Thursday, December 27, 2001
It's been an eventful holiday season thus far for me...I'd say great, and just leave it at that, but that'd just be a half-truth...
I'll start off by elaborating on the "great." First and foremost is Christmas, Jesus Christ's birthday. To think that approximately 2000 years ago, God revealed Himself to humanity through Jesus' life, revealing that He still loves us despite our backward-ness. To think that He arranged things so that Jesus would absorb the lethal "bullet" rather than us, the sinful people who really deserved the "hit." That's real love...
Love...beautiful thing, it is. It's something I personally can't live without. I italicize this word because I think it has an immediate connection with love. I'm sure this has been said before, because as humans we're not truly living if we are not loving. Putting others ahead of ourselves...loving our enemies, despite their actions and however horrific they're perceived...there's a real grace there that's so mind-boggling that it really can't be put into words...
However, we live in a system that runs contradictory, if not hypocritical to these tenets. Capitalism, this man-made entity which runs on the belief that one should don the facade of "nice" and "political correct-ness" to others, while simultaneously using them as step-ladders to the perpetually ascending "cheese," or incentive. This "incentive," this $$$, it's something that seems to fuel itself. It fuels itself because the rodents running the wheel will never have enough. It's something that I've realized first hand. It really has no end in sight. This "want" is blind, cruising ever faster...70MPH, 80, 90...
Until...BAM!!! It ends up crashing into something perceived as unseen to this point. Annihilating itself...
This was the realization I came to on Christmas Day 2001. I was on 509 North, driving at the speed of around 60-65MPH, when my '92 Honda could no longer maintain this speed. Moments after, the brakes locked completely, so I had to maneuver the vehicle on the shoulder so I wouldn't impede traffic. All this while I'm telling myself "No, this can't be happening...this is a Honda! This is Dec. 25th! Christmas!"
Slowly decelerating towards the Cloverdale exit, I pull on the emergency brake. I start to cringe as the car begins to skid, cringing in a surreal fear that the vehicle would "fish-tail slam" itself into the too-close-to-guard-against-incontinenence guardrail...
It turned out that my car stopped right before the light, situating itself adjacent the guardrail, which was about a foot or so away. And I give thanks to God for not only providing the grace to ensure my safety, but providing me w/ the good samaritans who graciously granted me $$$ saving advice, along w/ a ride to my Uncle Sonny's house...
I had much faith in my car, after all it was a Honda, vehicles reknowned for their reliability. But what this situation allowed me to realize that this brand of reliability can only take a person so far, physically. It made me realize that God, and God alone is deserving of being reknowned for "fail-safe" reliability. And what's so beautiful is that this reliability isn't confined or relegated to a physical sense, rather, it's based on the spiritual...
More insights on Ichi-bro's holiday experience forthcoming...
I'll start off by elaborating on the "great." First and foremost is Christmas, Jesus Christ's birthday. To think that approximately 2000 years ago, God revealed Himself to humanity through Jesus' life, revealing that He still loves us despite our backward-ness. To think that He arranged things so that Jesus would absorb the lethal "bullet" rather than us, the sinful people who really deserved the "hit." That's real love...
Love...beautiful thing, it is. It's something I personally can't live without. I italicize this word because I think it has an immediate connection with love. I'm sure this has been said before, because as humans we're not truly living if we are not loving. Putting others ahead of ourselves...loving our enemies, despite their actions and however horrific they're perceived...there's a real grace there that's so mind-boggling that it really can't be put into words...
However, we live in a system that runs contradictory, if not hypocritical to these tenets. Capitalism, this man-made entity which runs on the belief that one should don the facade of "nice" and "political correct-ness" to others, while simultaneously using them as step-ladders to the perpetually ascending "cheese," or incentive. This "incentive," this $$$, it's something that seems to fuel itself. It fuels itself because the rodents running the wheel will never have enough. It's something that I've realized first hand. It really has no end in sight. This "want" is blind, cruising ever faster...70MPH, 80, 90...
Until...BAM!!! It ends up crashing into something perceived as unseen to this point. Annihilating itself...
This was the realization I came to on Christmas Day 2001. I was on 509 North, driving at the speed of around 60-65MPH, when my '92 Honda could no longer maintain this speed. Moments after, the brakes locked completely, so I had to maneuver the vehicle on the shoulder so I wouldn't impede traffic. All this while I'm telling myself "No, this can't be happening...this is a Honda! This is Dec. 25th! Christmas!"
Slowly decelerating towards the Cloverdale exit, I pull on the emergency brake. I start to cringe as the car begins to skid, cringing in a surreal fear that the vehicle would "fish-tail slam" itself into the too-close-to-guard-against-incontinenence guardrail...
It turned out that my car stopped right before the light, situating itself adjacent the guardrail, which was about a foot or so away. And I give thanks to God for not only providing the grace to ensure my safety, but providing me w/ the good samaritans who graciously granted me $$$ saving advice, along w/ a ride to my Uncle Sonny's house...
I had much faith in my car, after all it was a Honda, vehicles reknowned for their reliability. But what this situation allowed me to realize that this brand of reliability can only take a person so far, physically. It made me realize that God, and God alone is deserving of being reknowned for "fail-safe" reliability. And what's so beautiful is that this reliability isn't confined or relegated to a physical sense, rather, it's based on the spiritual...
More insights on Ichi-bro's holiday experience forthcoming...
Saturday, December 22, 2001
Being the true procractinator I am, off I go to start Christmas shopping...
I just hope that I'll be able to find parking at Southcenter Mall, in under half an hour. Which is optimistic...
I just hope that I'll be able to find parking at Southcenter Mall, in under half an hour. Which is optimistic...
Monday, December 10, 2001
No posts in over two-plus weeks...I think I can make a sound estimate what the daily hit rate on this blog is...
Well, to fill you in on what's been happening...well, I've been in physical pain the greater duration of the day. It's not the type of pain that's crippling or overly debilitating, it's one of those nagging sensations that pops up every time I sit on something which lacks the right cushion...
I'm in this pain because yesterday evening I played basketball at the IMA, and sustained what I think is a tailbone injury. This happened during the third game, as I leapt to nail an on-the-run, stop n' pop floater from the free-throw line, the person defending me positioned himself under my shadow and I fell on his knee (or elbow) hard, aggravating my tailbone. The sensation of pain I instantly felt was nothing like I'd experienced, a real acute nerve-oriented pain, but I figured it would fade so I proceeded to play out the game, and another one.
Then I went home and slept...or tried to. I think I awoke on five or six occasions because of the sharp pain that jolted fr. the tailbone and outward every time I positioned myself in a different sleep position. This had to rank up there as one of the most uncomfortable sessions of sleep I've ever had...
And throughout the entire day today, before I feel like sitting down, I have to think twice. I've been conditioned to associate sitting down with sharp pain. I don't think this is ever a positive thing. Unless one has a penchant for sitting on sharp nails or thumb tacks...
Well, on the bright side, at least I found much relaxation working on my paper on a comfy, generous-on-the-cushion sofa at the Southcenter Barnes and Noble's...
Well, to fill you in on what's been happening...well, I've been in physical pain the greater duration of the day. It's not the type of pain that's crippling or overly debilitating, it's one of those nagging sensations that pops up every time I sit on something which lacks the right cushion...
I'm in this pain because yesterday evening I played basketball at the IMA, and sustained what I think is a tailbone injury. This happened during the third game, as I leapt to nail an on-the-run, stop n' pop floater from the free-throw line, the person defending me positioned himself under my shadow and I fell on his knee (or elbow) hard, aggravating my tailbone. The sensation of pain I instantly felt was nothing like I'd experienced, a real acute nerve-oriented pain, but I figured it would fade so I proceeded to play out the game, and another one.
Then I went home and slept...or tried to. I think I awoke on five or six occasions because of the sharp pain that jolted fr. the tailbone and outward every time I positioned myself in a different sleep position. This had to rank up there as one of the most uncomfortable sessions of sleep I've ever had...
And throughout the entire day today, before I feel like sitting down, I have to think twice. I've been conditioned to associate sitting down with sharp pain. I don't think this is ever a positive thing. Unless one has a penchant for sitting on sharp nails or thumb tacks...
Well, on the bright side, at least I found much relaxation working on my paper on a comfy, generous-on-the-cushion sofa at the Southcenter Barnes and Noble's...
