Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Squinting looking backwards.

At 22 I have no wisdom to impart to anyone, all I know is I've not only decided to not grow up, but I'm intent on making sure I don't. I have enough responsibility, my taxes are simple enough to be done in just over thirty minutes error-free, and although I am not a band with a Myspace page that has 29 million views, I've still managed to experience joy in more ways than I could have expected.
I have learned that there are consequences to my actions, sometimes good, and sometimes not so good. Occasionally it doesn't even matter what I've done, there are good or bad consequences attached that I couldn't have foreseen. Eggs have lots of protein and go well with many different kinds of food, so they're a cheap, filling investment on the table of "Nourishment and Prices." On that same chart is pasta and peanut butter.
I've discovered that while there is a more than significant amount of effort and work involved in beginning and keeping up a successful garden, the combined release of pouring myself into it and the resulting pesticide-free vegetables that abound in it are far, far worth whatever was invested in the small plot. Grandparents do not live forever, but their eyes do light up in a way when they see their grandchildren that cannot be equated with anything else in all of life.
People will never stop being amazed at creation, at the habits, behavior, and stories of the animal kingdom. As long as there is cinematography the world will continue to be floored by slow-motion shots of lizards and bugs, several large cats pouncing on a female ostrich, or the size of a whale. We will never be in short supply of incredible and jaw-dropping visual images and hearing about how intelligent certain species are, or what techniques they use to hunt their prey. We'll always be surprised, as if learning for the first time that God's creativity extends further than our own.
Music, like culture, evolves. Hairstyles, the ability to stand apart from society and give it the finger from a distance will always entice the younger ages and earn scorn from the more aged. It will always be romantic to rebel and the profit will be from those who are taken in by it.

The world creates something desirable, the government regulates it, and after several generations society strikes out against the government and moves on to something more desirable that isn't yet regulated.

I've learned that the people who hold the key to successful parenting are the children, not the parents themselves. With each generation it's the children who know how they should've been raised and not the adults who know how they should've raised them. The children grow up and learn how difficult it is sometimes to have a family and know how to make the right decisions, and the price of gas slides upward averaging a cent at a time.
The first snow is always the most beautiful and the last one the most unexpected. A lit baseball field at night never loses it's aura of magic. Strangers always want to know when their front tire looks a little low. Peace is found in the face of a sleeping baby and few other places on earth. It's easier to argue a point than agree that you're wrong. War is fought by young men single and married, the wives, sisters and mothers at home wear it, it's paid for by tax on groceries and the high-ranking older men know this as they make every decision.
There never was any less sin in the world than from the first day it entered the kingdom of Earth. As time goes on it may become more or less apparent the need for grace as a person is more or less sensitive to the Holy Spirit. The older I get the more I realize how little I really know and how so much of my life is out of my control, and I'm more thankful for it.
People have favorite ice creams, songs, places to visit and breeds of dog, but everyone agrees that centipedes are scary and straight up evil.

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