Vibe On

Is there a difference between a recording of a tambourine and a computer-generated likeness of what a tambourine sound like?  Is there a discrepancy between a live drum kit and an electronic drum set?  Is there an inherent contrast between electric and acoustic guitars?  Of course there is.  Just like there is a difference between the sound of a baby grand and a $300 keyboard. Something special happens when we're playing an acoustic instrument.  There is a resonance no computer can emulate, vibrations pulsing from elements like wood and metal that wrap around us and stimulate something in our soul.  We have some manner of itch in our bones, in our very marrow, that gets scratched through sonic exploration.

Don't get me wrong, there are electric vibrations that can stimulate the soul as well.  It's just that we have the electric simulations in spades, coming from a myriad of digital sources.  Some of those sources are better than others, some more tastefully or artfully crafted to draw upon the almost spiritual thing that happens in the generation of sound.  We don't really have to go looking for the electric probes, but to find that acoustic resolution we must be intentional.  I'm gonna continue searching out the soulfully dynamic elements in this world, vibe on the goodness streaming from a spring that feeds our soul, and surf the curling waves of sound.  Vibe on, my friends, vibe on.

Humility

The call of Christ is a call to humility.  Many of you might find that a funny comment coming from me given some of my past attitudes and interactions, but I think it true.  It is impossible to read about Jesus without sensing the base humility of God. It is a base principal of theology, and it's a bit of a "rompa cabeza" (head breaker or puzzle) for us to think of an all-knowing, all-powerful God acting in any way humble. If there was ever a being who had the right to lord greatness over us, it'd be God. But there is something in the essence of God's being that bends toward humility, which is of course exemplified in the person of Christ. God pours out God's self, and so we find ourselves in the precarious position of wanting what we want but being compelled by God to put others first. It's all painfully foreign;We have to admit that there is a whole world/kingdom of things going on that we don't know everything about, a whole way of life that we have to learn.  And we have much to learn if we're to live "the spiritual life."

Know It All

"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." ~Isaac Asimov

True on more levels than most of us want to admit. I have a co-worker who is constantly second guessing herself, never really sure if what she's doing is the proper thing to do, which of course makes for rather awkward interactions with the patients. I think it just has something do do with the way she's wired, cuz I'm wired TOTALLY opposite of that! I'm more in line with the above listed quote, finding myself often annoyed with people who are trying to come off like they know everything and then turning around and acting as if I know everything. It's something I've been working on over the years, but it's never gone away fully. That's because I really do know a lot of stuff!

The truth is we all have things we can learn, and it's more the process of learning that makes life go around. If we get ourselves into a place where we don't have to learn new things, we tend to get bored and repeat bad habits just to shake things up. That's so not how I want to be! I want to keep learning new things, and learn how to do the old things better. I want to be in the habit of coming to a challenge, figuring out how to deal with it, and find my way to the happy place on the other side of the issue.  If we stay in the practice of positive problem solving, our critical thinking muscles won't get flabby.  And who prefers flabby, honestly?