world

On the shoulders of Giants: Part 1

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So, let’s talk about greatness.

I read about greatness frequently in my nonfiction books.

However, what concerns me is the lack of a concept of greatness in the fiction and media world.

As an experienced reader, I think that fiction shapes the culture more then nonfiction. I prefer the term “fantasy”, actually.

Somehow when I read or write fantasy my imagination races, and I feel like life means something.

I think the truth of the matter is that we all want more in life than we see, and fantasy represents those dreams, putting them in a tangible movie, show, or book; that’s why we come back to those things. Even video games might count for that.

When it comes to greatness, the funny thing is that the real world stories can inspire us just as much as the fantasy ones. But I find the more story-like the telling, the better I connect.

Per example, I just finished a book called The Dressmaker of Khair Khana (which I enjoyed a lot), and the story surprised me and challenged some of  my preconceptions going into it. It’s about a family surviving war and poverty under the Taliban’s control.

What makes the people in these stories great? What is Greatness?

Greatness is not glory. It is not wealth. It is not popularity.

When you hear someone described as great, my guess is your mind goes to nice, fun, cool, talented and other words like that. The fact is, only the last one even touches Greatness. But talent is just material Greatness works with.

The words we use, and how we use them, reflects on our cultural perception. Take the word awesome. It means to inspire awe, and we use it typically to mean something we enjoyed a lot and was really good, but rarely are we actually full of awe about it. We might use awesome and great together and not really know what either means.

You are probably wondering why I am making such a point of this. The fact is I recently took part in a Shakespeare intensive, and we talked a lot about the importance of wording. Turns out word patterns can tell you a lot about the tone of a scene, the nature of the person speaking, and what kind of role they fulfill in the story.

Our words don’t necessarily limit us in real life. But in “The Student Whisperer” Tiffany Earl notes that the more words she knows, the better she understands things.

The word greatness should get our attention. It should be closely related to heroism, impact, change, goodness, character, and a host of other such ideals.

Have you ever known the disappointment of finding out someone who you thought was a good guy, a hero, was actually not up to your standards of what makes someone truly heroic? Then you found out they did not achieve greatness in your mind. Or what about vice versa? Have you ever been blown away by someone’s amount of sacrifice, forgiveness, persistence, or love? Whatever virtue most impresses you, if they surpassed all you expected, then they impressed you with greatness.

When I was in Junior High, we were asked who our heroes were. I didn’t have too many. Later on in my life when I was reading a book by Elisabeth Elliot, I found her commenting on how few heroes teens have now and how little they want to be better than they are. It seems they don’t want to aspire to be like anyone they think of as better than themselves. At the time I didn’t get why she was down on this; shouldn’t we like who we are? But now I understand what she meant. It’s fine to like your personality, but when it comes to excellence, we always need to remember there are people ahead of us. It may simply be because they are older and have been pursuing their goal longer. Or maybe they possess character we have not developed yet. Recognizing that is important. Greatness cannot be achieved without humility.

As I’ve learned to appreciate high ideals, I’ve found personal heroes. Both real and fictional. And I think of them when I face tough situations. I’ve written about some of them on this blog. Isaac Newton said:

“If I have seen farther it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

C. S. Lewis said the next best thing to being wise one’s self is to be surrounded by people who are.

So, to understand greatness, look to the Great. In my next post I’ll dive in more into what Greatness consists of, but I hope I’ve provided some interesting ideas here. Until next time–Natasha.

Mission to Cambodia

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I really do have a reason for not posting in so long, I was out of the country for several days without internet access ( at least not to my blog.) Plus my family is moving so I’ve been sorting and packing. No one’s been visiting the blog anyway, so I guess there’s nothing lost.

I went to Cambodia. Woo-hoo! That was awesome. I was on a missions trip. My first one.

I rode an elephant, tried crocodile meat, ate more rice than ever before in my life, and traveled everywhere in a bus. I thankfully did not get eaten by bugs or food poisoned or dehydrated.

I went to see the temples near Siam Reap, and got a short tour of the capital Phnom Penh’s sights.

I also flew for the first time I can remember and I enjoyed that too.

This is all just the non-important stuff that sounds cool. Since the people who made my trip possible were a mix of Christians and non-Christians I’ve learned that certain things don’t matter as much to everyone.  if I told you that the main thing I did was work and play with the kids at an orphanage, would that mean more to you?

I don’t know my audience. But I do know that my favorite part was the kids. That’s not unusual for me. But around kids in America I can often feel out of the loop. They usually want to watch TV, or play on their phones, sometimes I want to scream when I see an eight year old lost in the digital/virtual realities. Or worse, a four-year old. Even when you talk to them, it’s not always much better. I’m not about bashing Americans by any means, but I noticed a marked difference in Cambodia. The kids enjoy electronics as a novelty, but they are just as willing to engage in simpler activities. They seem to really enjoy being around you, and they enjoy every experience they can. Whether it’s painting, or climbing on a roof, or going to the marketplace. Or maybe it’s just playing rock, paper, scissors; or kicking a ball around in a circle.

The life of orphans is not very secure in Cambodia, money wise. The Government there does not always support orphanages; in fact, recently it made it harder for them to keep going. The group running the one we went to, FCOP (Foursquare Children of Promise,) had to let a lot of kids go because of some new regulation.

But the Cambodians never came across as anxious about life. Even though there are a lot of poor people there, poverty did not seem the same as it is here. Not that it was better exactly, but it was less visible. No obviously homeless people on street corners with signs, for example.

To the christian who may read this, the spiritual climate it there is much different from it is in western civilisation. They accept spirituality as a part of life, like the rain. They have spirit houses set up everywhere that offerings are left in. Buddhism abounds, incense altars can be found in plenty of locations, even that the tourist goes to. Despite these facts there isn’t a lot of actually practice of the religion in the younger generation. Which I think I heard was the majority of the population. For reasons I forget, the bulk of the Cambodian are 20-30 or under. (Google it.)

It just felt right to be doing the trip, I can’t explain it beyond that, I was at peace with the things that were happening. I’m sure I’ll tell more of this anon.

Natasha

Earth Crisis: Part one.

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I’m not a huge superhero fan now, but a few years ago I was obsessed with the Justice League. I no longer indulge my taste, but one of their movies I still watch occasionally. And I’m not sorry, because among superhero movies I think it’s a rare find. (Yes, I’m geeking out).

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Crisis on Two Earths.

It’s not a movie simply about the Justice League. In fact, they are not even the prime characters any more than the villains or non J-leaguers are. The set up is of a parallel universe (in Sci-Fi  this is not uncommon) where each earth–and there are thousands– has its parallel, and that parallel has a parallel, and the original earth has another parallel, which has its own parallels–like a Fibonacci sequence. The story centers on two earths. On one, all the villains we DC comic fans are familiar with are actually the heroes, the Justice League, led by Lex Luthor. The superheroes likewise are actually the villains, forming a crime syndicate. Which is really nothing like the Justice League; the only similarity being the characters’ parallel selves. Ultraman heads up this syndicate and is known as “the boss of bosses.” Anyone who ever got in his way is dead (his words).

Then we have the DC world we’re used to. Or if you aren’t, you’ll get enough idea to keep up with me. The Justice League, at the moment consisting of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Martian J’onn J’ozz, and the Flash, are hard at work constructing a new watchtower that will orbit the earth like the moon, of course being much smaller.

Lex Luthor is in the opening scene reduced to being the last survivor of his Justice League. The Crime Syndicate; Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Evil Green Lantern (for lack of a given name), and Johnny–the evil Flash (the evil Martian is killed early on and is of little importance) are all set to finish him off. But in a brilliant scientific last resort he vanishes to a parallel earth, clearly having planned this in advance. After getting the Justice League’s attention, he makes his appeal: “You people are my world’s last hope.” So it begins.

The unique factor of this story is its ability to make everything on the human level. Superheroes usually are so unevenly matched with villains that the villains have to have terrifying, horrible machines and unbelievable stunts to be a problem. Nothing feels real. In this imaginary world, the playing field is leveled. The villains have exactly the same powers as the heroes, and the regular government is not completely helpless. It has one small power over the Crime syndicate: nuclear weapons. Not much of an advantage, but enough to hold Ultraman at bay for a while. The syndicate bribes the Government (America’s in the story, though it could have been every government) to keep them off their case. Literally. Enter Rose.

Rose is my personal favorite character in the story. She is the daughter of the president, in the parallel earth of course. Rose hates how her country has surrendered completely to “vicious criminals.” To justify her case, the syndicate is shown with (probably stealing) chemicals, ship’s cargo, and looting Lex Luthor’s former hide-out. Not to mention Ultraman killed the first Lady to scare the president into complying with him. Oh, yeah, Superwoman is also a self-confessed murdering psychopath, and all the villains do damage every now and then to keep up their rule through fear. (Luthor tells us this.) So, Rose is very reasonably disgusted with the system. She’s begun making speeches against the syndicate and against her father’s policy. Respectfully of course. Rose has no powers, no protection save her required bodyguards, and no money to bribe the press or the people. She has no promise of safety. Her plea is simple: “Might doesn’t make right. It may seem that way sometimes, but in the long run it’s the other way around. We’re always stronger when we’re doing the right thing.”

Proverbs 28:1 says “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous is bold as a lion.” Rose makes me think of this verse.

Rose naturally supports the Justice League when they decide to take action against the crime syndicate. She’s not blind to the fact that the people need help, especially since her father won’t advocate standing up to the syndicate. The president tells her that having a chance is “a fantasy.” They can’t do it without risking the lives of millions. Which is true, truer than they know. Rose is unmoved and wonders at his cowardice. The Martian, J’onn, reads her mind and gently tells her, “He isn’t a coward. Men who have seen battle are often among those who hold life most dear.” (Her father was a war hero.) She is surprised, but it doesn’t change her mind. She’s still angry and refuses to stop her speechmaking. Later we see her making another speech and almost being shot by Archer (evil Green Arrow for you fans). J’onn saves her and keeps watch over her because she’s a target.

What is amazing to me is that Ultraman himself views Rose as a threat. Why? She inspires the police to take action (against Archer as it turns out), and the people to believe in the power of Good. The Justice League’s actions only confirm what Rose was already telling everyone. Ultraman may not be afraid of what Rose herself alone can do to him, but he is afraid of what she can do by believing in the power of Right and inspiring the others to believe in it. So he threatens her father by suggesting they’ll take her out if he doesn’t get her under control. The same way they killed her mother. Of course the president is angry, but Ultraman isn’t worried; see, his crew has invented a bomb. (More on that later.) So, he’s got firepower now. I guess his philosophy is he who has the biggest toys wins. (He ought to watch Big Hero 6.)

Returning to Rose, she isn’t much daunted by the attempt on her life thanks to her new friend J’onn. He was watching over her for some time without her even knowing it. Now he stays by her in case there is another attempt. Eventually as they discuss the problem, Rose ends up getting him the crucial information, the location of the syndicate’s base (on the moon), of which her father has known for years. The assault on her prompts her father to finally come through for the League. So Rose tipped the scale. One young woman who had the courage to speak out against evil. Rose is not what I’d call charismatic; she’s not skilled. She doesn’t shoot any villains. She doesn’t have to. Her firm stance on what she believed in was enough.

As a Christian, I know that doing the right thing does have power. But never human power, and it can never be completely controlled by a human being. I know that I too have a protector whom I can’t see, but He is there. Rose’s power lay in stepping outside herself, while sticking to her own values. She didn’t care about getting the glory, and she didn’t get any. But she is in my book of heroines in the fiction world.

I have lots more to get into in this plot, so if this was interesting, watch for my next post.–Natasha.

Turn: Part one

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“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:”

I’m finally doing another multiple part-er because I’m writing about a topic I can’t do justice to in one stretch; and that is timing.

Time itself is the most elusive thing in our lives; we can’t stop or start it; we can’t save it or hold it still; we can’t see it. Because we control it so little, it is the most precious of our commodities and though people say that few of them understand it. I don’t myself. I can’t possibly fit all the time in the world into my head. I find myself time-bound and not by choice, and perhaps the reason we try to ignore it is simply because of that very fact. As Fern’s mother says in Charlotte’s Web, “I don’t like what I can’t understand.”

Nonetheless some understanding of time is necessary, and I don’t mean the physics of it. The beginning quote is from Ecclesiastes 3, and that’s what I’ll be using to launch my discussion of time.

I’d like to note the verses says “…every purpose under heaven.” Not in heaven. According to what I’ve read, there is a succession of events in heaven but no limitation. Eternity is literally time without limit. God is not bound to our time. This is important to know because I don’t want to imply things have to happen by deadlines and rigid schedules to be organized and valuable. That is utterly silly and not a faith based viewpoint at all. No, I mean what I’m going to call seasonal timing.

Ever work a seasonal job position? I have; it lasted not even two full months that I recall. It wasn’t that I was a bad worker or the boss was mean. I simply was no longer needed. Things in our lives that are seasonal are the ones we need for a while, but then the time comes when we no longer need it, and just like a plant, it dies away.

A job, a car, a book, an organization, a hobby, even a church; these are all things that can be temporarily the right thing for us, but then we outgrow them. Not every time. Some jobs are your life’s work, some organizations are your job, and you can find the church you should stay in forever. But if that is the case, you can be sure those things will change with time, otherwise we would get too comfortable. C. S. Lewis explains in more detail in The Screwtape Letters about the parallel of change and consistencies, his own example(s) include that we have four seasons every year, but each season is different. And serves a different purpose I might add. Which will neatly bring me to my next point.

“A time for every purpose…”

Every season has a purpose in teaching us life lessons. Having this blog is a seasonal thing, and I recognize that it teaches me to be a better writer; I can hope my articles will help someone else out in their seasons, but at least I know it is doing one person good. Therefore, it has a purpose. Purpose is one of the most important words in the English language. We can’t do a thing without it. (Try thinking that over for a few minutes.) It can also change the way we thing of our seasons. I have often heard preachers say that the bad times are only for a season, and suffering is but a season. And for awhile, this satisfied me. But naturally I began to wonder why the season had to come in the first place. This subject is far too complicated to cover in one post (or even a whole book) but one way to at least retain sanity through suffering is to see it as serving a purpose. Maybe it makes our character stronger, or it teaches us not to take good things for granted, or it shows us how frail we are and how limited. Turning us back to God. (Some it turns away from God, but that is another story.) Suffering also teaches us not to make the same stupid mistakes over and over again, because honestly some of it is our fault. Suffering gives us more compassion for other people’s problems and pain.

The other half of purpose is, of course, in the good times. Remember even good times have something to show us. We aren’t supposed to drift through them and get lazy. No way! Our brains need to keep learning to stay sharp and stay happy; stupid people usually aren’t happy. (If they are, I dare say they’re not as stupid as they seem.) So if you don’t learn when you’re not in school and don’t work when you’re not at your job, your life probably feels meaningless, like you’re going nowhere, and who really needs you around anyway? No, I’m not reading your diary, this is not-so-common sense folks. Use every season as a tool and a stepping stone into the next.

[Teenagers!: Read the book “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris or visit their website http://www.therebelution.com, for more about this subject.]

Integrate seasons and purpose into your way of thinking and see what a difference it will make, until part two readers–Natasha.

Looking around or looking up?

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I read the news off Google sometimes, not really on purpose, it pops up. And it’s really depressing most of the time. I’ve heard this described as looking around. In other words, focusing on the world around us and forming our opinions based off of that. My mom’s outlook on life sometimes seems just a little too unsuspicious to me, not that she’s not smart, she is. It’s really not her at all actually, it’s the time she was born in. I truly believe that, unless you really choose otherwise, the decade you were born in can shape your world view, or it’d be more accurate to say the attitudes embraced by the people who live in that decade. Let’s be honest, back in the 60’s it was a different world. With different people. The adults in my life are not naïve about life, but the bad things that happen seem to shock them. The difference is, they don’t shock me.

I actually think that’s sad on my part. What happened to this world? Murders that happen every day. When a robbery becomes a relief if no one was shot, we need a double take. I’m not intending to depress you, just to be real before I move on.

Millennials do not look at life as good. We feel no real remorse when we hear of deaths or suffering. It’s not really surprising, we’ve been fed futuristic movies and books, and news that seems to consider good things not worth reporting except every now and then just to keep us on our toes. If you’ve felt fear over your own inability to feel pity for another, then I can sympathize. Apathy is scary. And partly, it isn’t our fault.

We didn’t choose to hear about some things, sometimes people make us listen, some people seem to enjoy ruining your day by telling you the latest news, just in case you didn’t check the news that day. (Imagine not doing that!) What is our fault is supporting it. Becoming a naysayer, a pessimist, a fatalist, that is not the answer it’s becoming part of the problem. You will never convince some people to be cheerful, but you can be. Here I move to looking up. In John 16, Jesus warned about believers and unbelievers having sorrow. At the end of the chapter, vs 33 he says this: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Emphasis mine.) it is not, according to Jesus, wrong to have cheer. A positive outlook, happiness. Other translations put courage instead of cheer. And that brings me to another good point. I know too many people who deal with the trouble of this world by sitting on their duffs in front of TVs or video games and forgetting the problems. Or Facebook. Pretty much anything electronic can be an escape. Even this blog could be if I spent all my time on it. Look folks, I know you’re scared. You have a reason to be scared. BUT, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE. You can be brave. Don’t fall for the Soap Opera lie that cowardice is okay and normal. Bravery is really a choice, but you can only make the choice if you know that fear is not your identity. Think about action movies. Think about the end of the Avengers. Is evil fully defeated? Or is it just put off for awhile? There is fear still. There’s no security. Where is the peace? Heroes are always watching their backs in modern stories. The Bible teaches that you don’t have to watch your back because God is already got it. Sometimes I ache for a godly superhero movie. Not because I think a movie that has no reference to God is bad, I don’t think that, but heroism seems unattainable nowadays. We can’t all have deadly martial arts skills or special axes or hammers or super strength. Does that mean we can’t be heroes? You know surprisingly Disney has this one figured out. Over and over again in their movies they say “It’s about the heart.” In Frozen, it’s the heart that makes the difference. In the Hunchback of Notre Dame the gypsy man asks at the end “What makes a monster and what makes a man?” The answer if you’ve seen the movie is clearly this: His heart. There’s even a Disney short called “The cat that looked at a king” in which the cat asks “What is the measure of a man?” A wise old man answers, “by his heart.” Jesus said to be of good courage. The root of courage is cor, which means heart. The Bible also says in Psalms that if you wait upon the Lord he will strengthen your heart. If you want to really shine in this dark age, you need to look up and have a strong heart. I will write more about this soon. Until then, I leave you with this, whether you’re a Christian or not, you have to admit this is cool: “For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth…Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off you shall see it.” (Psalms 37: 9, 34)

My Passion

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First, let me tell you a story

There once was a king who brought his royal messenger to a valley, and the valley was full of bones.

the king told his messenger to walk around all the bones, and the messenger saw that there were indeed many, and they were extremely dry.

The King then said “Do you think these bones can ever live again?” The Messenger knew the king was very wise and he said, “Oh my lord, you know.” Well the king then said, “Tell these bones that I will command breath to enter them, and muscles and tendons, and skin will cover them, and they will live!” As bizarre as that sounded, the messenger knew better than to argue with the king. He told the bones what the king had said, and then an amazing, impossible thing happened: the bones did grow muscles and tendons and skin covered them, and they began to breathe. They were alive! As regular humans are. Then the king said “This is how it will be with my people.”

What did you think of that story? Sounded like some weird movie, huh? Think of it as a parable. The bones lack substance, flexibility, protection, beauty, and life. Even though they had the bare components, the structure, they had nothing to hold it together. I actually abbreviated a longer story, but the principle is the same. This story seems to me to be a pretty good example of what’s going on in the world today. So many things have dried up, or they lack substance, or they’re unprotected. There’s just so much ugliness. where do you go to find hope? I believe there is only one source, one true source, of hope. Maybe you don’t believe that; maybe you feel you’re like those bones: dry, lifeless, or just a mess. That’s okay, I’ve been there. There is a way to live. As I continue this blog I’m going to present you with what I believe is the key to real living. But opening the door will be your choice. Today’s truth: There is hope.