Speaking

     Yesterday evening, the local high school debate club put on a production entitled "Be the Music". The idea was Christians are supposed to be the music in the world like there is music in the background of a movie. Aside from needing someone to teach them how to hold a mic and a few other sound issues they did a good job. I knew the members who wrote the skits and some of the monologues, they have talent. I even turned my cell phone to silent before the performance, something which I only do once or twice a year. Those who can inspire and move others with nothing but words, have the potential to be even more destructive than an atomic bomb, or to usher in a new age of peace. God protect us from the first and send us the latter.
     I choose not to speak more often than I choose to speak. Most sayings of the wise, or those considered to be wise, urge the reader to be slow to speak. I am not the best conversationalist, for I often am too slow to speak. I would like to leave you with this thought for the speaker. A man named Alexander Gregg once said, "There are three things to aim at in public speaking; first to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into your hearers."
     For the readers who do not desire to stand before the multitudes, I would give this quote from Voltaire, "There is a wide difference between speaking to deceive, and being silent to be impenetrable."
     Do you speak sometimes, too quickly? Are you often too afraid to speak up? I would remind everyone that you don't have to deceive or be silent. There is a third option, to speak brave and boldly for that which you know to be true.

Conversational Realizations

     With whom do you talk? I speak with people that I desire to know or understand (often I am forced by necessity to converse in order to avoid appearing inconsiderate). I had a conversation today with a friend of someone with whom I speak. I came to the realization that the two minute dialogue was the longest I had spoken to her...ever. I stated to analyze the possible causes for this. First, I had never truly tried to converse with her. A rather unobjective decision on my part, for I find her 'humor' of extreme exaggeration coupled with sarcasm to be annoying. Second, I have never seen her with out at least one or two or her friends by her side. This passing today while I was working on something, was the first time I recall having the opportunity to speak with only her. Third, those afore mentioned friends talk more than she does, so in a conversation one doesn't talk to any single person but the collective. This would seem to be a common tend amongst groups of young ladies. I find she is much more interesting and not quite as 'humorous' when she is separated from the group, a fact which was quite intriguing to myself.
     Why do you speak to people? Who is someone that you see often and yet with whom you rarely speak? I will try to be more aware of the people and the conversations. I offer the same proposal to you, take notice first of your surroundings, second of the people therein, and last of the conversations that one finds hidden there.

Nonspatial Continuum and William Jennings Bryan

     Time. Webster currently defines time as "...a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future". My schedule for the next several weeks is full of events succeeding one another very swiftly. I may not be able to properly maintain this blog during those periods of nonspatial continuum; however, I will do my best to provide y'all with interesting posts.
    William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) died a few days after the famous scopes trial in Dayton TN. He never got to deliver his last speech, it was presented a few days later. I read part of this speech recently and found his reasonings and the conveyance of those ideas intriguing.
     "There is no more reason to believe that man descended from some inferior animal than there is to believe that a stately mansion has descended from a small cottage. Resemblances are not proof-they simply put us on inquiry. As one fact, such as the absence of the accused from the scene of the murder, outweighs all the resemblances that a thousand witnesses could swear to, so the inability of science to trace any one of the millions of species to another species, outweighs all the resemblances upon which evolutionists rely to establish man's blood relationship with the brutes. But while the wisest scientists cannot prove a pushing power, such as evolution is supposed to be, there is a lifting power that any child can understand. The plant life lifts the mineral up into a higher world, and the animal lifts the plant up into a world still higher. So, it has been reasoned my analogy, man rises not by a power within him, but only when drawn upward by a higher power. There is a spiritual gravitation that draws all souls toward heaven, just as surely as there is a physical force that draws all matter of the surface of the earth towards the earth's center. Christ is our drawing power; He said, 'I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me,' and His promise is being fulfilled daily all over the world." -William Jennings Bryan
     What do you believe? How did man come into being? Did he evolve or was he created?

Short Post on Life

     Recently I was pondering what is the best way to measure life. Is life measurable? I don't mean years but, quality. It seems a lot of people think its all about what you did, what makes a great story. If you could judge life by the funny stories of stupid stuff you did, then I would measure rather low on life. I am rather cautious and can sometimes double and triple check whatever I'm doing. (Insert clever and intriguing quote about life here) Some people consider life is meaningless without a purpose or a 'higher' calling, and they measure life by what you have done in service to that god or gods. Even a few people think that life is nothing more than here and now, live it up before it's gone. Also I find that a persons view of life is greatly dependant of their view of heaven, hell, or some other afterlife.
     What do you believe? What is a good definition of life? How do you measure the quality of life? Do you think there is an afterlife of some kind?

History Notes?

     I just finished typing two full pages of notes for a friend who couldn't make it to the review in a class we both have. Now that's not to say hey look at me aren't I nice. On the contrary she (my friend) is certainly one of my favorite people. I'm not saying I'm in love with her but I do like her. I don't say that 'I like' anyone very easily or quickly but there are I would say about 4-5 people my age with whom I hang out that 'I like'. 
     Anyway... while I was taking the notes I thought about all the people in the class and determined for whom I would be willing to take notes. 'No not him, he is really lazy.' 'No not her, she always tries to use her good looks to get everything she wants.' and so forth, you get the idea. There are I would say at most two or three students whom I would help if they asked. I know they are diligent, intelligent, and kind, all qualities I hold in high regard. History notes are not a life and death situation and I feel that I have fair stipulations for giving my assistance. (Oh I just realized that another one of those people to whom I would send notes wasn't there either. I will send them a copy since I have it typed already.)
     Who do you help? How do you categorize the people in your life? Are you as reserved as I am with calling people 'my friend'?

Good Morning

     Over the past weekend several people have asked me "How are you doing?" and I have replied rather simply, "Normal." This, as I review it, probably sounded very rude to them. But I am caught between actually responding to them truthfully, which people usually don't want you to do, or almost lying by saying "fine", "good" or another common answer. I think I will try for the rest of the week to respond fully and truthfully to the generic "How are you doing?". I think that people who really care about me will appreciate my answer and people that really don't care will not ask me again. I will tell you how it goes. Do people really care 'how I am' or is it just a saying like hello that doesn't bear any feeling?
    I am drawn to remember Tolken's The Hobbit. In the very first chapter there is a conversation, which is partially related to this topic, when Gandalf comes to Bilbo and Bilbo says "Good Morning". If you haven't read The Hobbit then you should at least read that discourse near the beginning. I find it most refreshing and amusing.
     So I am left to ask you, how are you doing?

An Adult?

     I've been reading some Chinese philosophy lately (yes it is just for fun and I know I'm weird. note: for definition of weird please read older posts) Confucius said, "Let a man be stimulated by poetry, established by the rules of propriety, and perfected by music."
     I read allot of poetry, in fact I have an entire small bookcase dedicated to works of poetry. I even write poetry from time to time. I am also far more pertaining to the stricter rules of etiquette than most men I know and I always try to be as kind and polite as possible. Finally in the last stipulation, music. Classical music is my favorite genre of music followed closely by Celtic and I even can appreciate a little euro dance. So according to Confucius I am a man. Now I find these requirements to be lacking in several areas but for a short saying it's not half bad.
    I find that many of my teen friends are hmm... not quite as 'grown up' as they would have been if they were born a few centuries ago. How much does personal maturity and age determine if a person is an 'adult'? How much is it just a social standard that honestly has very little to do with actual capabilities? When should real adult responsibilities fall upon a person? These are questions I ponder. What do you think?

Original Poem

Here is an original poem of mine, hope you like.

Today I heard a flower,
and it whispered me, your name.
I couldn't resist so I picked it up
and now present it to you.

Today I heard a Rose
and it sounded like a heartbeat.
It reminded me of life
and so I brought it to you.

Today I heard a tulip
and it echoed of dancing.
It taught me to waltz
so here I give it to you.

Today I heard a lily
like a splash in still water.
It told me 'just jump in'
and thus I hand it to you.

Today I heard a flower
and it sounded of love.
I couldn't resist so I picked it up
and now I give it to you.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

Voices of Feeling

      "How often the spell of beauty is rudely broken by coarse, load talking! How often you are irresistibly drawn to a plain, unassuming woman, whose soft silvery tones render her positively attractive." -Lamb
     I did not realize until the other day how true this actually was. I have a friend who indeed has an amazing voice. She sings at my church and also DJs at a local radio station from time to time. I heard her on the air the other day and I can only describe it as "sounding like she was smiling". It was only the weather but it just sounded happy. Because I hear her so often, I have become able to distinguish her voice from others fairly easily and I will say that I have heard few things on the radio quite as enjoyable as that smiling voice.
     Can you tell if someone is happy just by the way their voice sounds? I know with some people I can...sometimes.

Wit or Wisdom

          "Be rather wise than witty, for much wit hath commonly much froth, and it is hard to jest and not sometimes jeer too, which many times sinks deeper than was intended or expected, and what was designed for mirth ends in sadness." stated a C. Trenchild once.
     This could have very well been the defining statement of a debate I had with my self several months ago. Let me tell you. I moved into a new area and was taking classes and making friends with new people. Most of the other students had known each other for about a decade before I arrived. There was an ongoing joke to call one of the girls fat and tell fat jokes about her. Now you see, she wasn't fat at all and apparently that is where most of the humor came from. I asked around and found out they had been doing this for several years with no great objection from the girl, yet I could not discover why it made me so uneasy, troubled, annoyed, and even a little angry. I determined that It was not a direct sin for them to joke like that and I figured that it was not causing me to sin so I didn't know what was so odd. I finally determined what it was, I didn't want to joke like that, and I didn't want to develop the habit of ignoring people who joke and jest like that. I told them so and they were quite kind in granting my personal request to stop. You see I believe that "it is hard to jest and not sometimes jeer too"
     So what do you think? Do people need to just lighten up? Or should we all pay more attention to what we say about other people? Is it hard to jest and not jeer too?

Melodious Flowers

     I had the chance today to watch a young lady I know skip around and pick flowers in a small field. She told me later that she had decided, she wouldn't mind picking flowers even though they die soon afterwords, because 'she would rather be picked and live for a day with someone then to never be picked and live a week alone.' I must admit that she seems to always be able to make me smile.
     This is the type of interesting sayings that she would like. H.W. Beecher said, "What a pity flowers can utter no sound?-A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle,-oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!" I enjoy word pictures like these which, contrary to the common 'a picture speaks a thousand words' mentality, rouse the mind from slumber and awake the imagination to new heights that I believe a picture never could.
   So tell me, would you rather be picked and live with someone for a day, or would you rather live a week alone?

Quote

     Jobyna Ralston was an actress in the first half of the 20th century. She once claimed, "There are few things that never go our of style, and a feminine woman is one of them." That is a fairly bold statement, more so now then even then when it was originally said.
     My personality on the Myers-Briggs test is INTJ. Now, men of that personality tend to be rather unrestrained by traditional male/female roles, but this is not the case for me. I honestly find feminine women much more attractive than the feminist raised, yell at you if you open the door for them women that seem to be everywhere now 'n days. This doesn't mean that I hate ladies who wear jeans just that I think the dress or skirt looks better most of the time. I am finding, however, that more traditional women are becoming hard to find.
     So tell me, was Jobyna Ralston correct? Are feminine woman always in style or do them come in and out like wide and thin ties?

The Point

     Now that I have spent several posts telling you basically nothing about myself I have decided to just do a short post that honestly just has observations about myself, about you, and life in general. This is probably the format many of my posts will take. Tell me what you think.
     In most people's lives they come to a point when they realize that they are a man or a woman, that their childhood is gone, and that the point they thought would be so great is now upon them. It's when they begin to change from saying 'I can't wait until this or that' and they start to say 'I remember when I was...' This change can happen in a flash in a moment like a bolt of lightning or slowly over years. I remember I came upon this point earlier in life than most. It was when I began to know what I didn't know.
     I recently had someone ask me, 'so what problem in the world do you want to fix?' I had to really think about it. I know what I want to 'be when I grow up' but I hadn't thought of it in a fixing way. I'm still not sure how exactly to put into words my answer to that question. I want to teach so perhaps I would say that instead of fixing something I want to keep them from being broken.
What problem in the world do you want to fix?

Who am I? Part 3

     I am as unusual as normal and as normal as unusual. Normal should be the majority but the majority of people think of themselves as unusual is some way or another. Unusual would them seem to be the normal, but if that is true then both normal and unusual lose their meaning. So I claim that I am normally unusual and unusually normal. I am quick to think, slow to act. I can be perfectly composed one moment and flustered the next. I am the one who shows no feeling and yet is moved the most, capable of great love and greater apathy. I am the common man you will only meet once in a lifetime. I am the dancer with two left feet who somehow still keeps time. I am the musician with wrong notes that still sound right. I am the the actor with no drama who still brings life to the character. I am the new guy who has been here from the beginning. I am the philosopher of old, who is now. I am the teller of tales that you can't hear, the singer of songs with no words. I am your quiet friend who simply smiles at you.
How are you unusually normal?