Can evil and good coexist? Can one entity be made up of both good and evil at the same time? Some people say that evil is the absence of good. If you work off this definition, the two must be mutually exclusive and cannot occupy the same entity at the same time. Or could it be that something is good some of the time and evil other parts of the time, but never both at the same time. It's an important philosophical question to ask, especially in today's world where the conflict between good and evil seems more prevalent than ever (which, I'm sure, is something every generation has said).
In light of recent events (and, if I were to analyze my past, I'm sure it goes beyond only recent events), I have to argue that evil and good can in fact coexist within the same entity. I am, of course, talking about technology. It seems that life is made so much easier and more enjoyable with it and that it provides much good for our daily lives ... yet technology sucks!
Most people know that I hate cell phones, yet I can't hardly function without my iPod. Computers, particularly PCs, cause more daily frustration than probably any other man-made object, yet we use them on a virtually consistent basis ... I wouldn't be able to write this and send it out for the world to read if it wasn't for computers. Technology has freed us and shackled us in chains at the same time. But then, I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said a million times before.
My reasoning for writing this blog is due to a personal frustration that I guess I just needed to vent about. I've been exploring the world of photography over the past year and have put a lot of time, money, and energy into it. I've taken hundreds, if not thousands, of photos in the past several months to a year, and I've stored them all on my external hard drive since my piddly PC laptop can't seem to hold more than a few pictures. Well, I accidentally bumped my external hard drive the other day, sending it a whopping 2-3 feet to the plush, carpeted floor. The result: a decision ... 1) throw the hard drive away with all the photos on it, 2) spend around $100 to find out if any of the photos can be saved (and possibly find out that the answer will be "no", after which I'm simply out that $100), or spend between $1600-$2200 to get these photos back. Sadly, my budget is focusing more around the $16-$22 mark!
My level of frustration and disdain at this pathetic piece of technology that can hold more memory than my brain while not being able to withstand being knocked around a little is nearly to the point of being comfortably numb and apathetic ... but it's not quite there yet. I'm about ready to boycott all technology, move to Lancaster County, and become Amish! But, of course, we all know that's not going to happen ... there aren't big enough mountains in Lancaster County. So I guess that technology wins again!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
So Hard to Find My Way (by Jackie Greene)
I have to admit, it's a lot harder to vent, open up, and expresses my stresses, confusions, and concerns on here when I have the potential of running into my readers on any given day. It's much "safer" when I'm 10,000 miles away from anyone and everyone.
Having said that, I'm feeling in over my head, to say the least. I'm not going to pretend that I have anything more going on in my life than anyone else, but I do know that I'm not doing a good job of keeping up and balancing everything. I am so scared that I'm going to do exactly what I did the last two times I attempted graduate school ... fail! And I'm feeling more and more like I'm on that track every day. It seems as though the things that keep balance in my psychological, physical, and social life (relationships, photography, running, climbing, SLEEPING) only get in the way and drag down my academic life. However, if I don't include those necessary aspects of life, I don't do well with school either because I feel so stressed and out of whack. It's a catch-22. I'll be amazed if I manage to get the mandatory B- or better in this class. If I don't, I'm officially free from school ... and from my job! If I do maintain the necessary minimum GPA, that just means that I have a potential additional 3-4 more years of suffering through this hell. AND THIS IS ONLY ONE CLASS!!!!
Life was so much easier when I was a Colorado snowboarding bum!
Having said that, I'm feeling in over my head, to say the least. I'm not going to pretend that I have anything more going on in my life than anyone else, but I do know that I'm not doing a good job of keeping up and balancing everything. I am so scared that I'm going to do exactly what I did the last two times I attempted graduate school ... fail! And I'm feeling more and more like I'm on that track every day. It seems as though the things that keep balance in my psychological, physical, and social life (relationships, photography, running, climbing, SLEEPING) only get in the way and drag down my academic life. However, if I don't include those necessary aspects of life, I don't do well with school either because I feel so stressed and out of whack. It's a catch-22. I'll be amazed if I manage to get the mandatory B- or better in this class. If I don't, I'm officially free from school ... and from my job! If I do maintain the necessary minimum GPA, that just means that I have a potential additional 3-4 more years of suffering through this hell. AND THIS IS ONLY ONE CLASS!!!!
Life was so much easier when I was a Colorado snowboarding bum!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Reasons Why (by Nickel Creek)
Prioritizing life can be such a headache. You'd think that people's schedules would be filled with things they love and are good at doing. I mean, why would anyone fill their time with responsibilities they aren't passionate about?! Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the way life works. It's annoying!
My life currently consists primarily of work, school, relationships, and photography. Of course, other things creep in from time to time like sleeping, eating, transportation, shopping, car repairs, down-time, etc. Then there are the things I'd love to do but don't have the time or money to do ... things like traveling, painting, biking, road-trips, surfing, scuba diving, snowboarding, rock climbing, exercising, going out on the town, etc. How do you fit it all in? How do you sacrifice the things you love for the things you like ... or worse, for the things you need but don't necessarily even enjoy?!
One of my big dilemmas right now is actually a pretty nice dilemma to have ... it involves traveling. For the first time in my life I'm working at a job that's full-time with a salary and benefits and the whole shebang. As wonderful as that is, it also means limited vacation. I know, I know, welcome to the real world, right? Well, I have a week where I'm visiting one of my best friends for his wedding ... that's a given. I've been trying to decide what to do with my other week off. I was thinking of going back to Cuba or maybe up to Alaska to do some camping or something. As it turns out, one of my other best friends is in need of some help with his missions business and wants me to fly down to Kentucky to help him out for a week. So, I can either have a traveling adventure on my own or a working vacation with one of my best friends.
My dad has told me on several occasions that every decision you make involves a sacrifice. We sacrifice time to have money, or money to have time. We sacrifice going someplace on vacation to go to another place instead. We sacrifice having one relationship in order to have another. Life is full of decisions ... and the worst part is, there aren't always right/wrong decisions. Sometimes a decision is perfectly fine no matter which one you make ... we just need to decide what we're willing to sacrifice.
My life currently consists primarily of work, school, relationships, and photography. Of course, other things creep in from time to time like sleeping, eating, transportation, shopping, car repairs, down-time, etc. Then there are the things I'd love to do but don't have the time or money to do ... things like traveling, painting, biking, road-trips, surfing, scuba diving, snowboarding, rock climbing, exercising, going out on the town, etc. How do you fit it all in? How do you sacrifice the things you love for the things you like ... or worse, for the things you need but don't necessarily even enjoy?!
One of my big dilemmas right now is actually a pretty nice dilemma to have ... it involves traveling. For the first time in my life I'm working at a job that's full-time with a salary and benefits and the whole shebang. As wonderful as that is, it also means limited vacation. I know, I know, welcome to the real world, right? Well, I have a week where I'm visiting one of my best friends for his wedding ... that's a given. I've been trying to decide what to do with my other week off. I was thinking of going back to Cuba or maybe up to Alaska to do some camping or something. As it turns out, one of my other best friends is in need of some help with his missions business and wants me to fly down to Kentucky to help him out for a week. So, I can either have a traveling adventure on my own or a working vacation with one of my best friends.
My dad has told me on several occasions that every decision you make involves a sacrifice. We sacrifice time to have money, or money to have time. We sacrifice going someplace on vacation to go to another place instead. We sacrifice having one relationship in order to have another. Life is full of decisions ... and the worst part is, there aren't always right/wrong decisions. Sometimes a decision is perfectly fine no matter which one you make ... we just need to decide what we're willing to sacrifice.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Good Friday
Last night, for the 28th time, I got to hear my dad preach the annual Maundy Thursday sermon ... my favorite service of the year. This remembrance of the last supper and the betrayal and trial of Jesus is the pinnacle sermon of the year. Nothing else in all of the Christian faith amounts to anything without this, the last supper and crucifixion of Christ. I love this sermon because it always brings me back to the cross. In my heart, I get to see and hear the beating, the flogging, the screams, the blood, the mocking, the spitting, the crying, the laughing, and the suffering of my savior ... and I'm reminded that he chose to endure all of that for ME (and for YOU).
There was a passage that was read during the sermon last night that I've heard many times in my life, but penetrated my heart like never before:
(NIV) Matthew 26:50, "Friend, do what you came for."
This year is the fourth year in a row that I have had the privilege of doing an Easter play. The first two years I played the role of Jesus, last year I was doubting Thomas, and this year I'm portraying Judas. For a while, I joked around a lot about having been "demoted" from Jesus down to Judas, but after last night's sermon I have a new perspective.
Growing up, I didn't have many friends. Throughout junior high and senior high I really only had one friend. I believe that God blessed me with Steve, my best friend of 19 years now, to show me the significance of the friendship Jesus offers. It is because of these two relationships in my life that I count friendship to be one of, if not THE, most valuable and precious things in this world.
When I heard the words, "Friend, do what you came for" last night, a new light was given on who Judas was and what he must have gone through. Judas never thought in his wildest imagination that there was any way Jesus would or could actually die. Judas loved Jesus and knew him to be the savior. His intentions weren't to send Jesus to his death, but rather to speed up the process of Jesus' reign and force him to stand up to those in opposition to him and bring down the tyrant rule of the Romans.
Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew the pain, suffering, and humiliation he was about to endure, and he knew Judas was going to start the chain of effects. After pleading with God to prevent that night from happening, after being so terrified that his body couldn't handle his fear and he began to sweat blood through his pours, after needing God the Father to send down angles to comfort and calm him down so he wouldn't die before facing the cross, he stood face to face with Judas and called him "Friend". Jesus had already forgiven Judas for his act of ultimate betrayal ... if only Judas had listened, realized, and accepted that forgiveness!
So today, on the greatest of all Fridays, there is one word that speaks to me and brings clarity to what this weekend and what the Christian faith is all about: FRIEND
There was a passage that was read during the sermon last night that I've heard many times in my life, but penetrated my heart like never before:
(NIV) Matthew 26:50, "Friend, do what you came for."
This year is the fourth year in a row that I have had the privilege of doing an Easter play. The first two years I played the role of Jesus, last year I was doubting Thomas, and this year I'm portraying Judas. For a while, I joked around a lot about having been "demoted" from Jesus down to Judas, but after last night's sermon I have a new perspective.
Growing up, I didn't have many friends. Throughout junior high and senior high I really only had one friend. I believe that God blessed me with Steve, my best friend of 19 years now, to show me the significance of the friendship Jesus offers. It is because of these two relationships in my life that I count friendship to be one of, if not THE, most valuable and precious things in this world.
When I heard the words, "Friend, do what you came for" last night, a new light was given on who Judas was and what he must have gone through. Judas never thought in his wildest imagination that there was any way Jesus would or could actually die. Judas loved Jesus and knew him to be the savior. His intentions weren't to send Jesus to his death, but rather to speed up the process of Jesus' reign and force him to stand up to those in opposition to him and bring down the tyrant rule of the Romans.
Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew the pain, suffering, and humiliation he was about to endure, and he knew Judas was going to start the chain of effects. After pleading with God to prevent that night from happening, after being so terrified that his body couldn't handle his fear and he began to sweat blood through his pours, after needing God the Father to send down angles to comfort and calm him down so he wouldn't die before facing the cross, he stood face to face with Judas and called him "Friend". Jesus had already forgiven Judas for his act of ultimate betrayal ... if only Judas had listened, realized, and accepted that forgiveness!
So today, on the greatest of all Fridays, there is one word that speaks to me and brings clarity to what this weekend and what the Christian faith is all about: FRIEND
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