Faith With a Cold

Comic strips like Garfield have fun with the idea of Monday: playing with the contrast of a carefree, relaxed weekend and, well, Monday. That dull day when office drones descend once more into their cubicles, factory functionaries fill their post on the assembly line, and managers merge with managerial routines.

Monday.

Then there was my Monday.

My wife's got a cold. I heard her say that I'm getting over mine. She's generally right about that sort of thing. I don't feel sick. I don't feel well, either. Or tired. That's okay, though.

They say that couples should do things together - but I used that gag in another post, in another blog. I'd been doing some creative work. Make that trying to do some creative work. After realizing that 'writer's block' was more of a 'writer's fog,' and not having a deadline - I fell back to looking up facts for a time when more of my neurons were cooperating with my will. (See "Exoplanets, MIT, Mathematics, and Thinking With a Cold ," Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 18, 2010))

About two hours ago I saw "Bank of America to Redo Foreclosures" and perceived "Bank of America to Radio Foreclosures" - and decided to take a break.

Garfield? Monday? Creativity? Radio Foreclosures?! Where's the Spirituality?

It's been an overcast, gray Monday here in central Minnesota, I've got a cold, and I haven't been able to get much done today. It's been one of 'those' days.

Decisions, Decisions

I could decide that my lack of pep and uplift was the fault of the repressive, authoritarian, male-dominated Catholic Church. If I was loud and obnoxious enough about it, I might get a reputation for being very "intelligent" in some circles.

How I'd explain a decision like that in the particular judgment, I don't know. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't pass it off as 'being funny:' telling the Lamb of God that He should be able to take a joke.

No, I do not need that kind of trouble.

I could blame my wife, the biannual psychological freak show we Americans call "national elections," my parents, society - and the list goes on. Or I could blame myself, for not feeling all full of uplift and spiritual gifts.

Not gonna happen.

The point is, I have free will. I can decide what I think: that's a whole lot easier, now that my brain chemistry is a trifle better-regulated. ("Original Sin, Free Will, ADD, and There Goes the Air Conditioner" (October 15, 2010))

Which reminds me of one of my favorite slogans: "I'm not as crazy as you think I moose."

I had free will when I was expending a lot of my energy on just making my mental machinery work, of course. And I'm wandering off-topic.

That's been happening a lot today.

'Feeling Spiritual' - It's Nice When It Happens

I have nothing against those big, emotional, 'uplifting,' 'spiritual' moments. They're nice. And they don't last. I've discussed "spiritual" experiences and my faith before. (April 22, 2010)

Bottom line? Days like this happen. It's not a "dark night of the soul" - not even close. I've used the phrase "dim Monday morning" before. (July 19, 2010)

The trick, for me anyway, is to remember that I live in a world where God is large and in charge - but where we're all working with the after-effects of a really bad decision. I've written about original sin before. (October 15, 2010) More than once, recently. (October 12, 2010)

Then there was that "Firebase Earth" post. (April 5, 2009)

Two Quotes, and Introducing Another Blogger's Post

First, the quotes:

"On Earth, there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it."
-Jules Renard

"The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground"
-G. K. Chesterton

They're what introduced a post in another blog:

"How to Cultivate Your Garden"
Christopher's Apologies (October 18, 2010)

"Terry Veling wrote in his book Practical Theology: On Earth as It Is in Heaven that there are 'two fundamentally interpretive acts that are central to theological activity – "searching the scriptures" and "reading the signs of the times." ' Later on he suggests the art of interpretation 'is intimately tied to the art of creativity, and this is as it should be, for the creativity of a work necessarily calls forth the creativity of the interpreter.'

"After I read Voltaire's Candide for a theology class a couple of years ago, I put together a list of 10 ways to 'cultivate your garden.' Candide offers the enigmatic phrase...."

I recommend reading the rest of that post. That 10-point list might be useful. Like "10. Life has an ebb and flow to it; roll with it."

Good advice, in another person's blog:

• "How to Cultivate Your Garden"
  Christopher's Apologies (October 18, 2010)

Not-completely-unrelated posts:

• "Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, and Warm Fuzzies"
  (August 8, 2010)
• "Becoming Catholic for Reasons, Leaving Because of Feelings"
  (August 5, 2010)
• "Dark Night of the Soul? No, More Like a Dim Monday Morning"
  (July 19, 2010)
• "Really 'Spiritual' Experiences: Those are Okay"
  (April 22, 2010)
• "Being Counter-Cultural in 21st Century America"
  (March 17, 2009)

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A tip of the hat to crsmith89, on Twitter, for the Christopher's Apologies post.