"for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" -Newton's Third Law
in 1943, the illustrious director Frank Capra released a movie series entitled "Why We Fight". in this series- he graphically defined why America was at war with the axis powers and why World War 2 was becoming a great and terrible war. we watch as a man named Adolph Hitler rises from almost pauper like status to becoming the face and force behind the transformation of Germany into a Nazi powerhouse; blitzkreiging his way through virtually every European nation and trying to kill off every ethnic group within his grasp. and we watch as Newton's Third Law comes into play when, with Nazi Germany at their doorstep, the tiny nation of Britain holds back the onslaught of Hitler's might; and with the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor drawing America into the fray, how the Allied Nations bring the fight to the Axis Countries and slowly begin to turn the tides of war.
Hitler's actions had caused equal (and overwhelming) reactions.
what reactions are our actions causing? i am in no way comparing any of you to Hitler by an stretch of the imagination but i am using this example as a way to drive a point across.
your actions will cause reactions. good or bad, something will go down when you do something. call it karma, call it the butterfly effect cus frankly i dont care what label we try to put on our actions-invairiably they are our actions. us conscienciously deciding to do something for the good or bad of ourselves and those around us. our actions, the very deeds that move the wheels of the world.
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:27-31 niv)
why would Jesus say this? because He knew that our actions would cause reactions.
remember this next time you want to get into verbal fisticuffs with your wife over who didnt leave the toilet seat down or want to go mano a mano with the guy who cut you off in traffic.
Jesus isnt saying be a pacifist and let everyone run you over and make you altercation pavement. He is however reminding us that there are consequences for our actions.
what we act out on for good and what we act out on for bad will all generate some form of repercussion.
the question now is: can you handle the repercussion?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
deer in head lights
"The wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe. But the stupid man will just lay down on some seaweed and roll around until he's completely draped in it. Then he'll stand up and go 'Hey, I'm Vine Man'." -Jack Handey
it's time to wisen up.
someone who sees an entire universe in a grain of sand is aware of more than himself, he's aware of all that is around him and seeks to understand it. the doofus rolling around in the seaweed is only aware of himself and understands only that it is making people laugh.
when i took a missions trip to romania in 2002, i thought i understood that there were poor, suffering people in the world and that yes, they needed help. i had seen the rundown neighbourhoods in my own city and pictures from around the world of kids sitting on trash heaps and the like. but the moment i walked into a state run orphanage in oradea, romania where a chicken pox epidemic had just broken out, where trash was being burned in piles by men in dirty white jumpers with cafeteria hats on and where, suddenly, a small 3 year old girl who weighed about as much as a newborn child jumped into my arms and held on for dear life- simply happy to find someone who wanted to hug her; that moment was the moment i understood. that was the moment i went from playing in seaweed to picking up a grain of sand.
one of my favourite quotes is from socrates, who says: "the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." you can read into this however you would like; yet what i get from it is that wisdom is being aware of the fact that you are rolling around in seaweed and that is not the place you should be in.
its like a deer in headlights. i'm from new england and up there, deer get stupid when they get near roads. in the forest they're pulling bambi re-enactments like nobody's business. eating beds of clover, nuzzling skunks and running from forest fires and guys with .22s. the moment you get a deer near a road or highway, it's over. and at night it goes from bad to worse. i imagine the conversation of two deers (wait, i forget, is deer also plural in itself like moose?) contemplating crossing a busy highway at 10pm going something like this:
bob the deer: "hey jim, let's cross this really loud thingy here and dance through those fast moving thingamabobs like we do through the lillies!"
jim the deer: "i don't know, i think i should be scared about trying that."
bob the deer: "nah we're sweet with this- those fast moving white lights are fireflies or something. it's totally safe. on the count of three, we go! one... two..."
you get the idea i think. the moment deer step onto a road they are in unfamiliar territory. deer do not understand what a car is, what it does, why it exists, what it can do to them or why its speeding straight for them. they only know that there are two very bright points of light coming towards them very fast. so what they do, armed with only this information? stare. deer will stand in the middle of the road, broadside to the coming car, aim their eyes at it and stare. and wait for those two points of light to nuzzle their noses. you can guess the results of deer in headlight wisdom.
what do you think you know? maybe it's time to have some of the things you think you know get challenged by what they really are. bob the deer thought he knew what a car was until he met a car. i thought i knew suffering people until i met suffering people. the moment you understand the grain of sand and stop rolling around in the seaweed is the moment you see through the eyes of wisdom rather than through the eyes of a deer in headlights.
it's time to wisen up.
someone who sees an entire universe in a grain of sand is aware of more than himself, he's aware of all that is around him and seeks to understand it. the doofus rolling around in the seaweed is only aware of himself and understands only that it is making people laugh.
when i took a missions trip to romania in 2002, i thought i understood that there were poor, suffering people in the world and that yes, they needed help. i had seen the rundown neighbourhoods in my own city and pictures from around the world of kids sitting on trash heaps and the like. but the moment i walked into a state run orphanage in oradea, romania where a chicken pox epidemic had just broken out, where trash was being burned in piles by men in dirty white jumpers with cafeteria hats on and where, suddenly, a small 3 year old girl who weighed about as much as a newborn child jumped into my arms and held on for dear life- simply happy to find someone who wanted to hug her; that moment was the moment i understood. that was the moment i went from playing in seaweed to picking up a grain of sand.
one of my favourite quotes is from socrates, who says: "the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." you can read into this however you would like; yet what i get from it is that wisdom is being aware of the fact that you are rolling around in seaweed and that is not the place you should be in.
its like a deer in headlights. i'm from new england and up there, deer get stupid when they get near roads. in the forest they're pulling bambi re-enactments like nobody's business. eating beds of clover, nuzzling skunks and running from forest fires and guys with .22s. the moment you get a deer near a road or highway, it's over. and at night it goes from bad to worse. i imagine the conversation of two deers (wait, i forget, is deer also plural in itself like moose?) contemplating crossing a busy highway at 10pm going something like this:
bob the deer: "hey jim, let's cross this really loud thingy here and dance through those fast moving thingamabobs like we do through the lillies!"
jim the deer: "i don't know, i think i should be scared about trying that."
bob the deer: "nah we're sweet with this- those fast moving white lights are fireflies or something. it's totally safe. on the count of three, we go! one... two..."
you get the idea i think. the moment deer step onto a road they are in unfamiliar territory. deer do not understand what a car is, what it does, why it exists, what it can do to them or why its speeding straight for them. they only know that there are two very bright points of light coming towards them very fast. so what they do, armed with only this information? stare. deer will stand in the middle of the road, broadside to the coming car, aim their eyes at it and stare. and wait for those two points of light to nuzzle their noses. you can guess the results of deer in headlight wisdom.
what do you think you know? maybe it's time to have some of the things you think you know get challenged by what they really are. bob the deer thought he knew what a car was until he met a car. i thought i knew suffering people until i met suffering people. the moment you understand the grain of sand and stop rolling around in the seaweed is the moment you see through the eyes of wisdom rather than through the eyes of a deer in headlights.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
a list
here is a list i put up on my facebook of 25 things you might not want to know about me (or might want to know). either way- here they are.
1. i can't fight the feeling that someday i could either go deaf or blind; as a result i have taught myself how to tell my clothes apart by touch only and i have memorized how each note sounds on a piano and can play said piano in complete darkness.
2. i met my wife on myspace. i would never take it back =) but dont try this at home.
3. i think i am the most boring person in the world so im surprised when people laugh with me.
4. i will help you out and put 180 percent of me into it, but if you dont return even just 10 percent i will still help you if you need it again.
5. i was born south of boston and lived there for almost 20 years of my life. if i had a really good reason to return to new england i would. there is nothing like spring and fall up north.
6. i have so many interests going at once that i dont even notice my ADD.
7. if i was invited to a u2 concert and a yo-yo ma concert being held on the same date- i would take the yo-yo ma concert.i love u2 but cello is my all time favourite instrument-i get goosebumps just listening to it.
8. i sometimes wish i had grown up in England. im alittle bit of an anglophile. i spell color "colour" and favorite "favourite". i love fish and chips and the beatles. winston churchill is my homeboy. cs lewis is my hero. etc.
9. 8 years ago i told God i would never move to Florida. ever. 2009 marks my 6th year in florida. learn your lesson kids!
10. i love japanese and samurai arts and culture. calligraphy art is amazingly simple and beautiful.
11. i can identify just about any aircraft manufactured from 1930 and on. it stems from my obsession with aviation since age 10.
12. i always find my wife the most beautiful when she is feeling the most unkempt.
13. i hate crowds. its why i have never been inside disney and why i dont like midways. and its one reason why i got into being a live sound tech: i didnt have to be in the crowd.
14. i eat conspiracy theories for breakfast. ask me about anything and i'll have a conspiracy theory for it. but i dont buy into any of that area 51 crap at all. its military airplanes. get over it people.
15. i almost joined the air force and the coast guard but i chickened out.
16. my and my wife have talked, texted or emailed each other every single day since we first met, with the exception of only one day and i love her like crazy.
17. i know how to solve the financial crisis but i know i will never be taken seriously. i know alot of things i just never say them cus i never feel like people care to take me seriously.
18. the things people tell i am really good at and ask me to do alot of are the things that get really boring to me really fast.
19. give me a yamaha grand piano to play on a windy bluff in cape cod overlooking the cold atlantic ocean on a cool, gray day with seagulls calling all around and i would be content.
20. i know i'm wierd and i embrace it with all i am. i have a nerd alert sign above my desk at work.
21. i went to romania for 10 days and it took a part of my heart when i left. i will always consider it my second home and im planning on going back somehow, someday.
22. im a scared procrastinator. i owe alot to alot of people for kicking me out of my corner and helping me get to where i am today. you know who you are! thank you.
23. if i could direct my dream movie jerry bruckheimer, quentin tarantino, tom hanks and steven speilberg would produce, hans zimmer and howard shore would compose the soundtrack; denzel washington, bruce willis, brad pitt, scarlet johannsen, natalie portman, laurence fishburne, steve carell and lauren graham would star. the title of this movie? "trepidation".
24. i sometimes feel like i dont deserve my wife or all the things in my possession. was i a monk in a former life? no. all i know is i owe everything in my life to God's limitless grace.
25. i almost died in the hospital at age 2 due to my asthma which i no longer have. great way to finish this thing up, isnt it? =)
26. i estimate all numbers i need to calculate. that said there may only be 25 on this list so #26 is just in case.
1. i can't fight the feeling that someday i could either go deaf or blind; as a result i have taught myself how to tell my clothes apart by touch only and i have memorized how each note sounds on a piano and can play said piano in complete darkness.
2. i met my wife on myspace. i would never take it back =) but dont try this at home.
3. i think i am the most boring person in the world so im surprised when people laugh with me.
4. i will help you out and put 180 percent of me into it, but if you dont return even just 10 percent i will still help you if you need it again.
5. i was born south of boston and lived there for almost 20 years of my life. if i had a really good reason to return to new england i would. there is nothing like spring and fall up north.
6. i have so many interests going at once that i dont even notice my ADD.
7. if i was invited to a u2 concert and a yo-yo ma concert being held on the same date- i would take the yo-yo ma concert.i love u2 but cello is my all time favourite instrument-i get goosebumps just listening to it.
8. i sometimes wish i had grown up in England. im alittle bit of an anglophile. i spell color "colour" and favorite "favourite". i love fish and chips and the beatles. winston churchill is my homeboy. cs lewis is my hero. etc.
9. 8 years ago i told God i would never move to Florida. ever. 2009 marks my 6th year in florida. learn your lesson kids!
10. i love japanese and samurai arts and culture. calligraphy art is amazingly simple and beautiful.
11. i can identify just about any aircraft manufactured from 1930 and on. it stems from my obsession with aviation since age 10.
12. i always find my wife the most beautiful when she is feeling the most unkempt.
13. i hate crowds. its why i have never been inside disney and why i dont like midways. and its one reason why i got into being a live sound tech: i didnt have to be in the crowd.
14. i eat conspiracy theories for breakfast. ask me about anything and i'll have a conspiracy theory for it. but i dont buy into any of that area 51 crap at all. its military airplanes. get over it people.
15. i almost joined the air force and the coast guard but i chickened out.
16. my and my wife have talked, texted or emailed each other every single day since we first met, with the exception of only one day and i love her like crazy.
17. i know how to solve the financial crisis but i know i will never be taken seriously. i know alot of things i just never say them cus i never feel like people care to take me seriously.
18. the things people tell i am really good at and ask me to do alot of are the things that get really boring to me really fast.
19. give me a yamaha grand piano to play on a windy bluff in cape cod overlooking the cold atlantic ocean on a cool, gray day with seagulls calling all around and i would be content.
20. i know i'm wierd and i embrace it with all i am. i have a nerd alert sign above my desk at work.
21. i went to romania for 10 days and it took a part of my heart when i left. i will always consider it my second home and im planning on going back somehow, someday.
22. im a scared procrastinator. i owe alot to alot of people for kicking me out of my corner and helping me get to where i am today. you know who you are! thank you.
23. if i could direct my dream movie jerry bruckheimer, quentin tarantino, tom hanks and steven speilberg would produce, hans zimmer and howard shore would compose the soundtrack; denzel washington, bruce willis, brad pitt, scarlet johannsen, natalie portman, laurence fishburne, steve carell and lauren graham would star. the title of this movie? "trepidation".
24. i sometimes feel like i dont deserve my wife or all the things in my possession. was i a monk in a former life? no. all i know is i owe everything in my life to God's limitless grace.
25. i almost died in the hospital at age 2 due to my asthma which i no longer have. great way to finish this thing up, isnt it? =)
26. i estimate all numbers i need to calculate. that said there may only be 25 on this list so #26 is just in case.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
find the target first
"My philosophy is basically this. And this is something that I live by. And I always have and I always will. Don't ever, for any reason, do anything to anyone...for any reason ever no matter what. No matter where or who or who you were with or where you are going or...where you've been. Ever. For any reason whatsoever." -Michael Scott, The Office (tv show) Season 4 Episode 11
Huh? That is someone without a target, without a goal. What is your target? What are you aiming at in life?
Chances are that target moved and you missed.
Life isn't a shooting range. For people learning how to shoot a gun, going to the range is essential. Mastering the skill of hitting a set point downrange is a wonderful tool, but when you get into a real life scenario; chances are things can get crazy. Sure you can hit dead center on the indoor range target with a .22 rifle from 20 yards; but when you are tracking a 5 point buck 40 yards away dashing west to east through the foliage at about 5mph with a light rain around you and the wind is blowing 8 mph north to south and a bead of sweat has just dropped into your sighting eye- will you still hit the target?
I think sometimes we treat our dreams, goals and ambitions like we're at the shooting range. The target is in our control. It's our comfort zone. But what we're training for in there is not in there. We are merely taking target practice. The real target, the real goal is outside, where nothing is in our control. Target practice is only training.
It's like wanting to start a band. You come up with a name "asparagus parking meter". You buy a Fender guitar. You buy a huge Marshall guitar amp. You play hours of Rock Band on Xbox. You create a wicked cool myspace. You recruit your girlfriend and her friends to make t-shirts. And then some promoter guy finds you a gig. Then you get scared and quit. Why? You've only been taking target practice. You don't have a drummer or bassist. You haven't learned how to actually play that guitar you bought. You don't even have one song written and your mom knows you can't sing. But you have awesomely sweet t-shirts. Get out of the shooting range.
Being able to hit a real target requires adjusting yourself to the surroundings you can't control and knowing how to deal with them so you hit the target. That rock band you want to lead? It's making a mad dash across an open field and you need to adjust your aim with the wind, the weather, your own arm, the distance etc.
In other words, people will say you can't do it. You'll have a severe dis-like for your guitar teacher. the recording studio will be beyond your budget. No one will want to book you. You need a drummer, bad. You and your girlfriend are the only ones that think the t-shirts are rockin'. Still want to hit that target? It's impossible. You need a target you can hit. But you left the shooting range behind. Now what?
That's where Jesus comes in.
"Since we are surrounded by so many examples [of faith], we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2 GWT)
Jesus zoned out. He ignored all the distractions and temptations and instead focused on the joy ahead of Him. And we must do the same by focusing on Him.
Being focused on Him, we can ignore the lies and the things that hinder us from doing what we know we need to do, from aiming for the target. Are you seeing the joy that is ahead of you?
Huh? That is someone without a target, without a goal. What is your target? What are you aiming at in life?
Chances are that target moved and you missed.
Life isn't a shooting range. For people learning how to shoot a gun, going to the range is essential. Mastering the skill of hitting a set point downrange is a wonderful tool, but when you get into a real life scenario; chances are things can get crazy. Sure you can hit dead center on the indoor range target with a .22 rifle from 20 yards; but when you are tracking a 5 point buck 40 yards away dashing west to east through the foliage at about 5mph with a light rain around you and the wind is blowing 8 mph north to south and a bead of sweat has just dropped into your sighting eye- will you still hit the target?
I think sometimes we treat our dreams, goals and ambitions like we're at the shooting range. The target is in our control. It's our comfort zone. But what we're training for in there is not in there. We are merely taking target practice. The real target, the real goal is outside, where nothing is in our control. Target practice is only training.
It's like wanting to start a band. You come up with a name "asparagus parking meter". You buy a Fender guitar. You buy a huge Marshall guitar amp. You play hours of Rock Band on Xbox. You create a wicked cool myspace. You recruit your girlfriend and her friends to make t-shirts. And then some promoter guy finds you a gig. Then you get scared and quit. Why? You've only been taking target practice. You don't have a drummer or bassist. You haven't learned how to actually play that guitar you bought. You don't even have one song written and your mom knows you can't sing. But you have awesomely sweet t-shirts. Get out of the shooting range.
Being able to hit a real target requires adjusting yourself to the surroundings you can't control and knowing how to deal with them so you hit the target. That rock band you want to lead? It's making a mad dash across an open field and you need to adjust your aim with the wind, the weather, your own arm, the distance etc.
In other words, people will say you can't do it. You'll have a severe dis-like for your guitar teacher. the recording studio will be beyond your budget. No one will want to book you. You need a drummer, bad. You and your girlfriend are the only ones that think the t-shirts are rockin'. Still want to hit that target? It's impossible. You need a target you can hit. But you left the shooting range behind. Now what?
That's where Jesus comes in.
"Since we are surrounded by so many examples [of faith], we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2 GWT)
Jesus zoned out. He ignored all the distractions and temptations and instead focused on the joy ahead of Him. And we must do the same by focusing on Him.
Being focused on Him, we can ignore the lies and the things that hinder us from doing what we know we need to do, from aiming for the target. Are you seeing the joy that is ahead of you?
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