73 posts tagged “life”

So, I've been thinking about truth a lot lately. Namely, I've been wondering how important truth really is in our lives. Does truth really matter that much? Most of us make a big deal out of it, but is it really that big of a deal? Does it define us? Does it determine our lives?

In other words, does truth determine our character, our virtue, who we are? I've been thinking about this because I wonder how many of us judge people based on what they think is true and a particular situation I'm in.

I've been hanging out with this girl for a couple of months. We finally had the "relationship" talk, and she essentially told me that my nonbeliever status may be problematic for her (She's a devout Christian). So, we are still hanging out but there's no relationship there. I hope I'm not setting myself up to get crushed....It's kinda feels like it because she hasn't told me that my nonbeliever status won't be a problem...

Anyway, I told her that I understand her concern but disagree with it. After she left, I was pretty bummed about it. She can't potential have a relationship with me because I'm a nonbeliever....Why does what I believe to be untrue or true matter at all? Shouldn't my character, virtue, my life goals, who I am, etc, matter more than what I find to be true? I think so.

It makes me wonder if truth is separate from what really matters about us. At the end of the day, I don't think it determines who we are and how we act. For some reason, I think other things do that. For example, you can't really discuss the truth of character, virtue, or your existence. These things just are; they aren't a function of truth. I haven't decided what they are a function of, though.

When I look at a person, I see a person. I don't see a Christian, Muslim, or atheist. These labels deal with truth propositions, not the person's character or virtue. I am not defined by my truth. I am defined by who I am. At least that's what I currently think. 

The phrase "God is love" is quite a popular phrase among Christians. It's an interesting phrase that doesn't make too much sense at first. But after thinking about it for a bit, one simply understands that God is considered to be the ultimate example of love, which, theologically speaking, makes sense. The thing is, love is supposed to be limitless, without boundaries. It is universal in that all can concretely experience it and see it in action. There is no presupposed truth that is necessary to make love valid. Love is simply love.

But there must be some presupposed truth in order to make God valid. And, well, God essentially lives in a box made out of limits and boundaries. (The box is called theology.) Plus, isn't our understanding of God finite, thus we will never be able to comprehend him fully? That's a huge limitation. So exactly how can something--that is, God--with limits and boundaries, and not really universal (there is a zillion concepts of God, all differing in some sort of fashion), be the ultimate example of love?

When it comes down to it, we shouldn't extend the most important human characteristic to a supernatural concept. In my humble opinion, humans should be the ultimate example of love. But I know what you are thinking, "We aren't perfect." Well, first, is love supposed to be perfect? Probably not. Second, if love is supposed to be perfect, and God is supposed to be the epitome of perfection and love, can we honestly say that God is perfect? After all, we can't exactly know that he is perfect if we can't fully comprehend him. Moreover, what good is perfect love if we can only experience and represent love that is far from perfect? This doesn't belittle our human love. If anything, I think it shows that we may not be as "imperfect" as we think.

Perhaps what I want to say the most is this: the only thing that can represent love is love. Love is love. Not God is love. Not cake is love. Not orange is love. Love is love. Why? Because only love itself is limitless, separate from our beliefs, non-beliefs and narrow-minded perceptions. 

It's really refreshing to be ecstatic about something. I interviewed for a part-time job last week and I found out today that I got it! With bills to pay, and full-time grad school coming up, I was a little worried about having enough time to work, go to school, socialize, and still be financially comfortable. Well, with my hour rate being $20, I only need to work 20 hours a week. Actually, that's what they require me to work. I would be financial fine with 15 hours per week. Ah, such a good feeling.

Woot!

This summer has been great, though it has caused me to not blog as much. I moved into an apartment with my best friend; I meet a girl who is really cool; I developed a social life; and I got a nice paying part-time job. The only downside is that graduate school starts next week. But my academic spirit will most likely be renewed by getting into the swing of things for school, which will get me thinking about things again. Needless to say, I'll be blogging more often.

As a matter of fact, I started reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche. The man essentially tried to rewrite the Bible. It's an interesting and confusing read -- so many parables! I'll be blogging about it some time this week.

Here are some tunes that I am jamming out to:

There are numerous types of love: platonic love, romantic love, humanistic love. It's been quite a while since I've experienced romantic love. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I will any time soon. As one of my females friends recently told me, I seem to be an emotionally distant person, someone who is emotionally detached. While I've never really noticed this (it's hard to see your own flaws), I don't doubt her statement. For quite sometime, I've just been somewhat emotionless. Now, I'm not saying I'm an emotionless robot or something, but I am someone who watch his emotions and tries to understand when I should be emotional and not. In my life thus far, I've found that we, as humans, are too dramatic and sensitive. It would seem to me that most of our emotions are unjustified--we make a big deal out of nothing. Yet, making a big deal out of nothing is what makes us human because, well, there is nothing, everything is ultimately meaningless, so we have to make something out of nothing.

Anyway, back to the romantic love bit. Recently, I've been hanging out with a girl that I am beginning to really like. Problem is, she is a Christian. Now, this isn't really a problem for me. My current worldview is that we all have our own unique perspectives, which are founded upon subjective grounds, thus making them meaningful. This doesn't mean that I agree with the truthfulness of particular perspectives, but it does mean that I am willing to work with a perspective as long as it produces a meaningful outcome, like living a good life, helping others, etc. Thing is, my nonbeliever status may be a turn off for her (we haven't had this discussion yet).

You see, my Christian friends all believe that a Christian should only marry a Christian. Moreover, they also believe that a Christian should only date a Christian, and should not date if there is no reason to believe that you may end up marrying your boyfriend/girlfriend.

So I'm helping my Christian friends feed the homeless this morning. After the feeding is done, my buddy comes to me and asks how last night went. I tell him I had a wonderful time with the girl I was hanging out with (the Christian girl). He then proceeds to ask me, "Do you know how strong of a Christian she is?" "Uh, not really. We haven't talked about that," I replied. "Oh. Well, I'm just wondering because it may be problematic down the line." The "it" he is referring to is my atheism.

Naturally, this really bothered me. Because I'm not a Christian, this girl may not be able to love me romantically? Mmm, since when did love become constrained? This all led me to ask the question, "Can religion destroy love?" I think it's a good question. I thought love was supposed to have zero constraints. Oh, right, it does if you meet said requirements. If not, then you have problems. You can't be loved by a group if you aren't a part of it. 

Now I wonder if I should talk to this girl about our differences, thereby insuring that neither one of us is wasting our time. Sucks....

I was checking out Jason Mraz's twitter (I gave in and made a twitter) and found a link to his blog .On his blog, he talks about a variety of things: his music, life, and spiritual topics. He even answers questions from his twitter, which I think is pretty cool.

Anyway, I was skimming through his blog and I was surprised to find the following:

Our economy-based society doesn’t make it easy for us to live worry-free lives. Somewhere between the ages of 6 and 16 we pick up all kinds of story and baggage that sit with us our whole lives. Is my job a cool job? Are my clothes cool or appropriate for this place? Do I read the right books? Do I hang with the right crowd? Whatever the answer, it’s just one interpretation of how you THINK life should be. There’s nothing in this Universe that can support the way something SHOULD be other than the honesty and your joyous reaction to it being whole.

Life itself is empty and meaningless. Truly. It’s you who give meaning to something. The world you see before you is entirely defined by your interpretation of it. Otherwise, life just is.

Some people don’t care for sports. They see the game as meaningless. Others see it as the most important activity on the planet. Some people really love fancy cars while others can go their whole lives not caring what kind of box they’re transported around in. You see what I’m saying? Go easy on yourself. Love yourself at 28. Tell the world that it is a peaceful and playful age, not a hard one, and watch it transform around you.

You’ve asked a very serious question and hopefully this brief answer shines some light on the power you have to create endless, beautiful possibility for yourself. Nothing is wrong in your world unless you tell yourself it is wrong. There are no wrong questions. There are no wrong answers.

I bolded my favorite parts. Is Jason Mraz part existentialist? Perhaps. What I find interesting is how he uses "power." I'm pretty sure it's the same usage of the term that Nietzsche intended. How cool!

For the first time in a very long while, I had the opportunity to intimately hold a girl last night. I'm not one to get caught up in embellishing emotional feelings, but this experience--the experience of holding a girl (or guy, if you are into that) close to one's body--was magical, almost indescribable, mainly because I can't remember the exact feeling, which is probably why I'm craving that feeling again. But the best feelings (happiness, bliss, etc) are short lived.

There is definitely something about feeling another person' warmth and skin on your own body. It's just...well, amazing. The moment of togetherness that comes with holding each other is both gratifying and purposeful, even if you know what you are feeling may not really mean anything.

You see, my friend and I aren't looking for a relationship, nor have we really expressed that we are into each other on a more "mature" level. What I felt last night, most likely means nothing. But I loved the experience and feeling, nonetheless; and in that moment, it all meant something.

That other person, your significant other, can provide you with amazing experiences and trigger the deepest emotions in you, both good and bad. That other person -- I've missed you.