I’ve never really thought about what it might look like if I organized all the things that go through my head before I put them on paper, but it wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding or make for very interesting reading. I often forget just how easy it is for me to spill out words beneath my fingers. Sometimes I wish they could be retracted or said differently, but for the most part they, indiscriminately, reveal the state of affairs.
One of the more memorable moments this summer was watching a live play depicting the story of Romeo + Juliet. I’m not a Shakespearean devotee, but I enjoyed it and wish most earnestly to have been born British; if only for the inherent wit and lofty ideology. There is a theme that runs consistently throughout the story, and that is the notion that love is blind and in blindness made perfect. The concept is rather frightening and delightfully dreadful all at once.
There are universal truths which are readily understood, but there are also elements that elude comprehension. I’ll illustrate the point by suggesting that the differences between male and female aren’t nearly as dramatic as we tend to think, but the ability to think abstractly is definitely something that most often befuddles the fairer sex. I’m not suggesting male supremacy, but you can’t deny that we have developed a certain adroitness in the world of debate; chiefly the ability to derive linear conclusions from non-linear themes or events. It’s hard to explain the fundamental differences in a paragraph, but this distinction is important, and comes into play when you introduce a timeline as the benchmark by which perspective is adjusted, to allow for maximum clarity.
Whenever you begin to quantify the elements of the idealistic life, you will always find the exact same elements, but in differing degrees. It’s such a basic concept and is not difficult to understand, yet it’s absolutely critical if we are to interpret the actions of other people correctly. The method by which we attain these goals is always thought to be right, but I think we sometimes fail to realize that for every desirable thing sacrifice is always required. Even when our dreams are realized, they very rarely result in long term satisfaction. "Dreams are tawdry when compared with the leading of God, and not worthy of the aura of wonder we usually surround them with. –Jim Elliot
We must realize that we are in the process of burgeoning all of the time, even when it seems that nothing is happening, which means that there is a certain degree of control that you will always hold. If we were able to realize how much influence we have over the outcome of our lives, we would live in a completely different manner.
The most difficult thing to do is find the balance between allowing fate to run its course and taking steps to make our wishes become reality. Human nature balks at discipline and will instinctively take the “Desire Path”. We rarely account for all of the variables. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t be afraid to be visionaries, because it’s only when we are willing to “risk the farm” will we ever achieve them. It’s hard to appreciate and understand the stages of life as they happen, but there are many dreaded happenings in our lives that are inevitable. They are the types of things that shake us up, control is not readily relinquished, and the process isn’t very enjoyable. Once we recognize that we are unequivocally incapable of altering the outcome of a set of circumstances, we can start to align ourselves to a standard of personal success that far exceeds that of the diminutive pawns that perpetuate aimless skirmishes fought on inconsequential battlefields.
