Emotional Rollercoaster

As you know, Ryan and I started answering some questions from the book Tying Rocks To Clouds: Meetings and Conversations With Wise and Spiritual People by William Elliot, this is the second question I have decided to answer. It is pretty simple for the most part, I encourage you to answer this as well in the comments section. The question is: What makes you happy? Sad? Angry?

What makes you happy?

What makes me happy? Well, little bunnies playing in the front yard has always made me smile. But seriously, seeing Gods love makes me happy. What I mean by that is this, when I see someone do an unselfish act of kindness for someone else. When someone helps another person stranded on the roadside for no other reason other than the fact they need help, or anonymous donations to charity. I imagine it is these things that make God smile. Another thing that makes me happy is seeing pure joy. On our wedding day was the first time I truly saw pure honest joy. As Jenny and I stood up at the alter and I looked into Jenny’s eyes, as they were tearing up, I saw pure joy, joy in knowing we would be together forever. The only time I think I will experiance joy like that again is when we have children. These are the things that make me happy.

What makes you sad?

When I see the flaws in humanity through myself. When I allow myself to do things I don’t want to do and become something I don’t want to be. I sin, I don’t want to but I do, that makes me sad. When I fail to be the person i want to be. Also, when I see God’s design destroy itself. On 9-11 God’s design attacked itself. We are all God’s creation, and we failed. God does not want war, he does not desire his creation to be destroyed. The war in Iraq is sad. How do I support it then? That is a discussion for another time.

What makes you angry?

This one is hard, I hold this close to the same level as the previous question. I get angry when I see the ones I love fight. I get angry when I see others hold life as if it is nothing. When there is nothing I can do to help someone in pain physical or emotional, I feel . I get agry at situations more than people, I don’t know if that makes sense.

What about you? What makes you happy? Sad? Angry?

Nick Just Falls From the Clouds

Here is my answer to the question, sorry it took so long.

1. On What Main Beliefs (Or Truths) Do You Base Your Life?

I don’t know why this was so hard to answer, it’s a simple enough question, but I guess as soon as I start thinking about it my mind starts racing. The first that comes to mind is God. I believe the Bible to be truth, and the Bible was God breathed, and therefore God/Jesus is truth. I believe God is a loving God who wants a relationship with us. He has wanted this from the very beginning, He created us to walk with him and commune with him, and we did… for a while. But sin was introduced. God, being a perfect God, and just God could not look upon sin, so he had to punish us. But that is not the end. God still wanted that relationship with us, so he provided ways to do so, rules and guidelines. But we as humans could not live up to these standards, we kept turning away. There was no way we could ever be good enough, no way we could ever do enough good things to get ourself in the relationship God wanted. Like I said God is a perfect God, and a just God, he is sinless. If he allowed sin into heaven, it would no longer be perfect, so we as sinful people cannot step into heaven. God realized this and in his continuing effort to be in a personal relationship with us, he sent someone to take our place. Enter stage right Jesus Christ. Jesus not only came to teach us about God but he came to take our punishment. As I said earlier, we as sinners cannot step into heaven, we have turned away from God, so our just reward is hell. Jesus lived a sinless life, and was crucified on no grounds. Upon his death our sins were placed upon him. He bore our sins for us. He descended into hell. But that is not the end either. He beat the system, he beat death/hell. He arose three days later, to give us the hope of eternal salvation though him. The Bible teaches that this was a gift to us. All we have to do is accept it. Like a Christmas gift, when your grandmother gives you a gift on Christmas do say oh thank you grandma, and then take out your wallet to pay her back for it? I think not, all you have to do to receive that gift from her is hold out your arms and take it. But if you don’t hold out your arms, you will never receive that gift, it will just sit there. We have to “hold our arms out” to receive this gift of salvation, the gift is sitting there waiting to be opened.

These are the truths on which I base my life, God is the center of my life, and I want to have the relationship he desires. God calls Christians to share this good news with everyone, so that is my goal. I will not always share it like this, but I will share it.

Tying Ryan To Clouds: Part 1

   
     There is a book I go back to every now and then to read a part I haven’t read before.  Its called Tying Rocks To Clouds: Meetings and Conversations With Wise and Spiritual People by William Elliot and its one of those books that you can pick up whenever and you needn’t read from beginning to end (I still haven’t finished it).  It is non-fiction and in it Elliot has sought out leading voices in spirituality such as Ram Dass, The Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, B.F. Skinner and many others.  He interviewed them all with the same fundamental questions about existence and their personal beliefs.  I thought it would be interesting and fun to try to tackle these questions for myself and post them up here.  I invite Nick and all of you to do the same and share your own answers.  There are twenty-four questions and at first I was going to finish them all and then start posting.  However, this is pretty heavy stuff we’re talking about here and I realized that each question not only required a lot of contemplation on my part, but a lot of words too.  The answers themselves could take you in a thousand different directions.  So this is only part one of a series.  After this I will try to post two at a time, making this a 13 part series.  So at the rate I’m going: Part 13, copyright 2009.  I really hope thats a joke.   

1. On What Main Beliefs (Or Truths) Do You Base Your Life?

      I believe that life is a relative experience.  Everyone is living their own reality; their own universe.  This universe is based on the sum of their experiences combined with how they think the world should be and how they negotiate the way it actually is, as well as some inate identity you were born with (have you ever heard how a baby’s temprament never really changes as it grows into an adult?).  Keeping that in mind, I feel that there is no one right way to live.  What works for some people will not work for others.  It’s my experiance that this idea contradicts many other peoples beliefs (basically that there is one right way to live and they’re striving to achieve it) so it scares some or atleast makes some feel uncomfortable.  It shouldn’t.  This notion is something to be embrassed and loved.  The universe runs on infinite diversity in infinite combinations.  This can be seen all around us.  It is diversity that keeps the ecosystem flourishing and keeps the universe alive.  It is when governments, religions, and people try to proclaim that they know the right way that everyone should follow that people become truly at odds with each other; people are persecuted, get hurt, die, wars start, etc.  That is not to say that I don’t believe in rules or laws or that those that harm the community shouldn’t be dealt with in some fashion.  I simply believe in compassion, because even though I say that I believe we are all living our own seperate reality I also believe in the paradox of this–we are all in it together.  We are alone, but not.  And at our most basic we are all the same person, aren’t we?  We all want the same things.  We want to be loved and give love, to be nourished, to be respected, to enjoy life and be happy, to create and be productive.  Simply put, I’d say try to be happy and at peace with yourself above all, do what you feel is right, and try not to hurt anyone along the way.