It’s been almost two years since i’ve blogged. A LOT has happened. I’ve gotten married, had a baby and and have a changed perspective on life. I’m still not where I want to be, but I guess that’s not any different than any point in life. I’m very happy with what life has brought me and i’m anxious to start giving back again. All that I have been given is only truly loved and accepted if I use it to give back. Time to live what I believe and try to pay back all that I’ve been given. Hope to see you along the way.
Beauty of a Parable.
I have been reading one of Peter Rollins books lately, The Fidelity of Betrayal, and was really intrigued by one of the parables he shares. I was just about to write it all out to share, and then found it on YouTube! So here you go. This guy is so refreshing to me in my faith right now.
Filed under Faith, My Journey
In a Box
It’s now official that i’ll be leaving Grace Hendersonville to head back to Fort Wayne, IN. Since this news has become public knowledge, I’ve had several people come up to me and share meaningful conversations about our time together over the past few years together. I joked with one friend that it’s a nice experience because it’s probably the closest most of us will ever get to being at our own funeral. People saying kind words from their heart can really move me.
It got me to thinking how sad that is though that in our culture, most of us don’t experience this nearly enough, kind words I mean. What are the statistics? Most people hear 14 negative comments for every 1 positive one? If only we could hear the kinds of words that are spoke about people when they leave or when they pass more often, who knows how it might effect us. It’s my hope to take more occasions to really tell people how much I appreciate them and why more often. Birthday’s are the perfect time in my opinion. Take a moment to truly celebrate the fact that the person is in your life for another year.
I came across this song by city and colour the other day that just really topped off the thoughts and feelings that I’d been having on this topic. The lyrics are below the youtube video.
There’s a funeral procession on the highway
Traffic screeches to a halt
There’s people searching for a better way
To live their lives, oh
Johnny lived a good life, you’ll hear them say
As tears of sadness soak the ground
The reaper crept in, took his breath away
In the middle of the night
We celebrate the lives of the dead
It’s like a man’s best party, only happens when he dies
We gather ’round to pay our respects
While their souls are still searching for the light
Searching for the light
So please don’t come to me on my dying day
Just let me go in peace
With all the things that I forgot to say
Racing through my mind
And don’t you bury me six feet under ground
Just burn my body in a box
And let my ashes blow with the wind
Out into the night sky
We celebrate the lives of the dead
It’s like a man’s best party, only happens when he dies
We gather ’round to pay our respects
While their souls are still searching for the light
Searching for the light
Filed under My Journey
Cynical or Critical
I came upon an article from Men’s Health called ‘The Hazards of Cynicism: Why men fail” last week and I keep finding thoughts from the article resurfacing in my mind. Two thoughts in particular won’t seem to leave me alone. What is the real difference between cynical and critical thinking and have I allowed myself to become cynical in areas of my life.
The difference between critical and cynical was laid out well i thought by MacGetIT (I googled it).
Critical thinking is where you analyze a problem and determine a solution using cause and effect of various processes. You take “no sides” of an issue and movie forward with what’s best towrard a vision of what’s possible.
Cynical thinking is where you lack or do not take into consideration various aspects of a problem and consider all of alternatives to come to a logical and appropriate answer to a problem. A contemptuous or mocking attitude of various ideas or solution.
I consider myself a critical thinker and so I started to worry that maybe I’m cynical as well. I feel a bit better knowing that having a contemptuous or mocking characteristic is something I am usually able to avoid. That did lead me to wonder though were does that characteristic come from? Why are some people able to be critical without being cynical when others aren’t.
The men’s health article talked about cynicism coming from a broken heart. This is probably way too often true. That when we believe in something so great and then it lets us down, it can cause such heart break that hope is a hard thing to have again. To me, a life without hope is destined for cynicism.
So now I’m looking into my own life, as I hope you will into yours, and looking for areas that I lack hope and have let a thinking, critical mind become cynical. Keep hope alive and remember our best days are always ahead of us.
This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a might one, the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” – George Bernard Shaw
Filed under Future Plans, My Journey
Life as it happens.
Relaxing, reading, thinking, anticipating. Life is good.
Filed under Picture Blog
Izzy Rodriguez 