Employment: Far away, and yet so close

I was laid off in January from a retail job I held for two months. I was a victim of their budget cut. I signed a temp status agreement, but I was confident I would make the cut. I did a good job. All I could say to make sense of it was that it's typical bureaucracy. I didn't laugh enough at someone's non-jokes, or pretend to be something more than an employee performing a quality service.

I've sent a lot of resumes out since the lay-off, and only received an auto-response today from a phony job ad. It asked me to send a copy of my driver's license. I'm desperate, but not stupid.

It admittedly does make me feel slightly better, knowing that even Americans with masters and doctoral degrees are working at places like Burger King. It's a cheap comfort though, and despite that hard fact I'm trying to decide what I should go back to school for. I'm 29, so I need to get cracking. Music and visual art are the industries I have the most talent in, but they are the most volatile. Ugh.

Only once did I actually get a job through a family member. Other than that, family hasn't been a useful resource for me.

So, welfare or country hermitage? Only kidding.

On a lighter note, there are a lot of success stories out there. It's usually not as bad as you think it is. There's always a silver lining. Don't cry over spilt milk. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush(?). You get the point. In the end, all you have is faith, and that's where the power is.

Valentine's Day

This is a day to make your sweetheart feel special and loved. The rest of the year is open to whatever. I do not have a sweetheart this year.

Holidays are funny to me. Considering their origins, and how they've grown into acts of consumerist bacchanalia, it can boggle those who don't choose a path of ignorance. Two examples are Christmas and Halloween.

The celebratory aspects of Christmas, like the tree and gifts, are rooted in pagan culture. Pop society has always used Christmas to flex it's money muscle, and it never thinks twice or at all about the birth of Jesus Christ.

Halloween is rooted in pagan harvest celebrations, and eventually Roman Catholocism picked that day for praying to all the saints of Christianity. Don't get me started on Catholocism. I'll save that for another time...

~

evolution and intelligent design

edited 6.15.09

When I was saved I first believed in a mix between intelligent design and evolution-- quite a conundrum. It was hard for me to believe we're from apes, and equally as hard to believe we're from Adam and Eve. The innovations of carbon dating show dinosaurs living way before man. Scientists know everything, right? What do I do? Should I ask everyone questions, go on an apologetic research binge, or just blow it off?

Jesus says not to rely on our own understanding, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Still, the issue of design v. evolution can be a difficult one to tackle. This doesn't make me question my existence like it used to (honestly, around four months ago), when I just summed it up as one of God's mysteries. These days I have come to embrace the intelligent design theory based on the origination of man's sin.

God issued a command to Adam & Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge. They were tempted soon after, defied that command, and immediately felt shame because they stripped away the innocence that a loving God created in them. Needless to say, God was just and brought on His punishment. It was that first encounter with evil that shaped mankind forever, that fall from Grace that birthed idiosyncratic theology. God is who we have inherited life from- who we are made in the image of. The popluar "missing link" theory of mainstream science will always leave a lot to the imagination.

That reminds me of a conversation I had with someone in 2007. This person figured that God's ten commandments given through Moses were actually man-made during the time of hunters and gatherers, in order to protect their families. That would mean the concept of sin is invalid- that actual good and evil doesn't exist. That is because man's law is changeable, therefore fallible and unreliable. God's law has never changed, and it will prevail, despite our intellectual complexities.

I can be perceived as a man of faith, a lukewarm convert, a confused Jesus freak, etc. I honestly don't' worry about that anymore. In the end, it's about living in love and seeking truth in my life. Jesus says "I am the truth and the life...", so I suppose I am seeking Him, whether I know it or not.

initiation

I am pleased to have this medium for sharing anonymous musings, ranting, and other inspired words.

I write what I want, seeking truth and understanding in a troubled world.

So here I go...

I heard today that the Galapagos Islands, the source of Charles Darwin's research, is suffering because of the tourist trade. It nets $400,000,000 a year, but it doesn't reach the residents there. There is no hospital. There are poor people living there asking for help every day. On top of that, the indigenous life is dying.

Spead the love, people.

~

I heard a great second-hand quote from the author of "Backstabbing for Beginners":

"Politics is a battle of interests, masquerading as principle."

How true. I think that statement applies to mainstream civilization as well, who lives according to what is legal, instead of what is moral. Two popular examples of that philosophy are homosexuality and abortion.

I think it's very telling of where society is going, when people fight, push, petition, sue and protect others solely based on their sexual behavior. What is really sad is the twisted comparison made between the gay rights movement and what happened during Dr. King's day. King struggled for equality for black people, based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, whom he preached about. He didn't fight for respect of destructive sexual lifestyles.

I think we need to stop feeding cheap thrills, and start seeking God. Otherwise, we become twisted in ourselves and lose grasp on what is good. It hurts to see others so lost in the world, rather than living in the spirit.

~

Wafaal Balal's (spelling) "Shoot an Iraqi" project further proves how crazy people can be. Check it out.