Taking My Heart Off Of My Sleeve...

Wow. According to Xanga it has been 1031 days since I last joined, which is approximately 2-3 years. I've certainly written a lot of things in that time and have found communicating to others through this medium very rewarding. It has allowed me to express myself, to communicate with people I would hardly have talked to in everyday life, and provided me with a place where I could just jot down my own personal thoughts. The blogs that I have written have ranged from my own personal poems, events in my daily life, song lyrics that have spoken to me in the way that only music can, and of course - how Jesus has changed and transformed my life. Many thoughts, emotions, and ideas that I value and cherish have been written on this very blog. 

But maybe its time for me to bring this weblog to a close. Things have been very busy for me now that I am doing honours and all, which would explain why I hardly write much these days. At the same time I've also changed quite a bit in the last year or so. To put it bluntly I would just like to keep certain things to myself. Of course I will  continue to write poetry and I will definitely have many things I will want to express, but at the same time I believe it would be better for me to keep it hidden from the public purview and to simply cherish these things alone (or with a select few people).

If you're still reading this and you're not sure what I'm getting at then that's okay because you're already at the final page.

And with that I bid farewell to blogging, farewell to all the words I've written, and farewell to all the words that could've been. Thank you for those of you who still continue to read my blog (I have no idea who you are!) but needless to say thank you for being with me on this journey. If you're ever wondering how I am doing then don't bother stopping by here anymore, but rather call me, email me or even better - talk to me face-to-face (preferably over coffee)...

Goodbye to you all, or as the French like to say - Au Revoir!

THE END

Currently Listening United We Stand By Hillsong United From the Inside Out see related

Guilty of the Crime of Schadenfreude...

scha-den-freu-de (shäd'n froi duh)  n.
                  1.  pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.
             [1890-95; < G, = Schaden harm + Freude joy]

Schadenfreude is an interesting little German word. When people talk about being happy or joyful they always refer to it in a positive light, like the joy of being loved or the happiness derived from the bond of close friendship. Schadenfreude on the other hand is the darker side of being happy... i.e. deriving happiness/joy from other people's misfortunes.

I personally find it amusing that because the English language does not contain any word to denote this particular emotion, it then needs to outsource to Germany and borrow the word from their language. Does that mean Germans are more sadistic than the English? Or is the English language merely inadequate?

While many of you reading this may quickly stand on the higher moral ground thinking - 'I've never felt that' or 'I am certainly above something like that' - I would like you to carefully re-examine that thought.

I was watching The Making of the Simpsons Movie the other day and one of the concepts the writers brought up when discussing the various forms of humour contained in The Simpsons was that of, 'laughing at someone elses mistakes/misfortunes'. Immediately after saying that they showed a scene of Homer on the roof with Bart. Homer invariably creates a hole in the roof and falls through (most likely a result of his obese stature).

I was cracking myself in fits of laughter... and then I paused and thought, 'Holy crap! I'm guilty of schadenfreude!"

On further reflection I realised that I am a repeat offender of schadenfreude. I distinctly remember two events in high school where I derived pleasure from the (minor/not so minor) misfortunes of my friends. I will only list one!!!

One of these incidents occurred when I was in a shopping centre with friends and we were travelling up the escalator. We had all recently bought some Gelare ice cream and my friend standing in the front turned around to chat to us below her, happily licking away at her cone. But because she wasn't paying attention to what was going on behind her (i.e. we were approaching the top of the escalator), she inadvertently tripped backwards when we reached the top (another example of Newton's first law of motion in action). While she did manage to catch herself before landing on her butt, her ice cream was not so fortunate - though it did manage to nestle itself nicely on the edge of the escalator.

To my shame seeing all those events unfold got me into fits of laughter. I don't know why but I just found it all so amusing. To make it worse I actually did notice my friend was going to trip if she didnt' turn around, but I conciously made a choice not to tell her. I just wanted to see what would happen...

And now you know... Here is the darker side of Yong Yi Lee... Guilty of the crime of schadenfreude!!!

~

Upon Kinde and True Love

Aurelian Townshend

'Tis not how witty, nor how free,

Nor yet how beautifull she be,

But how much kinde and true to me.

Freedome and Wit none can confine,

And Beauty like the Sun doth shine,

But kinde and true are onely mine.

Let others with attention sit,

To listen, and admire her wit,

That is a rock where I'le not split

Let others dote upon her eyes,

And burn their hearts for sacrifice,

Beauty's a calm where danger lyes.

But Kinde and True have been long tried

A harbour where we may confide,

And safely there at anchor ride.

From change of winds there we are free,

And need not feare Storme's tyrannie,

Nor Pirat, though a Prince he be.

Currently Reading The Metaphysical Poets (Penguin Classics) By Various see related

Infinity

How can a finite mind ever hope to understand an infinite God?

Closely related to God’s infinite nature is that He is also ‘eternal’ (i.e. God transcends time). The Bible states that God knows all things that have come to pass and all things that will happen even before they happen. God even knows the words we are going to pray before they are even spoken forth from our lips. To come to grips with this using my limited understanding I’ve imagined the passage of time from when time starts to when time finishes as a sort of short string which contains everything that happens in time (or space-time if you want to use physics terminology). Separate and removed from the string (i.e. time) is God who is an infinite expanse surrounding this string. God sees all that happens in time and is able to pass in and out of time in any point of time as he wishes.

Of course this is a very limited model of God’s infinite nature. Wouldn’t God being an infinite God also envelope the space of the string itself (i.e. time is a part of God). The other problem is that I am still imagining God in terms of space (i.e. the expanse separate from the string). If God is an infinite God then He would transcend even the concept of space so that distances do not apply to Him (i.e. He is immeasurable).

When reading the Bible it is interesting to note the prophets and the saints who have encounters with God (e.g. Moses, Daniel, Isaiah, John of Patmos etc). Whenever they describe God, His majesty and His splendour they always use similes and metaphors. ‘God had a face like…’, ‘God’s voice sounded like…’, ‘God’s love is like…’ What you find is that these descriptions of God always analogise who God is with things in our material world. This is also true when describing the nature or attributes of God (i.e. who God is). We say that God is ‘far above’ all other things in this world. Yet God is beyond concepts of mere time and distance. He can’t be far above something else or higher than something or even bigger than something else because He transcends space and time. He is infinite and immeasurable!

Ironically enough when pondering over the infinity of God I’ve raised more questions than I have answers. I vividly remember a question made in St. Augustine’s book ‘The Confessions’ where he asks something along the lines of, ‘God you have promised that you would dwell in us, yet how can our finite human bodies contain an infinite God?’ Even the idea that God as an eternal God who has no beginning and no end (i.e. He has always existed and always will exist) is mind boggling in and of itself (NOTE: For those atheists of you who believe that God doesn’t exist your alternative is that of an eternal universe that has no beginning and no end… either way something is going to be eternal).

In fact I’ve come to the conclusion that even though I may have an eternity to learn about God in the new heaven and the new Earth prophesied in Revelations (see previous post) I will never come to a full understanding of who God is! What we/I know of God is but a speck of dust in an infinite never-ending expanse.

Yet through all this the infinity of God, while puzzling, also fills me with great joy and hope. For if God is an infinite God then His love is infinite, His grace is ever-abounding and His mercies never end. I as a recipient of God’s love, grace and mercy cannot even contain it, and that is a blessing beyond all blessings!

Currently Listening United We Stand By Hillsong United see related

When the Old Order of Things Passes Away...

Oh haste be the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll.
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
Even so it is well with my soul.

 Excerpt from the hymn 'It Is Well With My Soul'
Written by Horatio Spafford

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."