In the Now

I recently read The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. It is a good book. I don’t want to say too much about it because it’s probably a better read if you know nothing about it going in.

One of the many themes in the book is the human struggle to “live for the now” or embrace the present instead of always thinking about the future.

This seems like a difficult task to me in two ways. The first is the way in which we think and interact and the second is how we embrace/appreciate things.

Thinking and Interacting

If you think about conversations you might have on a day-to-day basis or when you meet people you haven’t seen in a while, they are typically about the future.

“What do you want to do with your life?”

“I can’t wait for my vacation in 3 months.”

“You got promoted? What are you going to do next?”

“The weather is supposed to be great tomorrow.”

“I didn’t like that new Lil Wayne CD, but Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 is gonna be sick.”

“What are you doing this weekend?”

"I need some space. We will talk later."

In addition, human temperaments are mercurial (I don’t know if I used that word correctly but I think it looks cool). Our minds can shift from subject to subject and from the now into the future on a whim.

Appreciation

People often do not appreciate other people or things until they can no longer be with them or have them.

I admit I knew next to nothing about Ted Kennedy before he passed away, but I have learned about his fascinating life in the past few days. When I see people writing about him all over the Internet and praising him, I have to wonder why this didn’t happen when he was alive. Did those same people contact him when he was alive and tell him how much they appreciated him? I’m not trying to criticize because that would make me a hypocrite, but I’m just pointing out that it doesn’t seem like things work that way.

I can think of many other examples of this type of situation with celebrities, but it is also apparent in normal relationships we have with other people – either when a relationship is broken off (although I guess Kelly Clarkson didn’t think so judging by the lyrics in “Since U Been Gone”) or if someone close to us passes away.

What Now?

My understanding of the argument in The Screwtape Letters and in Christianity in general (please correct me if I am wrong) is that we must embrace the now in order to be a true Christian. We must realize that we are in God’s Kingdom right now and God is good. Everything around us is good. We should be happy with it. God created the world and us and is making all of our thoughts and actions possible. I couldn’t be writing this without Him. Nothing could be happening without Him and we should be infinitely thankful for it, no matter what happens.

The problem I have is that even if I believe in God and want to thank God with all of my heart, I have no idea how to do it. Should I run around saying “I love you, God” repetitively? Should I spread the word of God to others and try to convert them? Should I go to church for 1/168 of my time during a week and make hand gestures and repeat words, and then forget about Him for the rest of the week? How much should I be praying? What should I be praying about? What should my day-to-day activities be? What is the proper way of thanking God? What happens if I don’t believe in God 100%? How often should I repent for my sins? Am I sure I know what God thinks is a sin? Have I sinned too much?

In our minds (maybe not in God’s mind), humans are imperfect. It seems like we are programmed to do things we believe we shouldn’t have done and to want things we can never have. Maybe there is some leeway in how much time we should be thinking about the now and God, but I don’t know.

What are your thoughts on how much time you should be devoting to God and religion? Do you 100% believe in your religion or are you unsure? Do you have any techniques that help you think about the present more than the future? Do you think that thinking about the present makes sense, or do you want to think about the future?

Google

According to my Google Analytics, someone searched for "I am terrible at writing" and it led them to my blog. I guess Google has a high opinion of my writing.

Apparently, Talk is Cheap

This story on CNN today freaked me out:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/08/03/al.qaeda.video/index.html

What it says is that the 2nd in command of Al Qaeda doesn't care (or at least won't publicly admit he cares) about the overtures Obama has made towards a resolution of international conflict.

"Obama can come with all the eloquent words he has, but it is nothing but illusions."

I have no clue how to respond to this article. I don't know what specifically brought upon these words towards Obama, but for him to classify Obama as an illusionist seems insane to me. What can you do when you've made attempts to verbally resolve a conflict and the other side won't even engage in a friendly discussion or believe what you say? I guess I would try to get his number and just keep calling him and point out actions I was taking to show that my words were legitimate.

Shot in the Dark

I probably should type about racism cause it's all over the media right now and tearing my mind apart. In particular, I was startled by the death and bomb threats Professor Gates said he received as well as the "banana-eating jungle monkey" comment, but I want to wait on that issue until I fully digest everything and the whole story comes out.

As you may already know, I don't like guns. I don't like knives. I don't like bombs. I don't like nuclear or chemical weapons. I wish weapons never existed, but they do. Everyday I seem to hear a lot of stories of people getting killed by weapons - whether it's in the media or whether it's from someone I know.

For every "weapon hater" like me, I know there is someone that thinks weapons are awesome. People love movies with crazy explosions. People like hunting. On a global scale, some people don't seem to give a damn about mass destruction and war. It was "cool" that the USA hit Japan with atomic bombs. All the time, I hear people say, "Let's bomb the hell out of Iraq and just get it over with". Human history has been shaped by and is defined by massive wars. Listen to this song (language warning) by Fat Joe, MOP, and Gangstarr: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9nn5U8-87o They seem to like guns a lot.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want a person's life being taken away from him/her ever again by another person.

What I don't like about weapons is the potential power advantage it gives one human or one state over another. When I see a police officer carrying an automatic weapon, I feel squeamish. I don't think anyone should have the capability to take someone else's life so easily. I understand the argument of "guns don't kill people. people kill people", but at the same time, it's so much easier to kill another person if you have a gun.

On a global level, countries with the best weapons/technology/armies have all of the power. Do I think that's fair? No, but at the same time (for selfish reasons) I am glad I live in America at the moment for the freedom/protection it enables me to have. I also know that it is probably a good thing to have armed police officers in case the public needs to be protected.

The optimist and idealist in me wants to make all weapons illegal, take every weapon that currently exists, and destroy it. If all weapons were destroyed, no one would have an enormous power advantage over anyone else (except for natural physical strength). Crimes in general and murder would be much more difficult to commit. This is a good idea, isn't it?

The pessimist in me tells me that this solution is not feasible. The problem is (i) people are power hungry/selfish and (ii) people don't trust each other. If all weapons were destroyed, who is to say that someone wouldn't just make a gun and start shooting people with no one around to stop him. If the USA disarmed itself of nuclear capabilities, another country could just bomb us without any fear of repercussion.

Weapon creation has escalated from simple bows and arrows (there were probably other things before them) to weapons capable of instant mass destruction due to this lack of trust amongst people and hunger for power. The last couple of lines in Batman Begins (sorry if I am spoiling it for anyone) illustrate this:

What about escalation?

Escalation?

We start carrying semi-automatics, they buy automatics. We start wearing Kevlar, they buy armor-piercing rounds.

And?

And *you're* wearing a mask and jumping off rooftops. Now, take this guy: armed robbery, double homicide. Got a taste for theatrical, like you. Leaves a calling card.

Given our current state, I'm not sure what solutions can be implemented to prevent murder/crime or at least better regulate who is carrying weapons, but I'm thinking about it.