kc bob: HMMM

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love and time

I like this quote from Merton, a Catholic monk.
Even so. I wonder. As we all have a limited amount of time.
Is it possible to love someone and not give them a bit of your time?

I think that love and time are linked together.

We express our love by spending time.

If we love baseball we will spend our days watching it.

So how do you deem someone worthy of your time (i.e. love)?
Especially if you think of loving someone as spending time with them.
Is it possible to separate the giving of love and giving of time?

Embracing a Nonlinear Timeline

"If you could see your life from start to finish, would you change things?"

This is the question from yesterday's movie review. The query helped me to see my life from a different perspective. It enabled me to get past the chronology of past events and see my life in a nonlinear fashion. Caused me to see my past decisions in light of the bigger picture. See an image of how these decisions have shaped my life. Helped me to understand, at a macro level, that: 1) I would not really change things in my life; 2) God has worked my past for good.

It makes sense when I think about it. God created time and therefore exists outside of linear time. If we are to understand life from a heavenly perspective then it is productive to see life in a non-chronological nonlinear way. Easier said than done. Yet so important. I guess what I am saying is the sum of our lives are so much great than a sum of their parts.

By embracing this view we are given the freedom to forgive ourselves for past mistakes and release the accompanying pain. To embrace a nonlinear timeline means that we embrace the totality of our uniqueness in ways that set us free from the constraints of linear thinking. We are enabled to envision a future that is so much different than our past.

What does it mean to have eternity in your heart?

Ever think about the future? Ever wonder about what life will be like when we shed our mortal shell?
King Solomon, when he was old, thought about such things when he wrote Ecclesiastes. He wrote:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV)

Interesting that, in context of eternity, Solomon says that He has made everything beautiful. That is good news because life before death is often not too pretty, much less beautiful. It is interesting that we all seem to be born with this concept of eternity but really cannot understand it, even at a superficial level, with our heads. I guess that is because we cannot grasp timelessness.

I know that I cannot imagine a place where there are no seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks or years. What I find interesting about this idea of eternity is that it is a concept of the heart not the head. It is a concept that confronts us at a heart level. It causes us to wonder at a gut level. Sad that many take eternity, try to discern it with their heads, and arrive at some strange places. Maybe this sort of cogitation is a way to handle an unanswerable question with a non-answer?

Let me wrap up with the titled question. What do do you think it means to have eternity in your heart?

It's About Time!

The idea of time has been the subject of sci-fi books, tv shows and movies for years. As early as the late nineteenth century men like HG Wells have been writing about time travel. I often ponder this idea of time and wonder if time ceases to exist when we die. Is this concept of time limited to this side of death? What do you think?

From a spiritual perspective it kind of makes sense that time ceases to exist when you die. Concepts like eternity and infinity are somewhat descriptive of an existence without time and space. The idea of God seems to embrace a reality where time is not relevant as He exists outside of it.

... originally posted August 31, 2009

Sympathy ≠ Empathy

I shared a thoughtful video this morning about the difference between empathy and sympathy. In sharing it I said: "Nobody wants sympathy but everyone needs empathy." Here is the text that accompanied the video.

Empathy and sympathy are not just two different approaches to confronting the emotional challenges of others; they are diametrically opposite responses in many important ways. Sympathy places another's problems at a distance from us, places us in a position of superiority, and "drives separation", says the film's narrator, Dr. Brené Brown. Empathy, on the other hand, requires that one internalize the feelings of another. That shared experience drives interpersonal connection, she says. "What makes things better is connection."

The video is less than three minutes. Watch it here and let me know what you think. Do you resonate with it?

Images that make you do a Double Take

This image is of the Sun Cruise Resort of South Korea that was built to look like a yacht.
You can catch more double take images like this one at Brainjet.

I used to think I was a "Morning Person" ...

This image has me wondering if it is good to be a "Morning Person".

    Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at
    such an inconvenient time of day. -Glen Cook

    I'd say I'm not a morning person but I'm really not sure
    I'm an evening person either. -Tony Tran

    I'm a dog person and an evening person because people and
    mornings had their chances to win me over and blew it. -Unknown

Quotes aside, are you a morning or evening person?

Happiness as a By-Product

Love this quote from a former First Lady. Reminds me that the pursuit of happiness does not mean that we go after happiness but we go after the things that make us happy.

And by happy, I am not thinking of something that accompanies a superficial appeal to illicit desire or a dalliance in sinful activities. These things do not bring true happiness.

What I think of is the deep contentment and satisfaction that comes when we are following the impulses of our innermost being. Such pleasure seems to come when we are doing selfless acts and loving in a Godlike way. Perhaps it is the only way to really be happy?

Miracles :: All or Nothing?

To be sure, Einstein (in this image) is not speaking of the existence of miracles but more to the ways that we live. Do we live as if God miraculously created it all or not.

That said, many do feel a need to take an all or nothing approach to the topic of miracles. Some feel that miracles do not exist because they regularly occur in life. Yet others claim that ordinary things like baby births are miracles.

My thinking is that there is probably a middle ground that embraces the working of miracles without seeing everything as one. Or perhaps we can simply see life itself as a natural miracle that sometimes confronts us with miracles that are supernatural in nature? Guess it depends how we define it.

What do you think when you hear the word miracle?

Contentment Quiz

"Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody." -Benjamin Franklin

Had an online dialog a few weeks ago with a guy about what it means to be content with suffering. Though he leads a large number of people he just did not seem to "get it" as he spoke of a person who is fighting back and was overcoming their adversity. So I thought of a few questions about being content. Would you be content to:

be stuck in traffic for a long time with no chance to get off?
live in poverty with no hope of a better future for your kids?
only eat food that you do not like while you desire other food?
drive a car that is need of repair and constantly breaks down?
be imprisoned for life for a crime that you did not commit?

I think that these questions might give you a sense of what it means to be content with suffering. In my view contentment involves a surrender of control. It means accepting life as it is but not giving up on your dreams. And sometimes it means dreaming new dreams. What do you think of when you hear the word contentment?

Will people remember 9/11 in 2101?

Kudos to the Newseum for producing this great front page from 100 years ago. My wife, her sister and niece took in the Titanic Exhibition at Union Station last year and spent hours viewing the seemingly ancient artifacts. She reports that there was silk and even papers that survived the salt water for so many years. Hard to believe that we are still talking about it today like it just happened. Of course the Titanic movie might be helping to keep the memory fresh.

I wonder if folks will be talking about the 9/11/2001 terrorist acts in 100 years? Not many younger folks remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese any more. I wonder how many will remember 9/11 if peace progress is made with the Muslim / Arab peoples? These days we seem to have a great relationship with Japan. What do you think?

Facebook Contrarianism

"A contrarian is a person who takes up a contrary position, especially a position that is opposed to that of the majority, regardless of how unpopular it may be."

I wonder if this word, contrarian, somewhat describes the way that many folks interact on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. I can relate to acting that way on occasion - my FB friends probably think it to be too many occasions.

That said, I wonder if you think that a contrarian is a welcome presence in your world or do you run when you see one? Are you the type of person who wants to always hangout with folks that have similar views or are you open to hearing views that are contrary to the ones that you hold? I vote for the latter. ツ

Who Speaks for You?

Had a great conversation with Ann's cousin today about a variety of religious and political topics. One of the comments was (something like) "the Pope speaks for the Catholic Church". My thinking is that he speaks for the church's government but not the church. Got me thinking about a wonderful post by my blogger friend Andy, a United Methodist pastor in Springfield, Missouri, who recently wrote a blog post titled: Who Do I "Speak For"? Following are a few excerpts from Andy's post (read it in full here). I would love to hear what you think about the idea of someone speaking for you.

The city of Springfield is making a rather awkward attempt to engage the question of whether to add sexual orientation to the city’s anti-discrimination language. A part of their process was a survey sent via email to pastors all around town; there was a link in the email that took me to the online survey.

One of the questions on the survey asked if I as the pastor “speak for the congregation.” I thought this was a no brainer - “Of course not. The congregation I serve speaks for themselves.” But apparently out of the 56 churches surveyed, there were only two who answered this way.
...
Faith rarely deals in either/or. Followers of Jesus are a diverse group, to say the least. And so how could I possibly speak for my congregation when my congregation reflects such an array of opinions? Surely our society has matured beyond the glorification of homogeneity.
...
I hope you understand my reasoning behind answering the way I did on the survey. It’s not that I do not feel I am a “leader” for Campbell UMC; it’s that I would never dream of “speaking for” a group of people who are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves, and doing so with grace, respect, and love.

The Longest Day

The summer solstice occurs on the day that has the longest period of daylight. In my world that day is tomorrow. We have had the second coolest Spring in Kansas City history and now it appears that the we will head into Summer with 90+ degree weather - maybe I need to head north or to the mountains? Wonder how high up (as in altitude) or far north I would need to go to escape the heat? ツ

How was Spring in your neck of the woods? Any plans for the Summer?

The Least Tolerant?

This picture (posted on Facebook - where else?) reminds me about the intolerance of the tolerance doctrine. Every few years I post something about it.

Many of those who passionately pursue tolerance are anything but tolerant when it comes to people who they think to be intolerant.

Don't you just love the irony of it all?

Training for Spring

A Facebook friend posted these billboard images that appear close to Royals Stadium (aka 'The K") in Kansas City. I have not seen them yet but they reminds me that Spring is just about a month or so away. I wonder if I too should find some way to train for Spring? Maybe do some indoor water aerobics? Do you have any Winter routines that help you prepare for the days when the weather is better?

No Space? Leave the Place!

Two Way Mirror Test shared by a Facebook friend ...

Do you know how to determine if a mirror is 2-way or not?

Just conduct this simple test: Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is GENUINE mirror. However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE! IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!

"No Space, Leave the Place" So remember, every time you see a mirror in a public place, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything.

Post Update: Looks like this not quite be all that accurate for all mirrors. Check out the Snopes article for more info.

10 Ways to Stunt Your Spiritual Growth

Found this list on Jim Palmer's Facebook page ...

Separate people into “us” and “them”.
Believe you need to be rescued from yourself and cured of your own badness.
Treat the afterlife as more important than the herelife.
Make God about correct theology.
Divide the world up into “sacred” and “secular”.
Mistrust what you most deeply feel.
Limit your experience of the divine to the people, places and programs of institutional church.
Question your competence when it comes to charting your own spiritual path.
Assume you more or less already have it all figured out, settle in, and stop exploring.
Pour concrete around your latest ___________.

Seems like a good list to end 2012. I can resonate with many of these - especially #6. How about you? Can you relate?

The Wiki on Wikipedia

This funny Ziggy cartoon reminds me that using Wikipedia is not like reading the old Encyclopedias. Here is the wiki on it ...

"Wikipedia is written collaboratively by largely anonymous Internet volunteers who write without pay. Anyone with Internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles, except in limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism. Users can contribute anonymously, under a pseudonym, or, if they choose to, with their real identity."

Wonder how many understand this about Wikipedia? Suspect that some do not. Ever wondered about something your read there?

Unalienable vs Inalienable

I have read that Jefferson wrote "inalienable" and Adams preferred "unalienable" when the Declaration of Independence was being drafted. I am not sure that there is a huge misunderstanding here as one dictionary uses inalienable as the definition for unalienable. Even so, I enjoyed this explanation from grammarist.com:

"English has changed since Thomas Jefferson used unalienable in the Declaration of Independence. Inalienable is truer to the word’s Latin roots—in- is the Latin negative prefix, and un- is an English one—and while Jefferson’s Anglicized word has always been listed as an accepted variant, inalienable is now the more common form. Unalienable mainly appears in quotes of or references to Jefferson’s document. Inalienable is preferred everywhere else."

Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, - 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;' and to 'secure,' not grant or create, these rights, governments are instituted. -BUDD v. STATE OF NEW YORK (1892)

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