Before I lose my resolve

I write this next post to obligate myself to follow through on something. Forgive me if it comes out as holier-than-thou. It is, most certainly, not intended to be so.

Lent starts Wednesday. This Lent, I have decided to give up beer. While in any other time of year the removal of beer from my routine would be a big deal, I have to point out that St. Patrick's day falls in the Lenten season. That means no Guiness this year. To say the least, this change marks a major disruption in my routine.

It alarmed me when I realized that I like beer so much I found it hard to even conceive of giving it up. The fact that Lent is only forty days long made my recultance all the more disturbing.

In my life, I find one thing to be true. It relates to my earlier post about addiction:

It is dangerous to need a material thing so much that one could not be parted from that thing without pain.

May Lent remind me of all the blessings I have and make me appreciate the abundance I generally take for granted. As I remember the small sacrifice I am making, let the much greater sacrifices others have made for me come to mind, overshadowing my own.

Of course, as I do this to remember sacrifice, I also ask that Jesus' ultimate gift of salvation come to the front of all my thoughts. No greater sacrifice can be made that His.

My Family Understands

I have begun to read the much discussed A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. While I know that the events recounted in the book did not happen in the way he describes, I find myself moved by the narrative. It hits a raw little spot in my mind.

Addiction colors the history of my family. It goes back on both sides and it continues today. My family understands what watching people you care about poison themselves, slowly, to death, feels like. Some of us (like my father) know what recovery can feel like too.

As I enter the world of the novel, I decide to accept it at face value. That the author lied about his experiences cannot take away from the hard lessons of the work.

A lie can be true to the audience.

Happy V-Day!

Okay, I’ll admit it. I *like* Valentines Day. The strange thing is, we don’t really celebrate it. I mean, Zack did surprise me with a really sweet card that I loved, and some flowers, but we don’t make a big thing of it (we’re having pho tonight), and I'm okay with that. I only really want some extra snuggling. If we decide to do something special, it’s usually a few days later. I realize that it’s really commercial and prices are exponentially inflated, but everyone seems to dress up a little more and generally be in a better mood. Okay, well, maybe it has more to do with the chocolate cake and chocolate covered strawberries and cookies that everyone in my office is sharing. Plus, Agent Provocateur just opened around the corner! Warning: this is not a workplace friendly site, nor for those with delicate sensibilities! They just don’t bother with photoshopping any naughty bits.

Little Truisms

- However you end up measuring your life, it means something.

- Wherever life is, there is more life.

- If you feel something, others feel it too.

Stress makes me unhappy

Can I just say that I am stressed and it's not even 9? I find a little irony in my reaction to stress. It seems that often the more stressed I am about a topic, the more I stall.

Like now. Why am I writing this.


Back to work :(

People made Races

As a person of mixed heritage, in a multi-ethnic marriage, I can't help but feel that the idea of Race is kind of silly. We as humans are a very small species, meaning that genetic variations in our populations are dramatically less pronounced than in other species.

There is an anecdote related to our closeness that I am pretty sure is true but can't fact-check. Here goes:

At the generation of Julius Caesar, all of humanity is related by blood. So, in recorded history, we are all related. Wow!

A certain set of phenotypes makes us label one group "White," another "Black." Cultural baggage comes hand-in-hand with judgment on who belongs to what group. That has to change.

Going back to biology, these phenotypical differences are the result of population bottlenecks, family and clan groups being separated in geography for generations. To put it simply, people made Race. That's all. I get scared when people ascribe Divine guidance in the creation of Race. It's clearly not true (at least from my perspective) and it begs the question: Which group is better?

It's great that we're not all the same. It's nice that the geographic distinctions that separated sections of humanity for so long are evaporating in the increasing connectedness of the modern world. Let's make the most of what we've got. Let's share cultural differences, marvel at the similarities. Understanding comes from sharing.

Race is going to disappear. I am on the vanguard of that change. Hopefully, when people un-make Race, they'll be room for cultural difference.