I have not, in specific terms, set forth an intention for the content in this blog. In the beginning I stated my "Why" and set a goal to post weekly. Until now the content has been varied. I've enjoyed posting, and each week has been a new and valuable lesson to me in the reading, writing, learning and evaluating process. Now it is time to focus. It is only fair to you, dear reader, that you enter prepared. My future posts will be in three categories I value. Minimalism Sustainability Joy: rooted in truth These three topics are important to me, and I firmly believe they are important to the human condition. Consumerism, materialism, novelty, and an overwhelming number of options are drowning out the space for humans to connect with each other and with their own values. These things are literally depressing. We are fragmented, bitter, angry, anxious, lonely, disorganized, or disconnected from reality. There is counteraction and hope. Minimalism is letting go and stripping down to arrive at an authentic core, a naked truth. And as we arrive closer to authentic reality we begin to feel the sensations of being alive. This is what minimalism means to me. Sustainability is, intentionally, a broad topic. But, at it's center, sustainability is about longevity and useful life. This is what I am seeking, and what I hope others are seeking. I'd like to be something more than a momentary flame. I want to be a consistent burn spreading goodness and warmth with those around me through perseverance, perspiration, and encouragement. Lastly, I will write about joy rooted in truth and obedience. This type of obedience doesn't look like intolerance, a closed mindset, or dogmatism. Joy from obedience is achieving something by accepting my limitations and following something greater than myself. In this joy I find acceptance, affirmation, intentional living, and purity of emotion. The feeling I receive from a thousand acts of daily courage is what I want to write about. I’ll continue to post weekly through the end of this year on these three topics. You (and I) will receive practical life advice touching more than just a surface level action, but keying into the underlying principle and moral. Good literature, good conversation, strenuous activity, and time outdoors are key factors to this type of content creation. So, I want to commit to you, and to myself, to continue making these things part of my daily life. Finally, dear reader, I want to let you know that for September I will be absent from all social media. This means my links will only be shared via email. If you would like to receive these alerts please subscribe by clicking the bold, underlined word "here" and entering your email address. You will get one email per week with a link to my post. here If you have arrived all the way at the end, thank you. I want to encourage you to examine the factors contributing to your own great content. Like Bob Goff tells us, “figure out what fuels your joy.” What makes you feel present? Write it down. Now do it as many days as you can.
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The Holy Spirit is an Everyday Kind of friend Standing Right outside Ready for you To make some space And open the door "My review of the success literature brought me in contact with hundreds of books on the subject. Although some made extravagant claims and relied on anecdotal rather than scientific evidence, I think that most of the material is fundamentally sound. The Majority of it appears to have originally come out of the study of the Bible by many individuals." ~Stephen R. Covey, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (over 25 million copies sold). "Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline." ~Jim Collins, author of bestselling book Good to Great "As water reflects the face so a man's life reflects the heart." ~King Solomon "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.You will know them by their fruits." ~Jesus "What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so I cannot hear what you say to the contrary." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Esse Quam Videri. To be, rather than to seem." ~Cicero "He had moved from thoughts to words, and now from words to actions." ~George Orwell Dear Reader, The bottom line, in a data driven, results-oriented, fast-paced world, is that there are not shortcuts to sustainable joy and success. It comes only from the simple truths we have known and tried to refute for centuries. To be authentically fruitful we must examine daily behaviors, and practice consistent action. Even when it sucks. Some days it means going to battle for a friend when you are tired. Some days it means being nice when people are rude. Some days it means looking crappy circumstances in the face and smiling through it. Some days it means shutting up and some days it means talking it out. Some days it means pursuing action. Most days it means hard work. I'm talking to myself right now, because this week has been rough and I've been looking to blame others and wallow. But, the Holy Spirit is an every day kind of friend. And I know that he is waiting for me to take a reprieve and open the door. And it will not be enjoyable right now, because I will have to admit I need help with my weaknesses and that I have not overcome my shortcomings. And I will have to put in work. But this is a story on being and becoming and not a story about arriving. So, here is your encouragement for the week. Sometimes life is hard. And it's hard to know why. But we don't always need to know why, we just need to know how we react. This gives us autonomy to pursue action. And opening the door to that everyday friend the Holy Spirit means we get the results of His influence. And the fruit of the spirit is unnatural love, and unrelenting joy, and uncommon peace, and unlimited patience and kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. And that sounds like party business to me. This is the close of my foundations and my frameworks. I've been working on emptying out to get to the roots and then building up a framework of intentional values. I'm going to stop talking about myself for a little while. I don't have a good plug for next week, but I hope it turns out alright. Subscribe
I believe in Pi and e even though they are irrational and transcendental. You may call me crazy, but a lot of things are built on these concepts. And my belief in these transcendental concepts is exactly the sort of irrational ideology I’m going to spew for a minute. Because transcendence is an essential part of human understanding, and it’s important to me to know why. For the artist, the poet, the mathematician, the musician, the author, the dreamer, the innovator, the everyday imaginative soul, the curious heart, and those possessing a small sense of wonderment and childlike faith (did I miss anyone?)—I think you’ll know what I mean. Let’s jump. Until recently I had a fairly sanitized understanding of darkness and loneliness, and I still have not reached the depths of it. But, a few weeks ago I went camping by myself for the first time. I picked a spot on a loop in Morgan-Monroe state forest, and, surprisingly, no one else had the idea to pitch a tent on muddy thawing ground, build a fire with frozen wood, and sleep in 34 degree weather. The whole place was mine. Cold and fear were whispering frantically to me as I started to hurry up the fire. If you've tried to hurry up a fire before you know it almost never works that way unless there is gasoline involved. Once darkness set in completely, and I realized speed and anxiety would not produce results I gave up trying to hurry and started methodically building the flame a bit at a time. Starting small with plenty of oxygen. Once the fire flamed up and my mind turned from my task to awareness of my surroundings I started to feel very alone. Heavy cloud cover eliminated light from moon or stars and the dark forest held all the wild horrors my mind could concoct. So much space, and so much blackness. I turned away and focused on my fire. The results of my methodical patience flamed up beautifully and cast strong light in a 10 foot radius. A small space of warmth and light in a wilderness. My thoughts turned with my vision, and I began searching my mind for the warmth and light. I found it in solid memories and transcendent words. The solid memories I referenced last week. The transcendent words are the things I chase as a writer. Words that speak to me in moments surreal and tangible, like nostalgia but immediate and without the rose-colored, unreliable tint of memory. These moments are the reason I know life is better than the movies. It can’t be forcibly replicated, or critically observed. It can only be present and real. And its realness is not in its goodness, but the virtue, character and vulnerability rising out of the realness. I’ve felt broken, and joyful, and nervous, and fulfilled, and courageous, and terrified, and peaceful and full of turmoil. And so have you. These moments when we are in them give us a sense their impact is more than we realize. We may speak a word or promise and not grasp what it is or where it comes from, but acknowledge the truth inside of it. It is not magic, because it is still vulnerable and human, but it is transcendent because it goes past human knowledge in experience and taps into that which we know but we can’t quite say why. The staring into the stars feeling. The too close to touch feeling. And the words that implant that feeling without being there push the boundary of our understanding but sit small, still and tangible on the page. These words surpass rational understanding and bring us into a confused reverie. And it is the peaceful unknowing driving our curious thought, and it is comfortable uncertainty guiding our wild heart. Yes, I believe firmly in science and nature and matter and reason, but there is a piece of me that knows my mind has an edge. And by this limitation knows wonder, peace and beauty travel deeper than I can fathom. These are moments where faith is deepened, inspiration awakens, and experiences are shared. These are moments that set my heart on fire and change my desires to align with that which is morally good. This is where the grind of moral discipline meets up with the senses and the soul and there is rhythm and connection. I call this leaning into the Holy Spirit. You may call it what you want. What I really mean when I say I believe in transcendental words is that I believe prayer matters. I believe in meditation as practical neuroscience and spiritually relevant. I believe in inspired speech and inspired writing. I believe in a limit to knowledge. And I believe all of these things make a practical and tangible difference because they sometimes culminate in a purity of space I internalize as memory and feeling. They hold steady when I turn inward to find a place of warmth in my circumstances. I was pulled from my thoughts by the snap of a twig, and immediately found myself thrust back into the wilderness and an intense fear of the unknown. I spent the night shifting back and forth between fear of the cold and darkness and wrapping myself deeply in warm thoughts. I think, unfortunately, the former took the lion's share of the time. But maybe future trips will go differently. In my research on the word transcendental I came across Kantian theory, and it looked remarkably similar to C.S. Lewis reasoning as he explains his first step towards believing there is a God (see chapter 1 of Mere Christianity). Kant theorizes morality is metaphysical and exists a priori or before experience. These things, he claims, exist outside of pure practical reason, they do not defy them, they just extend past them. And if freewill and autonomy is to exist at all then some things must not be entirely composed of ration and reason. Jesus said something similar about Mosaic teachings, “I did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.” To take up Christianity, to believe in the transcendental, is not to negate laws or moral systems put in place to teach us practical discipline. The goal is to take these practices from surface level devotion to heart level intention. To make them true desire and true love not constant dissonance and frustration. All the practical application of biblical teaching does nothing if there is not a reliance on the transcendent to alter the will. If our autonomy is not surrendered we shortchange the purity designed for us. And this is where bad religion must be left behind. Because bad religion is a game, and I can play the game and I can score the points and I can live legally with practical self-control. But I need those moments and those transcendental words so my wild streaks are not a pursuit of desire but a pursuit of Jesus. I need this unique coding that vibrates the cords of my being in such a way that I am overwhelmed with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit lives in me, and that is special. Good religion keeps turning and turning coming nearer and nearer all the time. It is in the wilderness (and in the world), make no mistake. But it is that bit of hidden warmth and memory. It is real and honest, and better than the movies. Because transcendental words supersede boundaries, they bypass words like secular and unbound our understanding of God. They are wild and cannot be captured and tamed, only held in the mind for a minute and emptied onto a page to be reread for a lifetime. This does not eliminate practice or doctrine or theology or philosophy. Because practice is scientific and researched and important. Like an author practicing writing. It keeps him aware of the words and when the moment of inspiration strikes he is ready to fly further and with more clarity than the one who was ill-prepared. No, holding on to the transcendent does not eliminate. It encompasses. It is the extension of our boundary into that which we can comprehend exists but cannot comprehend it's edge or it's entirety. And it opens up to a world of joy. Because wherever we go we are hidden and the light goes with us. The goal of Christianity, as I believe it, is not to tear down all moral systems, nor is it to abolish our free will, or restrain us through guilt from all aesthetics and enjoyments. No, the goal of Christianity is much, much different. It is a freedom of the will that pursues harmony as logical and rational and virtuous and pleasing. The goal of Christianity is to find transcendental words, to hold belief in our own limitations, and chase God with a curious and wild heart, discovering consistently that there is more of Him we never knew and more we will never know. So, dear reader, if you have made it way down here. Thank you so much. This is an outpouring of my heart and my mind. It's something I hope to turn to and learn from as I live my life. I hope you got something out of it. This week I want to encourage you to go to the edge of your thought, open your arms and embrace what exists beyond your imagination. Look for a long time at art and beauty and let it soak in. Listen to music and let it go farther than your ears or your lips, take it all the way to your soul. Write honestly and bravely for the sake of writing. Do something that makes you afraid. Stare at the stars. Be ok with the unknown. It's beautiful. Next week I will come back down to earth and post about the bottom line. For now I am enjoying the clouds. If you want weekly emails when I post here then click subscribe below. Subscribe
One of the reasons I adore my wife is her inconvenient habit of requesting my theories have practical impact. I began writing smart-sounding ideas about philosophy as it relates to traditionalism. I wrote a page of proud nonsense before her voice popped into my head asking “What does that mean exactly? How does it work?” So, if you would like to inconsequentially debate the impact of Kant on western philosophy I would thoroughly enjoy that. But, that’s not why I write. I'm laying groundwork for values about relationship, living inside-out, and practicing compassion. Here is take two on Traditionalism, with an approach that will more easily sidestep nationalism and dogmatism without disclaimers. We're looking for A bit of rhythm The kind we'll find On chilled concrete Always jeans Distant cars and Carhartt’s Cold hands and bare trees Old prayers dad (and his dad and before him) Prayed in their Fords On worn knees Faint winds and Wood frames My inheritance is a red hoodie that says 1985 and means "it's time to get to work." It is a breakfast casserole on Christmas morning and an audio book in the passenger seat. My inheritance is wooden pews and stained glass and hymnals in the little white church in Parker City. My inheritance is the shaky, reverent prayer that starts out "Almighty God". It is the meaning of "new old coveralls." No lawyer signed to me transfer of trademark value on words like, "Everyone has their day in the sun." and "You have to get yourself behind yourself." and "Life's not fair." But I feel rich every time I hear them. And I'm glad they're free to everyone. No estate tax has been levied on my inherited love of board games and the library. I do not remit half of my loyalties to teams, places, persons, or ideas. My inheritance comes with debts to forgetfulness, romanticism, obstinance, frustration, and lack of focus. But it comes with securities to cash in as payment of these obligations. It comes with a desire for rational thought and knowledge that reveals the why behind my faith in spiritual teaching. My inheritance has come to me in the blessing of my marriage and the joining of hands in prayer. My inheritance has come to me in grilled food and game night. It has come to me in touch football and scavenger hunts and in the smiling faces of children. It has come to me as tradition. Why is tradition meaningful to me? Because it represents belonging. And every human wants to belong. In all the striving to be and the suffering that comes with being human, tradition is a map when I am lost and a comfort when I am vulnerable. The seventh inning stretch, wedding vows, singing at church, giving toasts, these are practices passed along to guide and comfort. It's why coaches and businesses try to get people to "buy in" to the tradition and culture. (It's why the Michigan State basketball team has "Family" written on their shirts, and why so many of them wept when Ahrens went down with an injury). They recognize the depth of meaning humans feel in having a place to belong. Tradition gives me a sense of pride and duty and courage. But there is a place where tradition ends. It supports as a framework but it does not define as a foundation. Tradition is passed on by meaning not requirement. If it was all about the tradition and fulfilling a mold I'd end up living a life of empty words and empty practices, and harboring an intense fear of change. Tradition is about the meaning underneath. It is about the people, and looks more like sweat or a map or a practice or a hug . Here's an excerpt from a letter about family: "Dear brothers and sisters. . . The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father'." ~The Apostle Paul to the church in Rome If you have arrived at this point, dear reader, my encouragement to you is to identify which traditions in your life have meaning. Go about your daily life remembering that your family name is not a free pass or a specific mold. Your name represents tradition transmitted in an individually meaningful way. What will you pass along? If you got something out of this and want to subscribe and get an email alert for next week you can do that by clicking the word subscribe below. And if you feel like this could help somebody else and want to share that would be cool too. Subscribe "This one's for the man who raised me. Taught me sacrifice and bravery. This post will do nothing to fill the title. It will be a small drop in a deluge of important concepts. But, I made a promise to write down my thoughts that they may be held to the crucible and evaluated, so in the end every romantic notion may be brought out into the light of rational thought and allowed to exist in the beauty of reality for what it is and not only what I imagine it to be.
The problem, I uncovered, as I struggled to write this, is that "rainy days" has several literal and metaphorical meanings. They are testament to the mingling of language, nature, and emotion in a way that brings revelation, even to those who struggle to understand. Children may not have the emotional intelligence to tag or explain their feelings but they know the weight of sadness explained in the tears of the earth, and it is both visibly heavy and comforting. Because rain brings things like: growth, spring, flood, monsoon, puddles, mud, storms, noise, delays, cancellations, harvests, and darkness. Rain has the power to wreck and destroy, and it has the power to make things vibrant and green. I think what I meant when I wrote, "I believe in rainy days" is that I enjoy rain aesthetically and emotionally. For now I am going to examine the emotional part. I am no closer to narrowing the focus of this post into something revolutionary or even tangibly relevant to everyday life. But, I am closer to understanding "rainy days" are an important pillar for me. Because often when I set an intention I am derailed by pesky things like emotions. And when I ignore them they start to nag at me. For example: I say I am going to live my life joyfully in all circumstances and then something very sad or disappointing or challenging or infuriating occurs to me or someone I know, there is this heavy cloud. And I cannot wish or will it away no matter my intention. Like Rocky says, "Life ain't all sunshine and rainbows." Or like Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble." So, my goal is forced to become personal and unique, which is great because emotions make things deeper. They are not something to indulge, or chase at all times, especially those most fleeting emotions, but they are something to listen to and understand. It’s a part of regeneration and newness and expansion and the inclination to become vivid and vivacious, and truly alive. Emotion is not the root and foundation of action, but it is fuel and motive and color. It affects. There is still somewhere I am going, but what a beautiful thing to see scenery along the way. And not all of it radiant, but some of it pensive, deep, and delightfully gloomy, and some of it is dark and challenging and wholly devastating. Feelings, especially the deep ones, will not be ignored. And the more time I spend rushing through the more I feel the nagging urge to stop. And there are times when I absolutely must pause. Because I am carrying all of these things with me, and they are good and they are natural, and they are relational, and they lend a hand in my understanding of virtue. So, I pause. I pause to mourn, to think, to pray, to hold and to weep. I weep for the things lost, like time and chance, things left, things missed, things shared and things unspoken. I pause to pensively consider the world and it's complexities. I pause to let the longing thirst for morality deepen in the heart and alter motives. I pause to let things be rinsed in a clean slate of grace and acceptance. I pause to make peace with warring emotions. I pause to embrace the vulnerability of quietly sitting in true and pitiless empathy with another human. I pause to recognize suffering may deepen joy and bring great reward. And when it is time to rise from my knees out of the water pooling around me I leave my feelings there and walk strong and happy through the rain. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Jesus My point, I suppose, dear reader, (if you have stuck with me to the end), is that joy in all circumstances does not exclude the rainy days. In fact the depth of joy necessitates other emotions. They are all swallowed up in joy, and they make joy the rich and beautiful overarching, comprehensive emotion that it is. Trust your foundation, let your emotion fuel the journey, and run in the rain. And my other point is that I really love things like folk music, and April, and puddle jumping, and mud runs, and the ridiculous antics that occur during rain delays in college baseball games, and the essential need for psychology in a well-adjusted society, and coffee shops, and Earl Grey tea, and blankets, and good books, and the sweet and beautiful peace of falling asleep to earth's gentle serenade lightly tapping against my window pane. If you want to subscribe and get an email alert for next week you can do that here. And if you feel like this could help somebody else and want to share that would be cool too. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If you are still reading all the way down here I've got two links, one to a prayer by St. Patrick (Happy St. Patty's Day!) and the other is a poem. St. Patrick's Breastplate prayer Poem Over to the right it says “Author” and has a description of me. If you are reading this on a phone here's what's over there: I believe in black coffee Rainy days Traditionalism Transcendental words And the bottom line These words are an abstract thought I scribbled on a piece of paper in a coffee shop a few years ago because my mind needed an anchor. Something solid. They’ve become reliable and much less abstract as I navigate personal responsibility for things like 30-year fixed, 10-year plan, ‘til death do us part and give us this day our daily bread. Stripping away excess, letting go, makes it easier to find which things hold up under the weight of truth. It gives me space to evaluate and to fill with intention. Letting go of pride, possessions, and all sorts of other things that come naturally I am rewarded with core value and a real sense of joy. In short, what fills me up when I empty out are these words. And in these words is one Truth, which I rely on for all things. I'm going to run through this sort of personal creed line by line over the next few weeks starting with the coffee. I believe in black coffee for two main reasons. Simplicity: Standing in front of a coffee shop menu with syrups, milks, sizes, iced or non-iced, skinny, fat, tall, and thousands of available combinations it's easy to get overwhelmed. I believe in black coffee because options literally depress me. In his book called The Upward Spiral neuroscientist Alex Korb dedicates an entire chapter to decision making. One characteristic of depression is indecision. It plagues people with "what if's", FOMO, and the negative focus of eliminating choices. As an American I am given the option to have absolutely anything I want in any color and size. I waste time with all these thoughts bouncing in and out of my head. How do I feel right now? What is the weather like outside? How will the barista judge me if I order this? How quickly will I drink it? How many calories does it have? Is it worth the money? Should I experiment with a new drink? The simple pleasure of enjoying a beverage is stolen and replaced with order anxiety. I choose to take it back and be intentional. And I say, "I'll have a black coffee." I don't order black coffee every single time I go somewhere because I love tea and there is a time and a place for a well-crafted latte. But often I find I am infinitely happier when I approach life with simplicity and intention. I make my choice on purpose. Korb says it like this, "We are often under the impression that we are happy when good things happen to us. But in actuality, we are happiest when we decide to pursue a particular goal and then achieve it." Even something as simple as ordering a cup of black coffee. Intention > Goal > Action > Achievement Bob Goff says it like this, "Land the plane." Here's reason number 2. Authenticity: I like black coffee because it is simple and universal and when done correctly, absolutely delicious. But when it is bad, it has no place to hide. Black coffee is two ingredients, ground coffee beans and water. Black coffee can come as espresso, french press, pour over, batch brew, americano and probably more types I'm forgetting. There are dark roasts and light roasts and medium roasts and blends and soil types. By authentic and simple I do not mean uniform. I mean it's not dressed up. It subjects itself to my taste buds as a vulnerable and honest beverage. I appreciate it's candor. I'd love to go into long discourse about authenticity. But, that doesn't feel like the point of this post. Authenticity is something that is known when it is seen or heard or felt or tasted. These two reasons are why, "I believe in black coffee" is the metaphor I've used to describe a value system I desire to follow. It may seem to be a minuscule change, or like I'm overemphasizing its importance, but acting on it has made an enormous difference in my everyday life. So, I believe in black coffee bats lead off for my mission because the remaining tenants are contingent on the success of Simplicity and Authenticity. And because I really like black coffee. Dear Reader, if you have made it this far, thank you. I want to encourage you this week to be intentional, set a goal, and be decisive. Take action on your goal even if you are not 100% sure you have chosen the absolute best option that ever existed. By the time you arrive at 100% you may have been inactive so long you don't really feel like doing anything. Take action. And also read stuff by Bob Goff. If you want to subscribe and get an email alert for next week you can do that here. And if you feel like this could help somebody else and want to share that would be cool too. Next week expect things about rainy days. Spring is almost here. In a country without saints or shrines |
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I'm a Hoosier. I like the outdoors. Taxes are my job. I write for a living. This Blog
Writing my way to an adult life of minimalism, sustainability, and joy rooted in Truth. I'm learning, unlearning, and relearning.
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