Regarding my previous post (Why I Believe in Evolution and Why It Doesn't Matter), I've been getting some questions about why I mentioned evolution in regards to the posted video. I believe that Jill Bolte Taylor's message is that we have the ability to choose to evolve into more and more humanness. We can choose to simply survive (as animals do) or we can choose to thrive in our existence (as humans do). We can use each other for survival (as animals do), or we can rely on each other for spiritual growth (as humans do--Christian or otherwise). We can herd around each other and gather resources to advance our species' development, or we can admit to our need for others in order to become more ourselves alongside each other.
The key word is choose. I believe in evolution--not necessarily monkeys slowly getting taller and less hairy and slightly smarter--but rather that things change (i.e., become more advanced) with changing circumstances. The circumstances of giraffes are that trees are getting taller, therefore their necks have to get longer. And the circumstances of humans have changed in a manner that requires something a little more "advanced" (spiritual) than that of animals, trees, and amoebas.
We have to choose. We can stay where we are, or we can evolve.
As for the part about Seth Godin... You'll have to read Lynchpin to get that one. Which I highly recommend.
Sep 25, 2011
Sep 24, 2011
"It's only temporary"
"It's only temporary."
I hear a lot of people say this. About money, about material, about love... about life. The problem with this rather lousy excuse is the word "only." It assumes that temporariness negates purpose, and that the only things that matter are eternal things. Or at least that eternal things are more important.
Sadly, this philosophy is very popular among Christian circles, namely, "This life is only temporary", etc.
I believe the opposite is true. Things are only precious because they are temporary, and the fact that something is temporary makes it precious.
If eternal things are all that matter, than life doesn't matter. And if life doesn't matter, life is easy. When our psyche is craving a little TLC, all we have to do is sit around and speculate about the end times and how we can most efficiently get people saved for "some day"... Because as long we convince ourselves that our version of "some day" is the right version, right now doesn't matter. But we still get the satisfaction of "having a purpose."
Mmm, easy is yummy.
But the truth is, meaning and preciousness are found in the temporary. What matters is now. Your work matters. Your love matters. Your worship matters. Your hobby matters. Star Wars on blue-ray matters. Because what you do with this life matters, because this life only lasts for a finite time.
Everything eternal is out of our control. Speculating about it does 2 things: [a] Makes us feel in control of something we're not (I think that's called worshiping a false god), and [b] wastes precious time from this life.
Don't worry about the eternal. Instead, cherish things that aren't going to last. They're only temporary.
I hear a lot of people say this. About money, about material, about love... about life. The problem with this rather lousy excuse is the word "only." It assumes that temporariness negates purpose, and that the only things that matter are eternal things. Or at least that eternal things are more important.
Sadly, this philosophy is very popular among Christian circles, namely, "This life is only temporary", etc.
I believe the opposite is true. Things are only precious because they are temporary, and the fact that something is temporary makes it precious.
If eternal things are all that matter, than life doesn't matter. And if life doesn't matter, life is easy. When our psyche is craving a little TLC, all we have to do is sit around and speculate about the end times and how we can most efficiently get people saved for "some day"... Because as long we convince ourselves that our version of "some day" is the right version, right now doesn't matter. But we still get the satisfaction of "having a purpose."
Mmm, easy is yummy.
But the truth is, meaning and preciousness are found in the temporary. What matters is now. Your work matters. Your love matters. Your worship matters. Your hobby matters. Star Wars on blue-ray matters. Because what you do with this life matters, because this life only lasts for a finite time.
Everything eternal is out of our control. Speculating about it does 2 things: [a] Makes us feel in control of something we're not (I think that's called worshiping a false god), and [b] wastes precious time from this life.
Don't worry about the eternal. Instead, cherish things that aren't going to last. They're only temporary.
Sep 15, 2011
Why I believe in evolution, and why it doesn't matter
Seth Godin calls it "the lizard brain." I call it fear. Whatever it is, it is beautifully explained here:
If everybody lies, maybe it's just because everybody's using the wrong side of their brain.
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