Waiting on the World to Change

Awhile ago I bought the song "Waiting on the World to Change" because I liked the sound and I think John Mayer is an awesome guitarist. I didn't pay close attention to the lyrics until after I had already purchased it, and I have to say I was disappointed. It starts like this:

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could

Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

This attitude is so disappointing but one I think a lot of us in the rising generation share. The problem is that if all of us wait, nothing will ever change. And if the world is moving in a direction we don't like, it's not going to stop on its own.

It's important to remember that problems aren't new. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks, and thousands of others had problems with their world. The difference is that they didn't wait for those problems to fix themselves. Whether leading an army into battle or simply sitting in a different seat, people who are brave and selfless enough to act solve problems.

I think a big part of our problem is that we think the benefits of our efforts will be less than the efforts themselves. In other words we won't be able to make an impact. It's possible, even likely that many of those in our world who have already fought for civil liberties, religious freedom, and economic prosperity gave more than they received. But these benefits are enjoyed by millions of people and most would agree the difficult journey society took to get here was well worth the costs.

Let's internalize the benefits our friends, family, and millions of others now and in future generations will receive from our efforts for good as we weigh the costs of this work. It may not be a fair fight, but it's not going to get any easier.

Strengthening Marriage

I have been thinking recently about the ramifications of being a part of a marriage and a family for reasons that probably seem obvious. (Less than two months until my own wedding) What other relationship should you be so committed to the good of the other person and ultimately the marriage itself. It seems to me, in my limited observational experience that when done right there is no relationship more selfless and thereby rewarding than that of the eternal union between two people who are absolutly committed to each other.

It is sad to see something so beautiful and divine often destroyed in our society. There are the obvious culprits: infidelity (including adultery and pornography), finances, etc. that are often cited in publications as causes for failed marriages. But I have been thinking about a couple of weakening factors in the partnership that is marriage that are not quite as publicized.

So often we see men and women who work too much at much at promotions, bonuses, and quarterly earnings; but too little at their marriage and family. It's often said that it's just going to be this bad for the first few years until I can establish myself, and then I'll work less. But, will it ever be enough? Is there a limit to what promotions you can receive, or how padded you bank account can be? The only visible limit on such prizes is death itself.

There are also those who lose themselves in their service to God that they forget their family. But isn't perfecting a marriage, and raising children to love and serve God the greatest call to serve he has give us? Put the family first and you put God first, he will provide the energy and time to accomplish His purposes without sacrificing your family.

Perhaps the most furtive weakener of relationships of any kind that has been on my mind is that of stress. We often talk about our own capacity to handle stress but are we really handling it when we are so irritable that nobody wants to be around us, or we don't have time for those we have said are the most important? I think the effect of our own stress on the people that we love, should be the measure of our capacity when it comes to our career. We wouldn't steal a candy bar because our integrity is worth far more than such a trivial item. Like this our marriages and families should be worth far more than any career success or achievement.

Recap: no "failure" outside of the home will negate true success in family. And honestly God will not let us fail in any endeavor worth succeeding in if we are converted.

Waste Please

Google is always right. It's a strange but true realization that I have come to in recent weeks. How often do we type something like "inspriation" into it's search engine, only to receive a subtle suggestion Did you mean: inspiration. It always knows what I meant! Sometimes I try to type some gibberish with no meaning and direction whatsoever, and somehow Google manages to find purpose where there was none, apply method to my madness, and leave me pondering the greatness of it all. As a matter of fact, Google knows me so well that I have completely given up trying to ever type things correctly because I know it has my back. It is kind of scary sometimes how much we can come to rely on technology, without a computer I dowt I cud even spel kat. Did you mean: I doubt I could even spell cat. Case in point.

So here is the question, are all of the technological "time-savers" that lighten our lives (other examples include calculators, phones and pda's that memorize everything including our own phone number for us, etc.) a good thing? Or do they reduce our abilities in important skills like memorization, multiplication, spelling, and even addition? Economists might say this is just a demonstration of the principle of specialization. In other words if it's less expensive (in time or money) to have technology take care of such tasks leaving us free to deal with the more important and supposedly applicable subjects, then it is a more efficient outcome.

I would agree with this last statement... if we can save time on less important matters by allowing technology to work for us, than we should be able to focus on the meaningful and find greater happiness. But I would suggest that this is only true if we actually have something better to so with our time. How do we use all this extra time? Is on enlightening, uplifting endeavors such as serving others or increasing faith, studies never to be replaced by machines? Or do we spend it checking facebook, watching celebrity gossip, or even writing blogs about google? I think Adam Smith would roll over in his grave if he knew we called that "specialization". Did you mean: waste of civilization? Yes I did.

And So It Begins

I think the best way to classify my thoughts is in the genre of armchair philosopher. I cannot remember a single time in my life that I was not actively thinking about something. But as the proposed genre suggests, I fear I can all too often ponder too much on thoughts and ideas that beg to be acted on. The purpose of this place is to record a few of those thoughts with the hope that I will be able to clearly see them for what they are worth. Then if I do things right, I can take the recurring themes to a level of action that can create change for the better first in myself, and then in the world. I don't at all mean for it to seem that this is going to always be a very serious blog, quite the contrary all I promise is that this will be a representation of what I think. And those who know me might understand that that may not always be very inspiring or worth anything (just ask me about my wedding theories!) but we will just have to see what comes.