Is there anything left to say? July 8, 2011

There are so many ways that I can be connected to the globe, I’m sure that if our ancestors could come to earth today their heads would swirl from Facebook, email, newspapers, internet, twitter, blogs, cell  phones, skype…I mean the list goes on and on.  I even wavered about whether or not to start this blog.  I’m not trying to market a company or sell a book…yet here I am writing into the bottomless pit of internet data.  In my mind, I imagine an overflowing stack of papers, books, and pictures floating through space and the only way to sort through them is to ask Google, but even Google cannot tell you if the information you’re compiling is worthy to read or not.

So we have millions of people update the world every time they take a bite of food (as if anyone really cares, and yet people are reading the tweets) and with the help of social networking, stalking has become some people’s part-time job.  Warning: You know it’s become an addiction when you learn an event from someone’s life through Facebook and then you talk about it with them before they have shared that detail with you.

Currently, I’m reading On Writing by Stephen King and though his life is really messed up (which I think we all figured based on the types of novels he writes) he had a profound thought that I have never considered before.  The book was published in 2000 and as I sat in bed reading it last night in 2011 our minds connected in thought and imagery.  As if the words on the page transcend time and King’s thoughts from 11 years ago as he typed at his desk in Maine became my thoughts as I sat propped up in bed straining to read by my bed side lamp.  As someone who longs to be a writer and novelist, it really struck me that my thoughts and words meet the minds of my readers (ha, what readers?) regardless of the time and place.  Now the problem lies in originality.  With the hundreds of blogs being posted every second, magazines and books galore, how can anyone have a unique idea?  Whatever I say is most likely recycled information that I have read, reworked with my personal experiences and regurgitated from a different throat.  I mean if I see one more Cinderella story I’m going to gag.

For now I’m not giving up all hope that I could have an original idea.  I’ll keep reading and thinking about the connection to the author’s inner thoughts.  I’ll keep writing into the void of WordPress.  Maybe just maybe, I’ll have something to say.

Nestled January 11, 2011

Sometimes I cannot believe I have a blog.  I do not tweet or update my facebook status on the simple principle that no one honestly cares what I’m doing at every moment of my day.  The blog serves a different purpose for me however, it’s more of an expression of my constant and racing thoughts.  So even if I only get one view a day, I want to try to keep up with this endeavour for myself. 

Anyways, I recently joined a twenty somethings transitional I don’t know what my future will hold but I really need you group at church.  There were two new members this week who had the exact same thoughts as mine the previous week: I’m stuck at home with my parents and I need a community of people my own age, quick!  Is it just our generation of the late eighties babies that are all moving home after college?  And if so, why?  Of course we can blame the economy, the dream job is not to be found and with the price of tuition rising, the student debt is rising, naturally leaving home as a great alternative.  I must say it is an awkward transition to behold: dinner with your parents every night, chores, constant worrying from your mother…anyone who has done this will commiserate with me here.  So do we just need to get kicked out of the nest or is there something deeper to address?

My sophomore year of college the pastor at Muncie Alliance Church challenged the students to retain their friendships post college by staying together, living close, and utilizing each other’s talents in their community.  It would require sacrifice for some but the end result would take the deep bonds established over four years of living in the dormitories together and channel that energy to impact each other and a community.  By encouraging one another and edifying the group they could have a greater force in their work and ministry.  Of course as a sophomore this was idyllic and my friends were going to set out to do just that!  But after senior year, reality sets in: some cannot afford to live on their own, some cannot find jobs, some want to go on to graduate school…Now after a year and a half, I wish I had listened more carefully to Guy’s advice and put more effort into the idea.  I think from the outside this could sound weak and pathetic.  After college you are supposed to fly from the nest on your own and plant yourself in unfamiliar territory to test your adult skills, see if you can make it.  But what’s so wrong with needing people, finding comfort in familiar faces, and learning to grow with people who are there to support you. 

I’m very pleased to be making new friends and finding a new community.  But how many twenty something I still don’t know what’s next for me’s are out there feeling isolated?  Many of us are in the same boat and I think my suggestion would be that it’s not weak to need friends, family, and community to pour into your new stage of life.  In fact I think everyone’s soul desperately needs to be known and loved.

Training the Index Finger June 1, 2010

I got a forward last week in my inbox that said, “A neurosurgeon said that fluoride causes brain and thyroid cancer – stop all use of fluoride including tooth paste, rinse, and tap water!”  Ok, let’s rewind. 

If you stop to think about how easy it is to spread information, it is mind-boggling.  With the click of a button I can reach hundreds of people via email, facebook, blogging, twitter and the list goes on.  Regardless of the credibility and motive, people read volumes of information on the internet.  It opens doors to remote places on the earth and provides access to valuable information, but it can also prove to be a dangerous place for the untrained index finger.  In one swift click you can purchase anything from groceries to vintage cars, you can connect with long-lost friends, or overturn the perversities of human carnage.  You can imagine my shock when I received an email demanding that I never turn on the tap water without twenty filters unless I had a death wish.  Logic tells me, you have been drinking tap water since it was heated to make your formula as an infant – water has been fluoridated for over 50 years.  So how could such a claim be professed as truth and quickly enter multiple inboxes around the country?  A lack of discernment when filtering the information speeding to our eyes from our computer screens, just like with the television.  So avoiding conspiracy theories and long explanations ( if you’re interested in the fluoride debate see what the American Cancer Society has to say about it) I’ll simply state: we need to educate ourselves and youth on how to use discernment in sifting ulterior motives, biases and just false information.  It’s worth taking a deeper look to clarify terminology, intentions, and truth to the emails, documents, and books that we read and hear.

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. – Plato