Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts

Friday, January 29, 2010

Including Cold, Weight-Loss, Godfathers & Perspective / Including Smoke, Hatches, Numbers & Secrecy

to nobody in particular:

...here are some recent thoughts, followed by explanations...

..."more snow, God? are You kidding me?" -- i walked out of the house the other day and, much to my dismay, the 15-degrees-below-freezing-Celsius weather was accompanied with even more snow, just when the recent barrage was starting to give way to the sidewalks underneath -- i know it is strange for me to think the following, but i was looking forward to having decent non-slip sidewalks to run on in the early mornings/late evenings...

..."wow -- this is tougher than i thought" -- last year, i was part of a group of four who had a small contest to lose weight, and, even though it went well for that period of time, and i was able to lose 15 lbs myself, i gained a couple more over the last month or so (Christmas time is a killer) -- well, to continue my weight-loss, i started a new personal campaign, and i have a goal to slim down to a certain weigh-in (which i will not post here) before the opening kickoff of the World Cup of 2010 -- it is a lofty goal, but i am determined...

..."yes, these have been pretty good, but i don't think they are any of my favorites" -- i've recently watched the Godfather movies (i re-watched The Godfather and have watched Part II and Part III for the first time) and, although i find the arguments behind them being great movies valid and seeing their place in movie history, they are not personal favorites...i did really like the first one, the second one was pretty good too, and the third one is kind of meh -- overall well done and interesting, but nonetheless slightly disappointing, with a letdown in the third act (Part III)...

..."does it all boil down to the matter of perspective, or is that just my perspective?" -- we are encouraged to be joyful always, to pray continually and to always be thankful in all circumstances (I Thessalonians 5) -- but why?...think about it -- and after i did for a while, i've concluded that it comes down to the view that we have on our life, on our perspective, on how we interact with the happenings of our days -- to sharpen a correct perspective on life centers on these three intentional choices, i believe -- living with joy (not happiness), praying as central, and having a constant gratitude -- enormously tough, of course, but invaluably imperative...

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currently watching: "LOST" (yes, still)

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Post #100 / So What?

to nobody in particular:

...vacation was great -- we relaxed and relaxed a lot...

...swimming, walking, sleeping, reading, playing, laughing, eating, enjoying, watching, resting, sandcastling...

...that's about it -- relaxing...

...exactly what we needed...

...one of the things that was impressed upon me was "faith like a child" and "fear like a child" -- i saw moments when my kids were stress-free, care-free and totally relying on us for all their needs and desires; and yet i saw moments in which, in situations of clear uncertainty, they were overcome with fear, forgetting about their faithful, trustworthy and loving parents...

...i could expand, but i won't...

...and i don't think i need to spell the connection out in our daily lives -- it preached to me clearly, and i think the recognition of truth can be grasped...

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..."you learn something new every day"...

fourteen days ago, i learned: 2:26am to wake up for a flight to vacation in Mallorca is worth it...

thirteen days ago, i learned: yes, there are many Europeans who hang out at the beach topless...

twelve days ago, i learned: neither of the kids have any fear of a fifth floor balcony...

eleven days ago, i learned: Mallorca has a pretty sweet aquarium...

ten days ago, i learned: we booked a hotel on the quieter part of the beach -- thankfully, not on the party end of the beach (as a young family, we would've REALLY stuck out, even more than we already were)...

nine days ago, i learned: Travis doesn't like the ocean, maybe, but he likes the swimming pool...

eight days ago, i learned: more than half over? vacation goes by quickly!...

seven days ago, i learned: push the limits!...

six days ago, i learned: Sarah and i organize and prepare, more than enough in advance, for most things...

five days ago, i learned: the Mallorca airport is nice, but please, clean the men's bathrooms more often!...

four days ago, i learned: i got the gnome!...

three days ago, i learned: booooooo...

two days ago, i learned: God makes sure we come into contact with the right people...

yesterday, i learned: goals are good, and sometimes hard to reach, but just try it anyway...

today, i learned: my family -- parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews -- are astoundingly awesome (of course, this was more of a refreshing reminder, not newly learned)...

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recently watched: 12 Angry Men


...cinematically simple, philosophically complex -- love it...

Saturday, February 21, 2009

The World / The Cup

to nobody in particular:

...there is so much in the world...

...then again, is there?...

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..."you learn something new every day"...

...four days ago, i learned: even really great things can be frustrating...

...three days ago, i learned: "Travis" is also the name of some deranged monkey who used to act but now attacks humans with a vengeance!...

...two days ago, i learned: two sick and out-of-it kids are NOT fun...

...yesterday, i learned: World Cup 2010 tickets are on sale!...

...today, i learned: i can accept the fact that i won't be able to go to any World Cup 2010 games, sadly...

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recently finished reading: The Shack by William P. Young

...after being recommended by 83% of the churched population, we were given this book as a gift for Christmas...with it being so popular, i reverted to automatic skepticism, yet read the book...

...the book is alright -- not bad, but not amazingly fantastic either -- it was interesting and challenging at times, but i felt that it was nothing so new and fresh as i expected -- at times, it felt like it had taken recent thoughts and beliefs and re-packaged them in a new way -- it did have helpful words that spoke truth, but it was also a little sketchy...

...then again, that's what opinions are for, right?...i guess i just wasn't so sold on it as many others have been...that's just me...

...but it was a good read -- now, on to the next...