i originally had quite the grandiose post planned; but the misfortune of having one’s grandmother pass away for christmas seems to have drawn some of the priority away from that posting. stay tuned…
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old, rotten food
many people think of art (visual and literature) as attempting to recreate life and reality. in a way this is true, but it’s an impossible goal which ends up leaching the meaning of art altogether. it is utterly futile, impractical, and impossible to fully represent the detail and complexities of the world around us–there’s just too much; a never-ending chain of minutiae that has to be truncated at some point. art is about the simplification of reality. it is stripping the sights, shapes, colours, ideas, emotions, events, etc. down to the most common recognisable denominator. i and many, many others often lose sight of this. it’s a skill, really, and requires quite a bit of practice to master; to be able to let go.
running to stand still:
such an obvious comparison, to think of my life and relationships around me as a similarity to my routine of running with the treadmill; especially one spinning at a speed greater than my legs are conditioned to maintain. lately though, it feels as if i’m not even able to reach the treadmill; as if it were being trolled about on the flatbed of a truck, and i’m running to first catch the truck, before i can hop onto the tread and try to keep up with its pace. others’ priorities have a way of driving that truck right out of my grasp, and unfortunately, aside from politely asking the drivers to slow the hell down, there is little one person can do to affect the trajectory and velocity of someone else and their vehicle. i have lost so much ground with people, if this were a racetrack, i would expect them all to ‘lap’ me pretty soon. amazingly, television has proven a more influential force in peoples’ lives than their connection to me. interesting that reruns of a sitcom or a sports game is the more attractive opportunity cost to those around me than the life and friendship we share. sure we’re all ‘busy’, but you can tell how important you are to someone by how much time they are willing to make for you. take parents for example: they have so many things going on in life, and no matter how high the stack of responsibilities get, they can always make room for their child. or take three peers as example: one in college, one in graduate school, and one grad student out of state. the first two have plenty to do with school and work, but yet find enough time to spend going out with friends, and have some relaxation time here and there, despite their different educational rankings. now take the third, who on top of everything the first two deal with, has distance against them; yet they find a way to not only overcome it all, but also repair a relationship and even take on an engagement. humans are very capable beings indeed, and it is true that it’s just a matter of will and determination with how much accomplishment one can achieve versus how much they’re capable.
finally something worthwhile in life
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one
Is it getting better, or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you, now you got someone to blame?
You say one love, one life, when it’s one need in the night.
One love, we get to share
It leaves you baby if you don’t care for it.Did I disappoint you or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love and you want me to go without.
Well, it’s too late tonight to drag the past out into the light.
We’re one, but we’re not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other… oneHave you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus to the lepers in your head?
Did I ask too much, more than a lot?
You gave me nothing, now it’s all I got.
We’re one, but we’re not the same.
Well, we hurt each other, then we do it again.You say love is a temple; love a higher law
Love is a temple; love the higher law.
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can’t be holding on to what you got, when all you got is hurt.One love, one blood, one life, you got to do what you should.
One life with each other: sisters, brothers.
One life, but we’re not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other.
One.–bono, ‘one’
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auto insurance peculiarities
i just finished reading information on the 10 cheapest rides to insure. although neither the z nor the blazer were included, the article went on to explain why rates vary so greatly. i was surprised that an insurance premium isn’t necessarily based on the price of the vehicle itself, but moreso on the demographic it tends to attract.
for example, a camaro is likely to attract a young male audience, which has a stronger propensity for incident than the z, which (partially due to its price) is likely to attract males who are in their late twenties or beyond; a demographic much more likely to drive responsibly. so when the insurance on my brand new z was slightly less than a 3 year old cougar, now i have more of an idea why.
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timing is everything
the following editorial is my adaptation of an email from a brilliant writer/friend of mine to the north, saara. she cited a source of ‘thought for your week: timing is everything!’ by jill devine.
have you applied yourself in both thought and action with the best intentions in life, only to be frustrated with the results?
perhaps a book, melody, or film lifted your inspiration or motivated you in some way to pursue a dream; some goal that you’d never imagined, or maybe one left wayside for something more readily attainable. popular phrases such as ‘build it and they will come’, ‘you get what you pay for’, ‘give a little to get a little’, etc. help reinforce the notion that if you try, you will achieve. so what of the disappointment when having tried, our just rewards don’t follow? are you an exception to the proverbs, or is it something else?
part of the problem lies in human nature, the other for incomplete instructions. it is unmistakably human to seek the most instant gratification in any endeavour; but the truth is that not every reward is available at the flick of a switch, and that’s where the proverbs are incomplete–they don’t speak of the waiting period required for things to reach fruition, at least they don’t speak it in the same breath (think: ‘anything good is worth waiting for’). most ancient religious texts describe everything as having an order and a season.
for example, imagine a farmer swapping the seasons in which he sows and harvests his crops; he will likely find himself amid failure, at least in terms of his expectation to reap a viable product. he would do well to pay more attention to the calendar. or imagine the workflow of a baker. he can mix a cake batter all he likes, and even place it in the oven, but unless he endures a bit of waiting while it rises, he’ll have little more than a tin of goo to serve or sell.
unfortunately, we operate with the best of intentions and grand expectations, and feel defeat when at the end of the rainbow is more rainbow. If the results speak contrary to your expectations, double-check the season–you might just be early. don’t mistake ‘delay’ for ‘denial’ by life. timing is crucial, and patience is a vital ingredient when planning for success. the road to each reward is a variable distance, and your mileage may vary.