Dear 2000s,
Goodbye.
You're the second decade I've been alive in, and the first one I've seen through from start to end. That makes us: pals!
Sadly, I have to say farewell to you now.
That's right: I'm letting you go. I'm cuttin' you loose.
It's been good, 2000s. Especially 2009, who I'm closest to, chronologically at least. But that's what counts, right? Of course it is.
I'll never forget you. Especially when you are so well documented on Wikipedia.
See ya in heaven!
xoxoxoxo
Luke
P.S. I'll be counting down till they execute you simultaneously on every TV station in this time zone. When that happens, look at the camera and blow me a kiss, 2000s.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
What do you need?
Do you know what you need to be happy, to go on living, to find purpose in life?
If you do know, do you know how to do it and where to get it?
If you know all that, are you getting it? ...Why not?
Some people know what they want, but they have no idea how to get it. For example, a slave probably wants freedom, but how do you go about being "free" if escape is impossible, if the law says you belong to someone? On the other hand, some people know what they want and what they have to do but they're shy, like the classic lover whose friends have to shout and push him/her, "So go ask him/her out! Make the first move!!"
But some people don't even know what they need. Maybe this comes from not knowing who they are.
That doesn't stop people. Those who don't know what they need are the ones trying so hard to find out what it is. Sometimes they settle for something else that makes them forget they need anything at all -- alcohol, drugs, smoking, obsessive hobbies, even love, anything to fill the gap.
In a way, I respect those people the most. They are the ones who need the most help.
I can't tell if I'm able to answer either "yes" to all those questions or "no" instead. Am I really happy, can I find it? I just got back from hanging out at a Christmas party with my friends. How I love those people. For the past couple days, I've been so excited to see them again for the first time in months. When I got there, I shared hugs with them and couldn't stop smiling.
So how is it that I still end up wandering off alone sooner or later, thinking to myself, wishing for something?
Am I getting the thing that most makes me happy or only snatching at it?
--
Later: this reminds me of something John Terpstra told me, part of his theology. We all have a gap, a need. And it's not even the trivial worldly things that we mistake as able to fill it. People/love can't do so either. What can? God. God is the only thing...
So why does it so often seem like what He offers is also a happiness chased after?
Are we just using him as a substitute for something else we think will make us happy?
Rather than seeing what he's really about? How he doesn't just satisfy the need, he removes the need?
This requires some thought.
If you do know, do you know how to do it and where to get it?
If you know all that, are you getting it? ...Why not?
Some people know what they want, but they have no idea how to get it. For example, a slave probably wants freedom, but how do you go about being "free" if escape is impossible, if the law says you belong to someone? On the other hand, some people know what they want and what they have to do but they're shy, like the classic lover whose friends have to shout and push him/her, "So go ask him/her out! Make the first move!!"
But some people don't even know what they need. Maybe this comes from not knowing who they are.
That doesn't stop people. Those who don't know what they need are the ones trying so hard to find out what it is. Sometimes they settle for something else that makes them forget they need anything at all -- alcohol, drugs, smoking, obsessive hobbies, even love, anything to fill the gap.
In a way, I respect those people the most. They are the ones who need the most help.
I can't tell if I'm able to answer either "yes" to all those questions or "no" instead. Am I really happy, can I find it? I just got back from hanging out at a Christmas party with my friends. How I love those people. For the past couple days, I've been so excited to see them again for the first time in months. When I got there, I shared hugs with them and couldn't stop smiling.
So how is it that I still end up wandering off alone sooner or later, thinking to myself, wishing for something?
Am I getting the thing that most makes me happy or only snatching at it?
--
Later: this reminds me of something John Terpstra told me, part of his theology. We all have a gap, a need. And it's not even the trivial worldly things that we mistake as able to fill it. People/love can't do so either. What can? God. God is the only thing...
So why does it so often seem like what He offers is also a happiness chased after?
Are we just using him as a substitute for something else we think will make us happy?
Rather than seeing what he's really about? How he doesn't just satisfy the need, he removes the need?
This requires some thought.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
snovember unconquered
There's a bush on campus that somehow keeps its leaves very green. Well, some; about 90% dropped off during November. But on the top row, there is a fan of leaves all along this hedge, green and growing.
It's so cold.
Last night on the radio they were saying "If we don't get snow by tomorrow, this will be the first snowless November that downtown Toronto has seen since 1937 - and even that one had a little."
This morning I went about my usual routine, having forgotten the radio. But I realized it was December so I went to change the calendar. This requires facing the window. BAM. The whole street was covered in snow. I stared openmouthed for a few seconds as the knowledge seeped in.
Earlier in November I had joked to my friend Raymond, "If those leaves are still there in December, ain't no winter coming this year."
This was my last official day on campus before the break. By the time I got there the snow had melted but sure enough the leaves were lying on the ground broken and dead.
I don't know when it started snowing or if they made it through the night. I could check the weather sites for hour by hour history but I won't. I prefer to leave it a mystery.
It's so cold.
Last night on the radio they were saying "If we don't get snow by tomorrow, this will be the first snowless November that downtown Toronto has seen since 1937 - and even that one had a little."
This morning I went about my usual routine, having forgotten the radio. But I realized it was December so I went to change the calendar. This requires facing the window. BAM. The whole street was covered in snow. I stared openmouthed for a few seconds as the knowledge seeped in.
Earlier in November I had joked to my friend Raymond, "If those leaves are still there in December, ain't no winter coming this year."
This was my last official day on campus before the break. By the time I got there the snow had melted but sure enough the leaves were lying on the ground broken and dead.
I don't know when it started snowing or if they made it through the night. I could check the weather sites for hour by hour history but I won't. I prefer to leave it a mystery.
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