FFT

This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart, and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration. And all this through the work of your hands... Remember that you are the custodians of beauty in the world.

- Pope Paul VI

FFT

God is personal, but never private. If God is not personal, there is little meaning to faith. It merely becomes a philosophy or a set of teachings from religious figures who died long ago. WIthout a personal God, there is no personal dimension to belief. There is no relationship to God, no redemption, salvation, grace, or forgiveness. There is no spiritual transformation without a personal God, and no power that can really change our lives beyond mere self-improvement....

However, that personal God is never private. Restricting God to private space was the great heresy of twentieth-century American evangelicalism. Denying the public God is a denial of biblical faith itself, a rejection of the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Himself. Exclusively private faith degenerates into a narrow religion, excessively preoccupied with individual and sexual morality while almost oblivious to the biblical demands for public justice. In the end, private faith becomes a merely cultural religion providing the assurance of righteousness for people just like us.

-Jim Wallis

Repentance and relief...

I find it is not very often that Canadians return to the Lord, crying in repentance of the sins that they have committed and the abominations that they have created. I know I'm also one of those; the staggering amount of apathy and indifference that I hold towards personal and corporate sin is flabbergasting.
However, for the past three days, I have been wrestling with corporate sin so deeply infiltrated into our lives, I'm currently emotionally spent. Crying for forgiveness for the church, for the brokenness of many lives, for the mercy of God to withhold His hand in judgement against us... There are great problems in this, including my own hypocrisy - will this repentance last? Will I, indeed, turn from my wicked ways? and my own powerlessness in changing the world.
The numbers are staggering: 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. Half of the world's population live on less than $2.50 a day. The richest 10% of the world (ahem, us) consume 60% of the resources, while the bottom 10% consume only 0.5% - a 100-fold discrepancy. The world spends $780 billion in the legal arms and weapons trade every year, yet only $6 billion would guarantee every single child on this planet could get a basic education - and this amount is still less than what North American women spend on cosmetics every year. The economic distance between the very poorest and the very richest is ever-widening, making it harder and harder for those on the bottom to ever catch up to those of us at the top.
And yet, the North American church is known more for its embrace of the materialistic culture that dominates society. Sure, we are doing work, on small scales, in varying places, to counteract this overwhelming poverty. But does the North American church uniformly, in word and deed, declare "NO!" to continuing in this unjust manner? We are comfortable in our houses, with our cars, with our multiple changes of clothing, with being adequately fed with overly cheap food, with having flush toilets, but, like the cows of Bashan, I fear, judgement will lay on our heads for not acknowledging the devastatingly poor, and continuing in our ways that perpetuate oppression of the poor...
Thank God for His mercy! However, mercy without repentance is rather empty, I think. And I look at this computer screen, realizing that the fact that I own a computer, can pay for internet access, have the electricity to run the darn thing, and have adequate shelter in which to safely use my computer places me leagues ahead of the Majority. And how, with the God who Sees, can we start to turn from our ways and follow Him in true devotion and worship...

All in a Friday afternoon...

As Advent season is clearly upon us, I am just going to muse a bit of a smorgasbord of things that I was thinking about the other day. I had been listening to the CBC (of course), as they ran a few monologues of people talking about faith. Mainly about losing faith, really. It was particularly poignant in listening to one young man, who, being raised in a very conservative, very rigid, very legalistic Christian family (ahem, reminding me of my own church Family), was eventually driven from it for not conforming to their ideals. Labelled heretic and someone who had lost the way. Which was a bunch of bullshit. He did eventually make it to Bible college, and had many divine encounters with people who did show him there were other ways of worshipping, that he didn't have to wear a straitjacket to reach the divine. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough; he ended his segment by revealing that he simply could not believe the Christian message at the end of the day.
This kind of thing makes me angry; I think it's because I am bull-headed enough to stay with the Family that I've been given, but I know for many, it's a Family that would send them to the funny farm. And that, I find, is incredibly sad. And what's more, I find sometimes that my Family doesn't even realize how it alienates and isolates others; sure, they love people like crazy, and they do their very best, but I can imagine this young man would not have fared much better with us.
This followed me having to kill an hour in a mall, and watching the parade of children going to visit Santa at his castle. As sweet as it was to watch all the excitement of the little ones wanting to meet Santa, you could see that his elves were trying to be as efficient as possible. Loading the children onto Santa, snapping the photos, having a basket for Santa to put letter requests into - all these trappings of consumerism and our 'service' industry all conglomerated together at one time. Big styrofoam castles surrounded by artificial pine trees, candy being given out to the children, indoctrinating our children to ask for more, and more and more... sigh...
This all compounded with a friend of mine who is 'working' overseas, talking about their work with someone from my Family, who basically said that their work was invalid, as they were not pointing to the one and only way to understand Good News. This Family member, I think, probably doesn't understand how, or, more likely, refuses to acknowledge, that Good News changes in different time periods, and different cultures, and different worldviews. But no, I'm afraid that many people in my Family believe that the Good News is completely immutable, that practice and belief must be absolutely uniform, spanning all time and space. If so, I must say, we are already hypocrites, as we fall far short of the original Family's pattern of life together. (Trying to bring this up, however, has always resulted in my being told that I was "wrong"). Suffice it to say, my friend was taken aback, which embarrassed me greatly.
Sigh. All for a King that came to earth and changed history, power, humanity, intimacy, hope, everything...

FFT

Usually, I'm a very big non-fan of email forwards, but this one was from a very sweet friend, and was very sweet itself, and indicted me on some of my own attitudes, so I figured I'd repeat it here:

I am thankful:
for the wife, who says it's hot dogs tonight, because she is home with me and not out with someone else.
for the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato, because he is home with me and not out at the bars.
for the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes, because it means she is at home, and not on the streets.
for the taxes I pay, because it means I am employed.
for the mess to clean after a party, because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.
for my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.
for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.
for all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech.
for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.
for my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.
for the lady behind me in church who sings off key, because it means I can hear.
for the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.
for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.
for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means I am alive.
and finally, for too many emails, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me. (OK, still not a big fan of email forwards, so I'm not so sure what I think of this one :) )

FFT

This was actually a song sung at Redeemer by its song-writer this past Sunday:

Citylife

they're building higher
oh the skyline looks so pretty from this rooftop
and the walk I take from home to my train stop is fine with me
music plays
and there are dancers on the stage next to the fountain
and statues that remind us of our fathers
so long ago

in this city, we are walking next to millions
in this city, we are walking next to nations
though the city life inspires me, it's hard to see
my name in lights while others fade away

over the river
there are pieces of the past I knew from textbooks
and we separate the boundaries of our neighbourhoods
they're tearing down
and it's a race to get the real estate investment
'cause the land of opportunity's expensive

oh look around
on the corner of the street next to cathedrals
there's a colony of men who sleep on sidewalks
outside
it's never equal
and the children are too young to know such sadness
but when we 'mourn with those who mourn' it makes a difference
for friends in need

-Sean McClowry

New York III (not really, and kind of irrelevant, and I'm not even there anymore)

One thing I've been thinking about after talking to a friend in Central Park is the sheer diversity of the evangelical church. Diversity to the point of wondering how to start really authentically bridging and unifying the Church.
One of the cases in point: I spent (as previously noted) my Sunday morning worshipping in a black, Baptist, Harlem-based, gospel church. It was everything that you would dream and want it to be: people were really praising God with their bodies through dance, with their voices with singing and call-and-answer worship, the fiery testimonies praising God on how He has radically changed lives, and how He deserves all glory and praise for deliverance - it was awesome! It was liberating to feel free enough to worship, with more than just my mind (which is the usual case in my home church), with dancing, and vocalizing and praying! Suffice it to say that I was one of the rare non-black people in the whole sanctuary, and the only Asian in the entire church building. As emotionally satisfying as that was, I left the church wondering what I had "learned" vs only experienced and witnessed.
Later that day, I went to Redeemer Presbyterian, a famous evangelical church in NYC. It's considered "small" by American church standards; "only" 5000-6000 people attend service (yes, I was told, with a shrug, "only" 5000 people attend this church). In many ways, it reminded me of the form of my own church: nobody moves, everyone just sings the song through once. The liturgy was also very structured and calculated - acclaim God, followed by a time of confession, followed by a time of worshipping God, returning thanks to Him in the form of tithes and offerings, gather around the Word and the exposition of it, benediction of the believers and then dismissal. Very cerebral, not emotional. The sermon was really, really, really great, to be sure, but again - it appealed to the rational in me, the cerebral, the intellect. It brought up points of discussion and further intellectual manoeuvring, but did not bring my heart, with longing, to draw closer to God in praise.
So then I was left with two very different understandings of Sunday worship, both of which fed important parts of my body, spirit and soul, but each of which left parts of me hungry. To bring the two together would almost be bringing two planets together as they are so polarized as to how they understand the nature of God. I even strongly suspect that people from my own home church would clearly state that one of the churches I attended that Sunday is less "valid", or less "worshipful" or retains less of an understanding of God than the other, simply based on their form and perceived "content". Which is sad.
Both are doing their work for the Kingdom, in beautifully different ways. However, how to bring those ends together in unity is something that is perplexing me.

New York II

America is an interesting place. Admittedly, it's a very easy thing, to point out the weaknesses in American society and in its culture. It is sometimes hard to remember that America still represents, for many peoples and nations, freedom and liberty.
I think Americans sometimes forget the critically important role that they play in the world as well.
The clash of all sorts of inconsistencies and paradoxes in the culture have been flooding me since I've been here. I've driven by one of the jumbo multiplex superjails, 2km in length as we drove, high barbed wire fences and jail towers... it actually gave me a physical chill up my spine, as it reminded me of concentration camps that I had seen in Germany. Knowing that America holds the highest incarceration rate in the Western world only solidified that queasy sensation that I had. I also spent some time with NFL alumni (yes, yes I did) at the New York Jets training centre (yeah, don't ask me, it's kind of obscure), some of whom had won Super Bowls and had the rings to prove it. The sheer opulence and wealth and just plain old stuff available here is plainly enormous. One thing that people have been pointing out to me here is that doctors can have special license plates so that they are allowed to park wherever they want - looking at the vehicles that they were all driving also made me want to vomit, and made me embarrassed to be a physician.
But then, spending time worshipping for 3 1/2 hours at a Harlem church was incredibly moving. Watching at how much effort the people put into looking their very best for God in His house, the music, the testimonies given and the sheer amount of PRAISE they had for God and His glory was enough to make me tear up several times. Seeing the reality of Redeemer Church and Tim Keller's heart for the City that Never Sleeps gave me food for thought as well.
Yes, the juxtaposition of America: the wealth and the grinding poverty, the worship of God and the worship of money.
Yet, the Americans I've spoken to are mainly protectionist, Republican, conservative and capitalistic - the complete stereotypes one expects from American Christians. Trying to talk to people as to why it just might be biblically wrong to let the poor and the neglected to die because they cannot access health care, or why, perhaps, when America had a chance to truly 'turn the other cheek' when 9/11 happened, allowing the chance to change the destiny of our current world order, allowing the chance to forgive rather than seek vengeance, I've been told that political policy and Christian morality are separate. I've been told that forgiveness in the case of 9/11 was not a viable option, that a religious war was inevitable.
That frightens me. The Land of Opportunity closing itself from almost everyone in the world, fighting "enemies" that exist around every corner, its inability to look at the logs in its own eye, I think, will write its own destiny. My brothers and sisters who can hear a sermon about forgiveness, and the need to die to self to bring life to others, and then can turn around and not be able to see some of the contributions that they have made to cause the increased animosity towards America frightens me extremely...

New York I

It's not often that I cross the border; this is probably the first official time I've crossed the border on a long trip in over ten years. I had forgotten about the fact that Homeland Security is a little over the top; I had wanted to get to Pearson at my usual one hour before flight time, but my father, who was dropping me off at the airport, insisted on bringing me two hours early.
Well, turns out he was right: the lineups, security checks, etc, did take 1 1/2 hours to get through. On the plus side, my passport got stamped with clearance by Homeland Security (I love passport stamps!).
So, New York. The Big Apple. Gotham City. Whatever you want to call it, it's big. I was told about 8 million people in the boroughs that make up New York City. I managed to meet a nice elderly couple from Maine who were also public transiting it into town, so we travelled together to get to the Upper West Side, where I was meeting a friend for a walk and for dinner.
Walking is great in this town. Too bad I forgot the sun goes down by 5pm, so photo taking gets a bit limited. Managed to walk a bit of the Upper West Side, and then subwayed down to NoHo and Soho before dinner. Nice.
It's definitely a busy, rush-rush, money kind of town. We sat for dinner at 6pm, and the place was deserted. However, by about 6:45pm, all the suits started coming in, not to eat, but for cocktails and after-work snacks. What? How uncivilized, to leave work at that hour! I was told most New Yorkers don't get around to eat till 8pm at night, mainly because of the work hours. We then headed to a place that serves rice pudding exclusively. Strange. Apparently, there's also a very famous and busy restaurant here that only serves hot dogs. I can't imagine places like that surviving in Toronto; the novelty factor is a little bit too high - that being said, the rice pudding place was busy! Crazy - how much rice pudding can a person eat?
I'm staying with another friend who lives up in Harlem while I'm here - it's been surprising, as both of my friends' places have been surprisingly much larger than I had assumed most people's places in New York would be - I manage to get my own guest room to sleep in, and I can actually walk around and dance in their living rooms. I am not sure if this is exceptional, or the rule, but I'm certainly enjoying it anyways.

Wiped...

I'm sorry, but this H1N1 hysteria has just wiped me out. We've been seeing, on average, about 50% more patients than we'd usually do solely because of this hysteria. It's actually made me tired and unable to pay attention to almost anything else that's currently going on in my life.
I am thankful that I am heading off on a mini-vacation tomorrow morning, after doing a pre-interview with the CBC for an upcoming documentary series (yay!). That's about all I have to say for now, but certainly, folks, I am not neglectful, just really weary from all the yelling, anxiety and worry from the masses of healthy people.

I think maybe I'll actually be able to see an African elephant now...

This probably won't mean much to the non-evangelicals among you, but I've been invited to be one of the Canadian representatives at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, taking place in South Africa in October 2010. This is probably the massivest deal that has happened to me, I think. There are fifty of us attending from Canada and we are representing a broad cross-section of the Canadian evangelical church today; I am only aware who three other representatives are, but I'm excited to learn who else is coming to represent our country!
What is that awfully long name, I've heard even evangelicals asking me. In brief, it's the biggest international gathering of global evangelicals from around the world. This is only the third time this has happened in the past 35 years, so that's quite something in and of itself. Leaders from the global church, predominantly from the Global South (which is exciting!!!), will be there to grapple with the issues of our day, and how the evangelical world should respond in love, mercy and grace, while pointing to Jesus Christ as the hope of all the nations of the world.
It's a terribly exciting deal. It'll be my first time in southern Africa, hence my hope that I might actually see something more in terms of African wildlife besides goats and camels, which has so far been my only exposure to their fauna. It will also tie in nicely as I'll also be attending a secular international environment and social development leadership conference in South Africa in November 2010, so I'll be hanging around that country for quite a while next year!
What was particularly odd, though, was a semi-racist and sexist reaction from a colleague of mine who insinuated that I was only going as I happened to be a coloured female. I recognize this to be partially true, as they had been putting great efforts to represent the diversity of the Church today, but in the context of this colleague, being a white male, wanting desperately to go but not being invited to attend, it smacked a bit of pettiness. Ironically, the other three people I know who are on the Canadian team all happen to be white males who I admire quite greatly. Oh well.

Where the Wild Things Are

I know it's been a long while between posts - too much going on!
I've been mulling over this on and off over the past few days. WTWTA is a beautifully crafted movie, and, as many people have pointed out, is not a children's movie. It is a movie about childhood, and its aching beauty, and the adult sorrows that sometimes it cannot fully understand.
There was much to fully commend about that movie, in its explorations of relationship and family, and in its inability to neatly tie together all the ends and resolve all conflict and sadness. Max is not, as he is asked early in the movie, able to take away all the sadness, for it seeps deeply into the bones, and he is but a child.
The one thing that really got to me, however, is some of the moral ambiguity that is left at the end of the film. Perhaps I need to watch it again. Perhaps I expect the story arc of conflict-repentance-resolution too much. But I found the narratives of the dangers of labeling the 'good' and 'bad' guys, or the lack of consequences for bad behaviour, or the lack of fully good archetypes a bit unsettling. The shifting sand of who is good and who is not makes one stumble as to 'who wins', for no one really does.
Part of our human nature wants good to triumph over evil, NEEDS evil to be demolished and eliminated, but by leaving the possibility open that we simply cannot do this, shifts our mindset. The trend that I've seen in films, by eliminating pure archetypes and adding moral complexity to characters certainly rings more true, but it undermines our hope that there is real Good out there.
Maybe you need to see the film to understand what I'm getting at, but I must say, it generated way more discussion after the film than I'm used to with the people I went with...

Hey, hey you - heal thyself!

It's been crazy-busy here, to the point that I would have to put in my day planner when I would have time during the week to wash my hair - yes, that pathetically busy. It's been a good-busy (if there is such a thing), however.
I am glad to say it looks like maybe I'll be back at a rational pace of life for a little bit. However, that has almost been forced upon me; with all the sleep deprivation, the hordes of worried well cramming the clinic, and the extreme amounts of social interaction lately, I've gotten the wind taken out of my sails by getting sick.
Usually, I only get significantly sick every five or six years, so I was certainly due. And no, it's not the flu, it's not H1N1, it's just a particularly bad viral infection. Yes, I've had fevers, and I'm mute and deaf from all the congestion, but it's fine.
The most ridiculous part, however, was trudging through a walk-in shift, with people looking logarithms less sick than myself asking for sick notes to excuse themselves for an extremely long weekend. Excuse me? I thought as I hacked and hoarsed my way through these visits - stupid idiots with sick days banked....

More than just worms and plants...

The only other living creatures with me in my home on a usual basis are worms and plants. However, I've had the privilege and joy of having two human roommates in succession over the past little while! Each are back in Canada from having been abroad for Kingdom work, back for refreshing and updating before heading out again. It's been an honour having them each stay in my home and offering them a place to retreat and refresh. Because I've been so darn busy and generally sleep-deprived over the past month, one actually thanked me for giving them a place to retreat and commune, as I'd been away for more than 56 hours in a row while they were there! So, in-your-face host I guess I am not. However, it's been nice sharing space for the little while that I've had them!

Seizing joy...

Joy is a funny thing, isn't it? It's a blessed thing as well, and praise God that joyfulness is always to be our lot, irrespective of circumstances. Despite quite a few setbacks already this week, I can still say that I still rejoice in the Lord, that though people disappoint and betray, He is always constant and always good.
I like how joy is this constant little nut, buried deep within your soul, digging its roots deep and wide throughout the fertile soul-soil. So that, even though storms should buffet, joy clings tenaciously onwards, swaying not to the winds of circumstance. And when the sun shines down brightly, joy allows the soul to come into full bloom and blow its blossom petals to the breeze.
Joy is funny how it works that way. I think Bono once said (OK, I hear the groans now, "my gosh, enough with U2 already!"), when asked by an interviewer if he was happy, he answered along the lines of, "Happiness is circumstantial, so no, I'm not happy all the time. But am I joyful? Yes. Joy is constant." Amen.

Boy, I really, really, really, really love U2

OK, as my status update says, I went to Church to rejoice with my four favorite Irishmen last night! It was church, it was a spiritual experience, and I praised God in my heart to hear 60,000 people praising God and supplicating with the Holy Spirit with their mouths (though their hearts still did not know what they were doing). Listening, and singing along with, to some (not all) of the stadium, as Bono sang Amazing Grace and snippets of gospel songs were amazing. I've already written briefly about this (see the posting July 2, 2008), so I won't write any more, but the story arc of chaos, repentance and confession, clinging to the Holy Spirit, and then being empowered to go into the world, was clearly there for all to see in the concert....

Thoughts on the West Coast

I think if I had ever held any illusions about moving out west, this last little jaunt out there quashed those ideas. Or, at the very least, about moving to the greater Vancouver area. I can't fairly rule out rural BC, Vancouver Island, etc, not having been there.
Without a doubt, Vancouver has a lot going in its favour: awesome weather, beautiful scenery, a generally healthier population than out east, managing to succeed in its Olympic bid (OK, I don't think that's a big seller, but some people would), bountiful sushi establishments, etc.
It started with the small, nagging feeling that though their bus route system seems to serve the city quite well (slowly), and the Skytrain is amazing in its driverless cars, rapid, public transit overall leaves much to be desired. I clued into this when trying to figure out how to navigate how to get to my friend's house from the house I was staying at, and the transit finder said it was "impossible" for me to do the trip UNDER 3 HOURS. This was the equivalent of trying to get from Greektown to Lakeshore Village. Incredible. Yes, they've built an impressive link from the airport to the downtown core (only by getting kicked into gear by the IOC), but in terms of shuttling people around efficiently in a city considerably smaller than Toronto, they've still got quite a lot of work set out for them.
A further dart to the heart was meeting with various environmentalists and food security types that squashed any stereotypes I held about green Vancouverites; apparently they don't exist quite as proliferatively or as ubiquitously as I had previously thought. But I think the kicker was trying to do some work around poverty and justice while I was over there. The city itself seems to be designed more similarly to an American city than a Canadian one (this was confirmed by several Vancouverites I spoke to). That is to say, that the poor live in their own enclaves, away and aside from where 'everyone else' lives. I suppose if the city is composed mainly of single dwelling homes, yes, that does already construct the city to housing formats that cannot include everyone. Not everyone can afford to buy or rent single dwelling homes; if this is almost exclusively the housing style available, it cuts many people out of the market. I also passed by a very controversial subsidized housing project several times while there, closed down by the government for 'unspecified reasons', the low income people living there were kicked out of the city, and many people in the community had protested its closing, saying it was a conspiracy. Normally, I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I couldn't help but notice that one of the Olympic venues was right across the street....
Visiting people, people I love, in their opulent homes, in almost gated neighbourhoods, listening to them talk about how "safe" the neighbourhood was, how "nice" their neighbours are, how they don't have to worry about their children being friends with the neighbours, how all their neighbours were "just like them", how those "bad" people from North Surrey wouldn't be able to reach their neighbourhood because they'd need a car... hearing talk like this broke my heart. I was happy for their financial success, and the utter gorgeousness of all their homes, but wondered about how the 'otherness' was being built up, the fear driving them into enclaves where they'd never have to see a homeless person, let alone a coloured person, and where the heart of Jesus was beating... all told me how where they lived were "good" neighbourhoods for their children to be raised, but I heard very little of how, in being served with 'safety' and 'good schools' and the 'right neighbours' by the communities they were living in, they were going to serve the High King... Sigh. Sure, we're not perfect here in the Centre of the Universe, either, but it certainly was, from an socio-economic/justice point of view, a fairly disappointing trip (it was really fun otherwise!)...

Vancouver 0.5

Well, I just returned from being in Vancouver, and have several observations to make of the city, especially after meeting with a few community groups and some networking being done in between all the visiting of friends. Obviously, I didn't post anything while I was away, so I will, once I get an opportunity. So it's a bit of a fake traveling postcard, as I've already returned, but there's still some interesting things to say...

In a pickle!

So, I just accomplished my first set of canned pickles today! Of course, this is not my first venture into canning, but, not being a huge pickle fan, the thought of making pickles just didn't really appeal to me.
However, having received an heirloom organic watermelon in my most recent CSA box, I figured it was about time to make some watermelon rind pickles.
Watermelon rind?!? You can eat that? Why, yes you can. I figured to minimize the trauma to my worms in having to eat through the entire peel of a watermelon, I would spare them from as much of that as possible, and instead preserve the rind for the winter.
Pickle, of course, is a bit strong of a word when you're talking about watermelon rind, however. It's really more of a sweet pickle, flavoured with cinnamon and cloves, enhancing the inherent sweetness of the fruit itself.
Now, I'm not going to be opening these babies for a few months, so we'll see how that all turns out when I pop open the jar, but I'm quite looking forward to it.
Ironically, the G&M had an article about pickling today, which I didn't see until after I'd finished boiling the jars. Apparently, I'm part of the urban hipster movement that's involved in canning.... humph... I don't like the notion of being an urban hipster at all...

Just put a bit of Alcaine in there...

One of the things that I've been thinking about over the past few days is the notion of character flaws. I mean, we all have them, and most of us are blind to our own, and are exceptionally excellent at pointing out others' faults (the good 'ol noticing the speck and ignoring the log phenomenon).
I wonder, however, how many of us are willing to listen when others are pointing out our specks. I'm wondering this particularly in my own life: am I really, really listening when people are trying to tell me things in a very nice manner? So nicely, in fact, that I don't actually hear the criticism?
I'm wondering this as I wonder how to give criticism as well; when one sees a persistent speck in another's eye, that is so deep and pervasive and repetitive, and obvious to almost everyone else, is it loving to let it fester there? What if you're so apathetic you can't even be bothered to point it out? What if you've tried, but have been vehemently denied its existence, such that you don't want to be attacked any more?
In a particular situation in my life, I've seen the detritus caused by one friend's life, and the non-joy it has brought to their life, as well as others, and I wonder what to do. I wonder what to do, especially in the context of having been rebuffed before. Should they be left to float in their own consequences, until, perhaps, one day they will be willing to hear someone's voice?