I've been studying Africa in two of my classes. It is a privilege and a heart breaking experience to follow its history and see such suffering. Our "world" in america blocks our view of places like Africa, through mind-dumbing activities that force us to think only of ourselves and our lives. But I've come to a simple conclusion and it is this:
the world is a full cup of equal doses of devastating beauty and absolute horror. We must never forget the one or the other. And it’s no use hiding from the horror. It’s as real as the rain; as the nails on our fingers. We cannot shut it out by closing our eyes. it will exist whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, like God.
Therefore, it is better to build our courage now, while we are apart from that evil, than be buried by it in shock and fear when we are finally faced with it.
Ignorance helps none of us. Sin is evil, and evil exists. Don't forget it. But don’t dwell upon the fact either. Recognize its validity and then put it away and engage yourself in the general goodness of life, for there are many, many wonderful things here.
And ultimately, it is the law of the universe that good will always be the victor. So make sure that you are on your respective side, whichever you choose.
Nobody respects an undecided mind. Be of firm belief in what you want-good or not good. Don’t sway in the middle; that’s not an option, and you will ultimately waste your existence if you allow yourself to hang between the two.
If you choose to be good, you must be all good, committing yourself to growing beauty and fostering love in the world. If you choose to be bad, you must commit yourself to that cause, for whatever reasons you may have. You may switch to any side you choose, at whatever point in your life, but you must be certain of your choice. There is no gray area.
So when picking sides, the line is drawn at our feet. and i have to say that ignoring the line equivocally puts you on a side already. it's real, it's sad, and it's ugly, but the only way to make a difference in this world, i believe, is to make that choice, and stick with it. and whether is africa, india, america, wherever, we are called to live out our lives with a strong mindset. lets not forget it.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
queries and observations of flight
Ah, the rugged body of the land, feathered by trees and carved by rivers, roads and human ingenuity. I spy a popcorn-shaped plume of white smoke looming over a small industrial hell on the river side. The thin layers of cloud dim the view from above, as we climb higher into the emptiness of the sky.
The plane dips, and our gravity is shifted and our brains sink into our shoulders. This thing, this idea, of flying through the air in small metal ships with a body like an antediluvian sea monster, and sturdy wings like a bird, it never ceases to astonish me.
We are now almost completely above the cloud layers, that thick frosting that blankets the land. They look like waves from this angle, like the tide rushing up against grainy sand on the shore.
How can humans put so much faith into these ideas, and into each other? We sit here and read our books, drink our orange juice, remain silent, ignoring the people around us, as if this is what was natural. Granted, we grew up in a world where this is common place, and yet, does nobody stop and question absurdity of human flight? we see above the clouds, where angels and airwaves dance together. we see the sun rise from thousands of feet above the surface of the earth. amazing! Yet i think we spend our whole existences relying on what another person’s faith is, and we never stop and question things ourselves. Why?
Is it our need of conformity? Is it our desire for normality, whatever that is? What is it? why dont we think about these things? or maybe the reason why is that beyond the awe factor, self inquiry doesnt matter?
The plane dips, and our gravity is shifted and our brains sink into our shoulders. This thing, this idea, of flying through the air in small metal ships with a body like an antediluvian sea monster, and sturdy wings like a bird, it never ceases to astonish me.
We are now almost completely above the cloud layers, that thick frosting that blankets the land. They look like waves from this angle, like the tide rushing up against grainy sand on the shore.
How can humans put so much faith into these ideas, and into each other? We sit here and read our books, drink our orange juice, remain silent, ignoring the people around us, as if this is what was natural. Granted, we grew up in a world where this is common place, and yet, does nobody stop and question absurdity of human flight? we see above the clouds, where angels and airwaves dance together. we see the sun rise from thousands of feet above the surface of the earth. amazing! Yet i think we spend our whole existences relying on what another person’s faith is, and we never stop and question things ourselves. Why?
Is it our need of conformity? Is it our desire for normality, whatever that is? What is it? why dont we think about these things? or maybe the reason why is that beyond the awe factor, self inquiry doesnt matter?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
in transit
traveling has this way of wearing you OUT. you're tired, hungry, dry, stressed, dirty and impatient. not a pretty picture. however, traveling could also be an interesting time to experience very interesting things. and as i have just gotten back from break, and spent this whole long day traveling to this side of the country, it was inevitable that a blog would come of it all. so here it is, the events in chronological order.
5:30 AM-mom and i arrive at the San Diego airport. mom almost gets a ticket for leaving the car running at the curb for more than the respective allotted time by an over eager airport security guy in green pants. mom scurries to the car, and drives away before he can pull out his pen. she comes back in a few minutes and we pay for the bags. i grab my tickets from the exhausted, mumbling ticket agent, hug mom good bye, then run inside.
5:40 AM-i arrive at security check and find a massive line. discover that the line is not moving at all, and commence freak-out mode. there is a creepy guy standing behind me, who is literally two inches from the back of my neck. stress level rises more. take baby steps forward.
5:50 AM-find out that the gates are all closed due to security threats. seriously?
5:55 AM-security calls all 6:15 flights to the front of the line. i dash through the people, under arms, around feet, to the front, skidding and nearly slipping and dropping my bag, like in the movies during a chase scene. i make it to the gate at 6:17, and am practically the last one on the plane.
6:30 AM-take off. i meet the girl next to me, lindsay, who's traveling back to texas to live with her dad. i pull out my DVD player to turn on Bones, and offer her one of my earphones to watch it with me. she decides to.
11:40 AM-after hours of flight, we finally land. lindsay and i discover we are both going to the same hanger for our connecting flights. we walk all over the Houston airport looking for terminal B. twenty minutes later, we find it. we hug goodbye. it was a really strange moment, cause it felt like we had become really good friends in the last few hours. it was sad, actually. i guess thats the way it happens sometimes. you make a good friend in a few hours which in normal circumstances probs wouldnt happen. then, you part ways, knowing for real that you will most likely never see that person again in this life. it was really sad, actually.
12:50 PM-my plane and i take off to Nashville. its crowded, and im jammed against a window, doing homework. the woman next to me asked what i am reading. i tell her its a book about the colonization of Africa. her eyes light up. she tells me that its her job to find different books for the university she works at, and she likes the sound of the one in my hands. i cant remember what school it was that she worked for. she asked me if i was a history major. i smile and say yes, i am. she asked me if i was planning on pursuing my doctorate. i nod seriously, and tell her, yes, i am. she tells me that only 3% of the worlds population has their doctorate. i need to keep my focus, she tells me. after that, i formally introduced myself to her. she told me her name was Marsha, and then she gave me a lot of good advice in how to pursue my career, some of which is quite priceless. it was amazing that i was sitting next to this woman who could offer me this stellar advice about my future. it was really amazing actually. she was a cool lady.
2:20 PM-we land and i retrieve my baggage. i had previously decided that i'd wait for Bri to come in from california at 3:30. so, i settle in a corner and watch more Bones, which is a really good good good show, if i may say so myself. at this point im starving. no food since some crappy corn flakes on the flight to Houston. yuck.
4:30 PM-Bri and I cram onto the Groome shuttle, headed for Chat. its the most crowded ive ever seen a shuttle, all Southern students. we stuffed ourselves into the back, with the bad air circulation, no head rests, and elbows poking in each others ribs. talk about misery!
7:30 PM-carsick and catatonic, we roll out of the cramped shuttle and feel our lungs expand like newborns testing out their lungs for the first time. i breathe in deeply, feeling them inflate, and stretch out. thank God for space!
8:15 PM-first stop, Matchu Pitchu, for some take out, combo number 4, the best food in a long time.
9:05 PM-we haul our bags, food, and whatnot up the stairs, into our old room. throwing down everything, i take it all in. what a day! i eat, unpack, relax, and write this.
thus ends a long, long day. traveling never fails to lead one into interesting situations. why should you care? you dont have to :) something about today stuck with me. maybe it was the stress of the airports? maybe it was the friends made? maybe it was the raging hunger all day long? i dont know. it doesnt matter, really. but days like this, circumstances like this should be remembered, written down, so that even if they dont mean anything now, maybe they'll have significance later. who knows?
and after all of this, im going to go fall asleep now. ah, sounds like heaven.
5:30 AM-mom and i arrive at the San Diego airport. mom almost gets a ticket for leaving the car running at the curb for more than the respective allotted time by an over eager airport security guy in green pants. mom scurries to the car, and drives away before he can pull out his pen. she comes back in a few minutes and we pay for the bags. i grab my tickets from the exhausted, mumbling ticket agent, hug mom good bye, then run inside.
5:40 AM-i arrive at security check and find a massive line. discover that the line is not moving at all, and commence freak-out mode. there is a creepy guy standing behind me, who is literally two inches from the back of my neck. stress level rises more. take baby steps forward.
5:50 AM-find out that the gates are all closed due to security threats. seriously?
5:55 AM-security calls all 6:15 flights to the front of the line. i dash through the people, under arms, around feet, to the front, skidding and nearly slipping and dropping my bag, like in the movies during a chase scene. i make it to the gate at 6:17, and am practically the last one on the plane.
6:30 AM-take off. i meet the girl next to me, lindsay, who's traveling back to texas to live with her dad. i pull out my DVD player to turn on Bones, and offer her one of my earphones to watch it with me. she decides to.
11:40 AM-after hours of flight, we finally land. lindsay and i discover we are both going to the same hanger for our connecting flights. we walk all over the Houston airport looking for terminal B. twenty minutes later, we find it. we hug goodbye. it was a really strange moment, cause it felt like we had become really good friends in the last few hours. it was sad, actually. i guess thats the way it happens sometimes. you make a good friend in a few hours which in normal circumstances probs wouldnt happen. then, you part ways, knowing for real that you will most likely never see that person again in this life. it was really sad, actually.
12:50 PM-my plane and i take off to Nashville. its crowded, and im jammed against a window, doing homework. the woman next to me asked what i am reading. i tell her its a book about the colonization of Africa. her eyes light up. she tells me that its her job to find different books for the university she works at, and she likes the sound of the one in my hands. i cant remember what school it was that she worked for. she asked me if i was a history major. i smile and say yes, i am. she asked me if i was planning on pursuing my doctorate. i nod seriously, and tell her, yes, i am. she tells me that only 3% of the worlds population has their doctorate. i need to keep my focus, she tells me. after that, i formally introduced myself to her. she told me her name was Marsha, and then she gave me a lot of good advice in how to pursue my career, some of which is quite priceless. it was amazing that i was sitting next to this woman who could offer me this stellar advice about my future. it was really amazing actually. she was a cool lady.
2:20 PM-we land and i retrieve my baggage. i had previously decided that i'd wait for Bri to come in from california at 3:30. so, i settle in a corner and watch more Bones, which is a really good good good show, if i may say so myself. at this point im starving. no food since some crappy corn flakes on the flight to Houston. yuck.
4:30 PM-Bri and I cram onto the Groome shuttle, headed for Chat. its the most crowded ive ever seen a shuttle, all Southern students. we stuffed ourselves into the back, with the bad air circulation, no head rests, and elbows poking in each others ribs. talk about misery!
7:30 PM-carsick and catatonic, we roll out of the cramped shuttle and feel our lungs expand like newborns testing out their lungs for the first time. i breathe in deeply, feeling them inflate, and stretch out. thank God for space!
8:15 PM-first stop, Matchu Pitchu, for some take out, combo number 4, the best food in a long time.
9:05 PM-we haul our bags, food, and whatnot up the stairs, into our old room. throwing down everything, i take it all in. what a day! i eat, unpack, relax, and write this.
thus ends a long, long day. traveling never fails to lead one into interesting situations. why should you care? you dont have to :) something about today stuck with me. maybe it was the stress of the airports? maybe it was the friends made? maybe it was the raging hunger all day long? i dont know. it doesnt matter, really. but days like this, circumstances like this should be remembered, written down, so that even if they dont mean anything now, maybe they'll have significance later. who knows?
and after all of this, im going to go fall asleep now. ah, sounds like heaven.
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