lenten

Well, my fellow inhabitants of the world, today is Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the season of fasting known as Lent.
What does this mean?  Well, I intend to find out.

I am not a member of the Catholic faith.  I was not raised around many catholics, and so most of what I learned about the catholic church and their beliefs came through the history books. And history books generally don't offer a pleasant view of religion, mostly because the events involving religion that made history too often did so because that religion was being exercised poorly.

That being said, if you are catholic or are well-versed in catholicism, and you see something here that has not been represented correctly, please let me know.  My intent here is to present the good that I see in this religious practice even though it is not of my own religion.

The concept of Lent has fascinated me over the past few days and and such, I did some research.  Lent is generally known as a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penitence.  It begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday immediately before Easter).  This period is actually longer than the prescribed 40-day fast and there is some discrepancy on how exactly to count out the days, but the fast represents the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent fasting in the wilderness immediately following His baptism and before appearing on the Mount of Transfiguration.  The bible scholar will note other significant instances involving 40-day or 40-year periods of time.

I believe the purposes of Lent--namely fasting, prayer, and penitence--do not have to be limited to religiously-observant catholics or even christians.  Anyone stands to receive personal improvement by following them.  To put them in a less religious light, they might be called sacrifice, meditation, and self-improvement.  Call it what you may, but I hold that the process and outcomes of observing Lent can be beneficial to anyone.

Fasting generally denotes abstaining from food and water for a period of time (as Christ did in the wilderness) but for mortal people who are not the literal Son of God, a 40-day food fast is not advised.  (Fasting from food involves many personal and health considerations that should be taken into account.) Instead, Lent is generally observed by the act of giving something up or making a sacrifice.  There are many levels of sacrifice to choose from, and popular choices go from giving up sweets and meat to giving up being angry or rude.  The purpose of fasting or sacrifice is to give up something valuable in exchange for something else, which is most often an intangible reward. Frequently, the reward of the sacrifice is found to be more valuable than the original sacrifice made.

The act of fasting or sacrifice is also intended to have a lasting change on the individual.  Many fasts, particularly those from food, end after a period of time and things return to the way they were previously--the person now released from their fast eats and carries on with their lives.  Many religions prescribe regular fasts from food for various amounts of time.  Because participants of the fast return to their normal food-eating routine after the fast, the purpose and effects of such a fast must be something other than physical.  This is where the other elements of Lent--prayer and penitence--come in.  As the body undergoes a more intense period of self-control where the mind and heart deny it of physical sustenance for a time, it opens up opportunities to focus more on the spiritual and mental and less on the physical.

Deeper changes happen as prayer and meditation provide channels for introspection, peace, relaxation, and a deeper connection with a whole (be that god, nature, or humanity) to come into one's life.  These connections influence fasting and sacrifice by giving inspiration and meaning to the fast, as well as a greater willpower and sense of ability to achieve the goals of the fast or to make it through the intended sacrifice. It can also help people become more aware of benefits of their fast or sacrifice that they may not have noticed previously.

Penitence is generally defined as the act of showing sorrow or regret for sins or trespasses, and in the Catholic faith this involves the confession of sins to a priest.  To me, penitence is the first step to becoming a better version of yourself.  Once you have recognized that you've made a mistake or can improve in some way, it logically follows that you should put forth an effort to change that.  One of the greatest parts of this human experience is the fact that we can change ourselves.

In 2015, Pope Francis II gave his address for Lent and proposed that people give up indifference, in turn becoming more aware of and caring for those around them.  This is one of my favorite views of sacrifice, where rather than seeing the process as a denial or limitation, it is seen as an additional focus or improvement that one undertakes.  It is still a sacrifice--of our time, our selfish thoughts, our comfort--but it becomes much more purposeful end enriching.  In addition to the spiritual aspects of fasting, such a sacrifice to improve oneself has a lasting effect on one's way of life. Indeed, 40 days is certainly enough time to build a new habit.

I would like to encourage everyone to make a sacrifice or change in their lives to become closer to what they envision the best version of themselves to be.  During Lent is a great opportunity to do so, but the most important thing is to do it when you're ready, rather than when the world expects you to.  I am observing Lent myself for the first time and, although I have fasted in various ways before, I am excited to see what I learn from the experience.

I will digress from the previous practices regarding the titles of the posts in two ways: first, by using a word that is not Latin, and second, by commenting directly on its meaning.  "Lent" is an abbreviation of the Middle English word "lenten", which was originally used to denote springtime.  I appreciate this because as the weather warms up it is clear to see that springtime is a season of rebirth and fresh starts.  Lenten sacrifice provides us just that.

it's been a while...

Greetings, greetings, o readers of my blog.  It's been about an 18-month hiatus since the last post, but I promise you it was for a good purpose.  And I'm sure we'll talk more about those months as time (and the blog) rolls on.

I'm not sure what kinds of organizational changes I'll be making to Mr. Martin here (Martin being the blog)  but there will probably be a number of them. Still mulling them over in my mind.  Because in the past year-point-five, I've definitely changed enough to change my blog. :)

I'm also having to re-learn the internet and the ways of blog formatting and just get back into all this good stuff.  So...it might be slow.

But, it's time to talk a bit about change.  I'm sure I've mentioned it here before, because it's such a constant element of life, but here and now I am noticing changes all over the place.  I go driving through my hometown, seeing all these new things that have happened in the past 18 months, I walk thorough my own house wondering if the walls were always that color, and I've stepped into a new world as a different person.

The thing that I really want to get across about change is that it's not all bad.  Yes, it can be hard and weird and sometimes your own house feels like another planet, but for the most part, change is really just adding more good stuff to the good stuff you already had.

I think one of the biggest fears we tend to have about change is that it will mean letting go of a good thing.  It's a risk, to leave a good thing in search of something that may or may not be better.  And it is exactly this fear that keeps a lot of people back in life.

But the trick is that because we as human beings are composites of our experiences and perspectives and feelings and memories, we never truly leave something good behind if we effectively take it in as a part of us and let it take affect on our character.  If we look at change and opportunity as only adding to the excellence we already treasure, then that is how it will turn out.

Just keep in mind that the only way to change the world is to start with yourself.

And please comment with feedback for anything you want to see on the blog! (Or don't want to see..) And questions you may want for me to answer as the blog resumes :)

sentio

It's been a while. To be honest, I've had difficulty in writing things lately, hence the blogging hiatus.

And surprisingly, none of this has been due to writer's block or a lack of ideas or drive.
No, all those necessary elements have been quite present.  In abundance.

I've actually had difficulty in writing things lately because I have had too many thoughts that I wanted to develop into posts, and too many passions that I wanted to discuss.

If you frequent literature, you might know the feeling.

Anyway.  It's probably about time I make my public announcement on the blog.  I'm going to be leaving for a time.  18 months, to quantify it.  So there really won't be much new stuff to look at here.  I doubt I'll be able to get anything up here in the time I'll be away.  But if you insist on returning to read your favorite posts, please feel free.  I encourage you to start discussions in the comments with other readers.  (I will say that's one thing that's always bothered me about a blog.  It's very one-sided interaction.  I write things, you read them...the end.  I wish there were more comments and discussions made on blogs in general.  So if I come back to 18 months' worth of commentary, I really won't complain ;D)

That being said, I still have a week here on the blagoblag.  And in order to sort out some of the things happening here in the world and some of the thoughts going on here in my head, I'd like to go out with a bang and blog ALL of the days!  After all, I have so many things to write about that I simply can't write at all.  And the quantity and quality of things to be written continues to build.

And now that we've gotten through all the announcements and apologies, I'd like to move into a small thought that might begin to summarize the surplus of thought that has been surrounding me lately.

It is this:

Hearts break, and minds blow...open.

When your heart breaks, it breaks open.  And that allows new feelings and new love to slip inside that otherwise wouldn't have had that opportunity.

When your mind blows, it becomes more open and ideas can find a home that would have been locked out previously.

So don't be afraid of breaking your heart or blowing your mind.  Embrace all your experiences with no regrets and no reservations.  Feel things.  Feel all the things.

profectus

Okay.  We are now back from the break we call "Finals".  Back to our regularly scheduled program.

So, I'm pretty sure that regardless of your personal beliefs or religious inclinations, we can all agree that while we're here on earth, regardless of what happens to us afterward, we are here to progress as individuals, families, and society.  Like I said, I'm pretty sure about this, but if your take on the world and life disagrees with this, please tell me in the comments because I would like to know if my assumption is inaccurate.
For now, though, we'll operate on the assumption that everyone want to progress as a human and as groups of humans.

For the sake of thought development (yep, this is developing as we're going...but that is one of the best benefits of writing, in my opinion) we can progress consciously, where we are actively making an effort and thinking about furthering our position in the world, or we can progress, hmm....inherently? accidentally? where you don't put specific effort into it, but you look back after a year or so and say "wow, I've grown so much."

Ah, got it: active and passive progress.

Either way, you progress.  You reach a point that is better in one area or another than your previous self was.  And this is wonderful, because it is what you wanted to get out of life, one way or another.  Mission accomplished! Congratulations!

So, my question is this: Which form of progress is worth more?  Which yields more progress?

See, with active progress, you're actively learning things about yourself and how to achieve a goal.
For example, you set out to actively become more patient.  You do things like remind yourself when you're in line at the grocery store or driving on the freeway that it's okay to not complain about the people around you, and that driving the speed limit won't kill you.  You'll get there when you get there.  When your children/siblings/uncles (whoever you have in your life to try your patience) color on the walls/borrow your clothes without asking/harass you about boys (whatever it is they do to give you so many opportunities to practice being patient), you actively remind yourself to take a breath and not explode, but patiently help them clean the walls/request that they wash and return your apparel/change the subject to soccer (whatever it is you do to make the experience a good one for your relationship).
And at the end of the day, you think back about the things that happened and the choices you made, and report to yourself whether you effectively progressed in being patient that day, or if you need to change tactics and try something different tomorrow.
The benefit with this is that you are forming yourself and actively participating in changing your thoughts and behaviors, so it means a lot to you and you're able to monitor and effect your own progress.

Passive progress gets a little more theological, it seems.  Whether you believe that everything happens for a reason, or there's someone up there orchestrating your life and putting things in your path, or that the human race is bound to evolve and the universe just naturally supports that, we are consistently being led to situations that will try us and help us grow.  This is manifest in those times that you look back on your life and realize that you've become much more patient than you used to be.  And you weren't even aware!  The benefit here is that you change and grown in ways that you never imagined.  Either it wasn't something you would have chosen to change yourself, or you end up somewhere you would never have thought you could be.  You can't limit yourself if you're willing to progress this way.

So which is better?  If you're reporting on how you've become a more patient person, does this only involve active progress, or does your 'accidental' passive progress count toward your efforts as well?  It certainly counts toward the end product...

I think the answer to this, as in most things, is that you need some of both.  You need some balance, some yin with your yang.  To benefit the most, you must on all kinds of benefits.  In careers we try to specialize, but in life we must expand and broaden.

problemata

Lately I have been aware of a lot of problems here in life that don't really have answers.

"Why does it have to be so hard all the time?"

"My roommate drives me crazy."      

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"My best friend is too busy to talk to me anymore."

"I hate it when class gets out late."    

"I'm always so angry at my parents."

             "I feel like I'm just a burden to my friends."
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

What are you supposed to do? All of these problems are so complex and each situation is so personal and unique that there really aren't answers.  There's no one-size-fits-all solution.  If there was, I would hope that humanity would have found it after so many millenia of existence...But we have to face our problems and our lives on our own. We can't rely on the past, and there aren't any answers in the back of the book.  Alas.  This isn't math.

But there has to be some way to fix stuff like this, otherwise the world would be a terribly oppressive and miserable place. And I've found that for the most part, it isn't...so what's the answer we're missing?

Well, amid all the suggestions from religion, philosophy, science, politics, and so many other views or schools of thought, I've realized that the way I must answer the question is the way an engineer would.

Problem: half the volume of a glass contains water.
Optimist's solution: "yes! I have half a cup of water!"
Pessimist's solution: "curses.  I don't have half a cup of water."
Engineer's solution: "This cup has twice the necessary volume."

(hopefully this is not the first time you have heard that lame joke...XP)

Anyway, the lame joke was demonstrating an engineering approach, which I will now apply to the life problems.
Rather than fixing the problem, sometimes you just need to view the problem differently and redefine it.
So instead of wondering what to do and where to go and why things suck...realize that none of these things are problems.
Your problem is this:

YOU HAVE PROBLEMS.

So in order to fix this, just stop having problems.

"Gee thanks", you say.

No really.  If you can change your perspective and thoughts on life such that you no longer perceive these things as tragedies and problems, then it doesn't matter who your roommate is or how busy your best friend is or how hard life is right now, because you don't think it's a problem anymore.

Your problems don't have to have answers to go away.

It's a hard thing to do.  I am certainly not telling you that this is easy. I'm still not there all the way.  But maybe it's something to consider trying.

Best of luck. :)

identitatem

It's still Black History Month, so to celebrate I thought I'd learn some American History that I previously did not know, and then share it with the world in general so that you can have the opportunity to learn things, too.

Today, February 21st marks the assassination of human rights activist Malcolm X. 

Many inspirational leaders grow up in hardship and overcome it to live a fulfilling life, often because of a strong influence from their family.  Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, did not.  He was born in 1925 in Nebraska, and suffered much due to racism and hatred.  By his early teens, many of his family members had been harassed by white supremacists.  His father, a black minister who often gave controversial sermons, was brutally killed and his uncle was lynched.  His mother was later placed in a mental hospital and young Malcolm fell into the cracks between foster homes.  He dropped out of school and moved to Boston where he got involved in crime.

At the age of 21, Malcolm X was imprisoned for burglary.  While there, he encountered the ideology of the Nation of Islam, a movement that aimed to improve the quality of life of humanity, specifically African Americans. He was excited by their ideas of black nationalism and racial separatism. It was because of this that he changed his last name to "X", to symbolize his stolen African identity. After six years in prison, Malcolm X was released and became a prominent leader within the Nation of Islam.  He was soon known for his harsh indictment of racial hate crimes and his support of liberation by any means necessary. He was not always on the same page as other civil rights champions, who called for integration and understanding.  Malcolm X advocated racial pride and identity and fierce self-protection.

Malcolm developed as a powerful orator and was admired by much of the African American community.  Eventually his philosophies became very involved and outspoken, such that he was suspended from the Nation of Islam.  This did not inhibit him from being politically active, although it did allow him to investigate other ideologies and reconsider his approaches to ideals.  After breaking with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm made a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he was inspired by the racial harmony amongst orthodox Muslims there.  Upon returning to America, X changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and founded the Afro-American Unity, an organization that promoted black identity and argued that racism rather than the white community was the cruelest enemy of African Americans (and indeed, any person).  This less extreme philosophy gained many followers and Malcolm X continued to be a strong leader and an involved individual.

Unfortunately, standing up for something sometimes only makes it seem further beyond your reach.  Malcolm was targeted by many who disagreed with him.  In February of 1965, his home was firebombed. He managed to escape, but a week later was shot by Nation of Islam members--his own people--at an organization rally.  
Malcolm's life and death were surrounded by controversy.  Many people condemned him for his extreme views and overzealous methods.  Others revered him for his boldness and strength in the face of pain and difficulty.

To me, Malcolm X was a firm believer in the value of identity.  He went through a few identity changes, outwardly changing his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz as a reflection of his inner shifts in identity: from identifying himself as a downtrodden shadow of society, to a bold and relentless fighter for his and his peoples' rights, and finally to a warrior for equality and personal identity.  As he encouraged others to be true to their identity, he discovered his own.

diversis

Today's remarks stem from a comment by a friend on facebook.  She was persuading people to branch out more in their musical worlds and experiment with different things rather than all the pop music they play at clubs and on the radio and such.  She pointed out that often an "indie" or "alternative" song will gain a lot of popularity (thereby becoming overplayed, to the dismay of hipsters everywhere) and people will love it because "it's so different."

This brought me to a theory of mine that I've hoped to be true for quite some time now.  It is this:

Nobody actually loves pop music.  Stuff like Ke$ha or Dubstep or Nicki Minaj...Sure, most people will listen to it, but in my nice little theory, they don't actually like it as much as they appear to do.
You could ask them what their favorite song is, and they would probably name some Bob Dylan song because it reminds them of spending time with their Grandfather.

But lyrics like "When I touch mic I see the men scatta/Scatta, as if I had a clutch on a magnum" (repeated about ten times to the tune of screaming over a techno cacophony) don't really give us those fond connections we're seeking.  Since we're imagining everyone running away from our singing as if they're about to be mortally wounded.

 

So, according to this theory, why is pop music popular?  Well, it's popular because the individual is confused and thinks that the masses like it.

The masses appear to like the music because they, acting as individuals, assume that this is the popular music that will make them look cool and make them fit in with the masses.  So they listen to this music, and other individuals see them with their "YOLO" and "swag" (formerly known as being "fly"), and those other individuals get the feeling that this is what they must do to appear popular and fit into the group as well.

And it becomes a terrible vicious cycle of terrible music, and then these ridiculous artists with little actual talent rake in millions, and their fangirls go on and on about how deep the lyrics are.

And it drives me crazy.

In my world, where this theory is ideally correct, I like to think that deep down, where our inner person is buried, people like to listen to stuff like local artists, or classic rock, or even the occasional classical music.

Mozart says "Me gusta"

Where the song is not there to prove how intense of a person you are, but that you're actually a person.

Unfortunately this theory is not entirely correct because there are some people who like pop music because they actually like it, and there is some pop music out there that is not absolute garbage.  Even I have a short list of pop songs that I find acceptable and even enjoyable.

So what's the point in sharing an incorrect theory with the world?

Well, I think that this theory might not apply absolutely (ie: the claim that nobody actually likes pop music) but that it still applies partially to many things in life.

A cliché example is walking out of a movie.  You might feel awkward to stand up, disrupt everyone else's movie experience, and leave.  You might be afraid that everyone will think you're being ridiculous, that seeing and hearing whatever might be on the screen has offended you. They probably think you're acting like a baby who can't take anything mature.

I'm not lecturing on what should and shouldn't make you uncomfortable; that's entirely up to you and your personal standards and integrity, and it's different for each person. What I am saying is that if something rubs you wrong or represents you in a way that is not yourself or the person you want yourself to be, then by all means abandon it.

And if that's pop music, don't be afraid to listen to a different station when your friends are in the car.  Maybe they'll enjoy it too.

If that's wearing a particular style of clothing, wear what you think best suits you.  If beanies suit you better than fedoras, wear beanies. Even if your friends appear to favor fedoras.

If that's going to a different university than all of your friends, don't be afraid to go where you think you'll fit better, or where your program of interest is stronger.

Don't be afraid to be the first to step out of the mainstream and do what suits you.

You might just have people agree with you and follow your example. And maybe enough people like you can make a change.