Monday, October 18, 2010

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:Not-completely-unrelated posts:
A tip of the hat to crsmith89, on Twitter, for the Christopher's Apologies post.

2 comments:

Christopher said...

Thanks for the mention and the recommendation Brian!

Brian H. Gill said...

Christopher,

My pleasure!

Like it? Pin it, Plus it, - - -

Pinterest: My Stuff, and More

Advertisement

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light CandleFind a Retailer
Spiral Light Candle Store

Popular Posts

Label Cloud

1277 abortion ADD ADHD-Inattentive Adoration Chapel Advent Afghanistan Africa America Amoris Laetitia angels animals annulment Annunciation anti-catholicism Antichrist apocalyptic ideas apparitions archaeology architecture Arianism art Asperger syndrome assumptions asteroid astronomy Australia authority balance and moderation baptism being Catholic beliefs bias Bible Bible and Catechism bioethics biology blogs brain Brazil business Canada capital punishment Caritas in Veritate Catechism Catholic Church Catholic counter-culture Catholicism change happens charisms charity Chile China Christianity Christmas citizenship climate change climatology cloning comets common good common sense Communion community compassion confirmation conscience conversion Corpus Christi cosmology creation credibility crime crucifix Crucifixion Cuba culture dance dark night of the soul death depression designer babies despair detachment devotion discipline disease diversity divination Divine Mercy divorce Docetism domestic church dualism duty Easter economics education elections emotions England entertainment environmental issues Epiphany Establishment Clause ethics ethnicity Eucharist eugenics Europe evangelizing evolution exobiology exoplanets exorcism extremophiles faith faith and works family Father's Day Faust Faustus fear of the Lord fiction Final Judgment First Amendment forgiveness Fortnight For Freedom free will freedom fun genetics genocide geoengineering geology getting a grip global Gnosticism God God's will good judgment government gratitude great commission guest post guilt Haiti Halloween happiness hate health Heaven Hell HHS hierarchy history holidays Holy Family Holy See Holy Spirit holy water home schooling hope humility humor hypocrisy idolatry image of God images Immaculate Conception immigrants in the news Incarnation Independence Day India information technology Internet Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jesus John Paul II joy just war justice Kansas Kenya Knights of Columbus knowledge Korea language Last Judgment last things law learning Lent Lenten Chaplet life issues love magi magic Magisterium Manichaeism marriage martyrs Mary Mass materialism media medicine meditation Memorial Day mercy meteor meteorology Mexico Minnesota miracles Missouri moderation modesty Monophysitism Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mother's Day movies music Muslims myth natural law neighbor Nestorianism New Year's Eve New Zealand news Nietzsche obedience Oceania organization original sin paleontology parish Parousia penance penitence Pentecost Philippines physical disability physics pilgrimage politics Pope Pope in Germany 2011 population growth positive law poverty prayer predestination presumption pride priests prophets prostitution Providence Purgatory purpose quantum entanglement quotes reason redemption reflections relics religion religious freedom repentance Resurrection robots Roman Missal Third Edition rosaries rules sacramentals Sacraments Saints salvation schools science secondary causes SETI sex shrines sin slavery social justice solar planets soul South Sudan space aliens space exploration Spain spirituality stem cell research stereotypes stewardship stories storm Sudan suicide Sunday obligation superstition symbols technology temptation terraforming the establishment the human condition tolerance Tradition traffic Transfiguration Transubstantiation travel Trinity trust truth uncertainty United Kingdom universal destination of goods vacation Vatican Vatican II veneration vengeance Veterans Day videos virtue vlog vocations voting war warp drive theory wealth weather wisdom within reason work worship writing

Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.