December 3, 2009 in
GODSTUFF with
G.K. Chesterton, in his book “Heretics” says we are like people standing under a street lamp who begin to demand, each for his own reason, that the lamp be torn down. A monk in the crowd suggests that before destruction commences, there should first be a discussion about the value and purpose of light. But no discussion ensues. The people simply rip the lamp from the pavement. Upon doing so, they congratulate themselves smugly. Then they realize they cannot see. They are in utter darkness. They do not know how to get home, and cannot find those with whom they came. They begin wildly clawing in the dark, which turns to panic, and comes to blows – people striking out in the dark, not knowing who they are striking. Eventually everyone is tired from fighting and it dawns on them one at a time that a bit of light might be useful for various reasons (values and purposes). Only now the lamp is torn down, and what they might have discussed before under the light, they must now discuss in the dark.
It is not just intellectuals who are interested in truth. Normal, everyday, non-intellectual people live their lives in the pursuit of truth. About a thousand times a year, such people come to me and ask the question, “What should I do?” People who want to know what they should do are people who are seeking truth. The “right” course of action is the one that aligns with the reality of the situation. If my daughter has a horrible toothache, and I choose to take her to buy peanut brittle instead of to the dentist, I have made a wrong choice – one that contradicts the reality of the situation. In light of my daughter’s toothache, what is the right thing to do – what is the thing that corresponds with reality as it actually IS? Going to the dentist. Truth is the thing that aligns with reality.
Truth matters to you in the way you live your life moment by moment. There are realities in your marriage, realities at your job, realities in your personal and emotional life. Those realities must be understood so that you can make accurate choices based on them.
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November 22, 2009 in
GODSTUFF with
Today I was not the person I want to be. Come to think of it, I wasn’t that person yesterday either. I’m tired. I haven’t been feeling well. Every time I try to sleep, some noise in the house wakes me up, and God forbid that the maker of the noise should be someone in my family, or she is sure to find herself on the receiving end of something she almost certainly does not deserve. I have been downright insufferable, like a two year old who gets so tired he cannot sleep, cannot be kind, cannot relax, cannot take directions, and cannot accept the love of those who just want him to be well. Lately I dread the thought of moving, or trying to accomplish anything. I simply cannot stand myself. At least my family can go in the other room and close the door. I have tried that, but no matter where I go there I am, and I continue to strongly dislike the company.
I cannot accept what I need most. I get in these funks and I push people away. I’ll bet I’m not the only one. Most of us are blessed to be surrounded by people who care about us and just want us well, and most of us get into these dark spaces where instead of receiving that love, we reject it. We prefer, for some sick reason, our tension and anger and darkness. God help me that I am such a person, that I have times where I willfully retreat into darkness and illusion instead of allowing those I love to keep me grounded in the truth. The truth is simply that I am loved. I am loved more than my wife and children can express to me, and I mean more to them than I even understand. I am the recipient of the most abundant grace and yet, in the times when I need it most, I cower in shadows, refusing to be loved, even going out of my way to be unlovable.
This is my deepest problem. It is the deepest problem of nearly all human beings. We are in various forms of rebellion and refusal to accept our true identity as the ones who are dearly loved of God.
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November 16, 2009 in
MISCELLANY with
November 16, 2009 in
MISCELLANY with
MichaelHyatt
I just tried to upgrade Microsoft Office. It crashed my Mac. I used to be a fan of Microsoft.
Twitter / Home
Above is a recent Tweet from Michael Hyatt who runs one of my favorite blogs at http://michaelhyatt.com. First of all, I’m no Microsoft fan-boy by any stretch of the imagination. Last year I put Linux (first Kubuntu, then Ubuntu) on all my PC’s and would be running it now, except the software I use most often cannot be run on Linux. Having said that, this Tweet struck me as odd, yet typical of a Mac user. It seems with Mac users, crashes and other computer issues are always Microsoft’s fault!
In this case, we have Microsoft software and an Apple computer. A problem arises. Blame goes to: MICROSOFT! Yet when I talk to Mac users and tell them about a computer problem I have had, they nearly always tell me I should get a Mac, as if it MUST be the hardware. As if that problem would NEVER have happened on a Mac.
I’m perfectly open to the idea that perhaps in Hyatt’s case, the problem really was the software. Hyatt writes a lot on productivity and seems to know his way around a computer, so perhaps he really knows this is the problem. But the Tweet still embodies what I generally see in the Mac community, which is resistance to admitting that Apple hardware might be responsible for a problem.
Just once I’d love to come across a post on the Internet saying, “My Mac is broken – AGAIN!!” You know it happens. By the law of averages, it has to. It makes you wonder if when you buy a Mac, you sign a legal agreement stating that you will never post anything negative about Apple. Or say it to anyone in private with the shades drawn. Or even think it.
The other interesting thing in Hyatt’s post is that he used to be a fan of Microsoft. The only Microsoft fan you’ll find among most Mac users is a reformed one – the kind that used to be.
To end this post and put it in perspective, I love the cult-like atmosphere Apple engenders among its users. If you have read Jim Collins’ Good to Great, you know this is something great companies do, creating feverish enthusiasm and devotion around everything they do. This in itself is a big part of the Mac vibe. Still, I can’t help but await eagerly a Tweet one day from a Mac user that says, “I just tried to upgrade to Microsoft Office. It crashed my Mac. I used to be a fan of Apple.”
When hell freezes over.
Update from Hyatt:
MichaelHyatt
I rebooted my computer and installed Microsoft Office 12.2.3. It worked “as advertised” this time. All is well.
November 7, 2009 in
MISCELLANY with
I’m not much of a graphics guy. I’d like to have some kind of picture to put with each post, but don’t really know where the sources of good pics are (you can tell I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel when I’m putting up pictures of me), and actually don’t have time to do pics in addition to writing the blog content. I’d be open to anyone who might be willing to suggest pics for me for my posts. I make $0.00/day writing this blog so there’s no money in it, but if anyone has an interest in graphics and would like the site to look better, I’d welcome some ideas!
