September 3, 2009

The only thing I know is that I know nothing.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, unemployment
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That statement was made by the famous philosopher, Socrates. I believe that we need deep thinkers in this world. They keep us entertained if nothing else. And the other day as I watched a video on BNET of philosopher Alain de Botton, I was very entertained. He’s an interesting speaker and was talking about anxiety over work and life, job snobbery, fears of being an underachiever, and social inequalities. He discusses the concept of meritocracy and some alternative ways of thinking. You can watch the video at the bottom of this post.

What made me write about Alain (I’m going to use his first name because it has a nice ring to it) and his video segment was the fact that he declares himself to be secular and yet on several occasions references the Bible and Christian concepts and admits that those teachings have value. As a Christian, it’s a challenge to hear people seemingly believe in or have the desire to follow Christ’s teachings but then say they aren’t “religious” or they are “secular” or an “atheist” or even stereotype Christians and insult them as a group.

In the video, Alain quotes St. Augustine who said, “It’s a sin to judge any man by his post. Only God can put everyone in their place and He’ll do that on the Day of Judgment.” Alain says it’s an insane idea to secular people like him. And yet he believes there is value in that idea. Don’t judge people, hmmmmm.

He goes on to discuss a certain characteristic about modern society and why it causes us anxiety. He says, “Modern society has nothing at its center that is non human. We tend to worship ourselves. Most other societies have something else they worship.” So Alain, isn’t it possible to believe that without God in our lives, we are empty? We try to fill voids with things instead of Jesus? It sounds kind of like that to me.

I keep seeing videos of and articles written by really smart people who say they are not followers of Christ (and in fact refer to themselves as atheists, secular, not religious, etc.), and yet they support Christian concepts that are taught in the Bible. I hope they someday let themselves be open to God because they certainly are seeing his point of view. And it’s precisely this that we need to show the world. Not the crazy people who just spout out the “don’ts” in life, but the people who see the beauty, the intelligence, and the wonder of God which is LOVE, patience, grace, and everything good. Can we get the media behind that?

So those are my deep thoughts for the day. What’s on your mind?


 

August 30, 2009

There’s something happening here.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under Animals
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What it is ain’t exactly clear. There’s a turtle in the path over there. Snapping at Grendel and saying beware.

So I have decided to come clean with something that’s been plaguing me all summer. At first it was just weird coincidences. But now I’m thinking that there has to be a reason for all this—something I’m supposed to do. I just don’t know what to make of it. So I did some research on the Internet to see if there’s been some global phenomenon, natural disaster, or another story of man destroying the planet. I found a bit of everything but nothing to explain my little, what should I call it? How about freaky turtle sightings?

It started last spring while I was walking Grendel in the woods by my house. There I was minding my own business, in deep thought, when all of the sudden—not a word usually associated with turtles, I know—there was this turtle in the path. I actually jumped. Grendel, wondering what I was freaking out about, turned and finally noticed the reptile. Seriously—I don’t know how he missed it considering his nose is to the ground at all times. It took a lot of muscle to pull him away from this interesting creature. That was the first sighting. Then on several trips to the beach I saw both live and dead turtles in the sand. A few more sightings in various parts of the woods around my house, one sighting by my neighbor, and continued references to both real and animated turtles throughout the summer fed my new turtle paranoia. Finally, yesterday I saw one sitting under my neighbor’s fence. I wanted to warn my neighbor about it but was too late. He told me he freaked out when he saw it later that day. So I’m not alone in the jumping thing and feeling a bit better now. But honestly. What is it? All summer. Turtles. Everywhere.

Have any of you had a similar experience? I don’t necessarily mean with turtles but with anything like this? I feel like God is trying to tell me something. I can’t figure it out though so I thought I’d put it out there and see if any of you have any ideas. Like I said, I did some research and here are some of the stories I found. There certainly are a lot of stories, and turtles seem to be pretty popular—and not just because of Finding Nemo’s “Crush” or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I wonder why. They’re okay, but what’s the fascination?

 

August 25, 2009

S’more camp stories. And grilled cheeses.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under Camp Tockwogh, laughter, Love
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When I was a kid, the last day of camp was filled with tears and smiles. My Mom would pick me up and I would not stop talking the entire way home. When I was in college, the tears and smiles were still there, but I drove myself home in a daze. I was exhausted, dirty, excited for another school year, depressed at having to leave my camp friends, and happy about the memories all at the same time.

Yesterday, while waiting outside the arts and crafts building at camp for the tie-dye t-shirts to dry, I was having a conversation with some friends about their kids and how it was so cute that the kids were in tears at the end of their summer camp session and how they had to be dragged away to go home. We then realized that we used to do the same thing. Even as adults, heading out the gates of Camp Tockwogh on the Chesapeake Bay was a difficult thing to do.

I’ve been home a few hours now after spending just a long weekend there and I can’t stop thinking about how much I miss my friends and how much fun it was. It really doesn’t matter how old you are, those feelings never go away. It’s family camp now at Tockwogh. The group I stayed with was quite eclectic. Some of us are single, others married, some have kids, and some don’t. It doesn’t matter though. Family is what you make of it. And we are a family. That cabin was full because we have such a strong bond that we have to see each other and spend time together whenever we can. (The sailing, tether ball, and archery may have something to do with it but I’m pretty sure we could get by with just conversation, Amy’s battery powered blender, and Jack’s light display.)

I keep wondering what is it about that place called Tockwogh. Is there some kind of weird drug that grows in the grass and trees that infects anyone who spends time there? It could be something in the grilled cheeses—a famous meal that we all make our plans around for some reason. Seriously, who else but Tockwogh folks would change dinner plans, a day off, or the time they come home to collect the dog (my bad), just because it’s the “grilled cheese” lunch?

I was there for four days and spent time with friends I’ve known for 20 years and with others I just met this weekend. In both cases, I can say I’ve strained several ligaments and muscles in my abdominal wall with all the laughing. (The Kiwi “ringleader” story was particularly funny and should you ever wish to become part of the Tockwogh Giggle Loop, we’ll tell it to you.) It really is hard to explain the bonds and the strength of the friendships that are made there. I know some people who have attended other camps get it and I hope that some of you reading this will visit Tockwogh and become part of our family.

Thanks to Amy, Jack, Wendy and kids, Liz and Regan, Abby, Andy, Steve, Mike and Mathew, the “urban sprawl crowd”, the “girls village crowd”, Jen and Bill, Michelle and Dan, Beth and Eric, Nadine, and the staff. I didn’t cry this time—but only because I know from experience that we’ll see each other again soon. Okay, maybe just a few tears of thanks for having such great friends. And I’d like to give a shout out to the next door neighbors in Hopi cabin who I did not meet but had to live with us crazy people and did so in tolerant silence.

I’m off to wash off the dirt that has permeated every pore, bandage the wounds, and sleep in a bed that can actually fit me, and enjoy the fact that I have a bathroom close by that does not threaten to host a snake in its rafters. But before I go I just want to say thanks to the staff. Especially those boys from down under who have those great accents. And the way they talked was nice, too. May you have great wind for sailing, smooth glass for water skiing, sun for warmth, and ice to keep the beer cold.

 

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