Thursday, April 21, 2011

It will likely make me stranger....

Hi Everyone;

Heading off to visit the folks for Easter. Have a great holiday, my friends. I've got one scheduled...hopefully that will get you through the next days. :)

-randy.

Fear

Hello My Friends.

Fear is an aspect of my life that I am working to remove. Unfortunately, it began a long time ago, so there it is. I refer to it as my Ozy. Perhaps that is the nature of all things to be feared: without upkeep it whithers and dies. Blown away by the sands of time, until only the barest memory of what we feared is still there. In fact, we may not even recall why we were once so afraid, only that we were and so that little bit remains.

People speak of evolution as a crime against Christianity. Maybe it is. I don't know. I know that people do evolve. They learn, adapt, and in time the make-up of what was once the common man is a bit different. Look at the rise of computers....for a quite self-serving example. I actually remember learning on...ready?...an 088 chip. It was faster than the 086. For those so young, the Pentium was so named because it became illegal to trademark a number....and that's when the 586 chip became the Pentium. Yep...I'm that old. Actually, I used an Apple 2e...but never did understand it, so I don't include it in my stories. But, what was once something of incredible wonder and intrigue is now nothing more than a bump on the evolution of computing.

Ok, so what does that have to do with fear. What does that have to do with faith?

Well, we fear something because it is outside our understanding or control. We fear something becuase it is powerful and overwhelming. We fear something because it is dangerous to us. The Christians speak of Fear Thy God as these aspects of fear. I deny the last definition in regard to God. Maybe I shouldn't. But, I am unable to care for something I fear. Example: I had a very bad experience with pit bulls. I know that they are often the most loving of dogs, but I still had that experience and so they are a breed of dog that I can't love.... a dog lover who won't love a dog he fears. If I am to love God, I am to do without fear of Him.

We as a people do evolve. I recall a time when my father couldn't set the time on the vcr. Now he has a computer... has even less idea what he's doing than I do, which is frightening, but my point is that away he goes....mostly playing solitaire. My Grandfather wouldn't even bother with that. And, this manner of information retrieval, of communication, even of games has changed the way we think...the very nature and aspect of the brain has changed to accomodate this new manner of fast paced information. Evolution is real and is a survival aspect of our very makeup. It is what allows us to learn to ride a bike, swim, and type....and never forget how. We didn't come into this world with that ability, it was learned.

So, yes....things seem to be improving, seem to be getting better. On the books yet remain these little vestiges of a once powerful fear, but they have crumbled. At best the villians of the coming times may attempt to resurrect an empire of fear and condemnation, but it will be a copy, a losing battle against the forward march of time and understanding. It is my belief that it will be one of devestation as well, but I won't get into that. No, I will say, though, that the only way our nation, our world, will be able to move forward is that we look back only with admiration for the people who were there that we loved ~ then face back into the day and love the people who are to come.