mean, look at his prayer in the Garden the night of his arrest) - and triumphed. The sad thing is, God even knew we'd need the reminder of communion thousands of years ago. Despite Jesus' amazing triumph, we need something to tell us to remember what he did. What he accomplished.
Because he did accomplish something that day. He created a way for us to experience his Father's love in a way never known before. Even greater than that, we're given a purpose. I can't imagine living life without something guiding it. That something is the Spirit. And yet I need a reminder of Christ's sacrifice?
How absurd. How Human.
In months (and years), past, I've always approached communion in this sort of "Okay, get right with God" thing. It was the day I wasn't allowed to get angry or frustrated. I just needed to get myself in line and once again, grovel before my Heavenly Father for forgiveness. And recognizing sinfulness is a good thing, I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying it's not necessarily what's at the root of communion.
I think I've been wrong about that. I mean, maybe I haven't. I don't know. This is probably one of those things I'll realize I still got wrong a few years down the road. But I think communion's supposed to be about remembering Christ's atoning sacrifice more than anything else. I mean, he even says in Luke 22:19, "Do this to remember me."
Why is that so hard to do all the time?
Currently Listening to: "Idumea" by the Millikin University Choir
Sure, if you're only looking at it as it appears. In truth, it's far more than that. Communion isn't supposed to be something we just do because it's always done. The idea behind communion is to remind our forgetful selves of the selfless act Christ was born to commit.
I wear this ring on my right ring finger. It says "Passion" on it, because I try to remind myself that I live for a greater purpose. That God's love abounds in my life and that I live to further His Kingdom. Yet, even with that reminder slapped to my hand, I forget exactly what it is that Jesus did. Not only did he accept the punishment of death, but he endured the torture that came well before death finally greeted him.
Worse still, he experienced separation from God. For however long that lasted, I don't know, but he endured it. He looked death square in the face - and with some fear too (I mean, look at his prayer in the Garden the night of his arrest) - and triumphed. The sad thing is, God even knew we'd need the reminder of communion thousands of years ago. Despite Jesus' amazing triumph, we need something to tell us to remember what he did. What he accomplished.
Because he did accomplish something that day. He created a way for us to experience his Father's love in a way never known before. Even greater than that, we're given a purpose. I can't imagine living life without something guiding it. That something is the Spirit. And yet I need a reminder of Christ's sacrifice?
How absurd. How Human.
In months (and years), past, I've always approached communion in this sort of "Okay, get right with God" thing. It was the day I wasn't allowed to get angry or frustrated. I just needed to get myself in line and once again, grovel before my Heavenly Father for forgiveness. And recognizing sinfulness is a good thing, I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying it's not necessarily what's at the root of communion.
I think I've been wrong about that. I mean, maybe I haven't. I don't know. This is probably one of those things I'll realize I still got wrong a few years down the road. But I think communion's supposed to be about remembering Christ's atoning sacrifice more than anything else. I mean, he even says in Luke 22:19, "Do this to remember me."
Why is that so hard to do all the time?
Currently Listening to: "Idumea" by the Millikin University Choir
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