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Thinking Man's Moment

My sister sent me this...

"Choose your crowd wisely! Mediocrity seems like excellence when you're around a bunch of mediocre people."

- Rev Run



...She doesn't even know how much I needed to be reminded of that...God works in mysterious ways...

It's Gettin Cold Outside...

Throwing Stones From A Glass House

I like quotes. I meditate on them in my daily life. There are many quotes and proverbs that we all pass down and around that seemingly contradict themselves. One of those examples is "Don't throw stones from a glass house." This makes perfect sense right? Confucius also said, "Do not impose upon others what you do not desire for yourself." I tend to sum up these quotes with one word. Integrity. Integrity as a definition can be correlated to CONSISTENCY. Whether with words, actions, or outcomes, something with integrity is consistent in all of those aspects. Now another anecdote says, "You can learn a lot from a dummy." Also, makes sense. God veils the truth in many different packages, and just because the gift isn't in a color you would have chosen, doesn't make it any less the truth.

The problem I have is that I have is that much of my respect for an individual is directly related to my perception of their integrity. While I admit, that I currently am not an individual of the strictest integrity (something that I once was, and WILL return to being), I make an effort to avoid situations of "the pot calling the kettle black". I run into problems when I encounter individuals who seemingly have no qualms with this lack of integrity, dispensing wisdom with an underlying "do as I say, not as I do" philosophy. While I do my best to remember that that the truth is the truth, I find myself becoming increasingly irritated when I encounter these types of individuals. While I have decided that it isn't my job to tell people about themselves, I do struggle with my decision to "let go and let God". I guess this can best sum it up:

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Amen.

Movie Review

Tonight I said "F#@k it" and decided to watch The Notebook (It was on TV, I did NOT rent it). I've heard enough women say to me that you can't watch this movie without crying, but after watching, I must respectfully disagree. I'm not going to completely bash this movie, because I can see why millions of women would love this movie, but there was just WAY too much sappiness in this film. For one, in their "summer of love", Noah doesn't get any "love" until the last week! And she talked so d@mn much it didn't really count! Also, Ryan Gosling didn't really match the girl (who's a bada$$ white girl, btw) in acting prowess. In the scene which was supposed to be his emotional climax (where he talked about how she should stay with him and not leave again), he just didn't seem believable, and was almost laughable. Lastly, when they died together at the end, this was just over the top in foolishness. There were some scenes and situations that I was able to actual place myself in and feel the moment, it was just those scenes were overwhelmed by the movie's almost cartoonish predictability, character cliches, and sap.

What I will say is this movie addressed one of my biggest fears of growing old; Alzheimer's. It doesn't run in my family, but I'm definitely scared of growing old and forgetting all that God has given me in my lifetime. I can only imagine how painful it would be for those that loved me (I did feel pretty bad when Allie remembered Noah and forgot him 5 mins later). That honestly scares the crap outta me. But what will be will be. Anyways, would I watch it again? Pass. I'd rather watch Titanic.

Wisdom vs. Knowledge

I've always been someone people would categorize as smart or intelligent. I have always been curious, causing me to relish learning new things (things which I choose to learn at the time I choose to learn them, to be more specific). I've also been called "wise" by some. The latter of which I very much took to heart. I'm beginning to realize how much I and the people that referred to me as wise were misinterpreting the word. Many people, myself included, don't necessarily equate knowledge and wisdom, but we do underestimate the division between them. I, like most people, understand that knowledge and wisdom are associated, but the more I reflect, I'm discerning the link between the two. Knowledge has more to with the information that one's mind gathers and wisdom has more to do with how one's mind utilizes that information.

I was having a debate with someone today at the studio and, as anyone who knows me can attest to, I have the tendency to make it a point to assert my command of a subject rather than create a point of mutual understanding. That method of debate typically leads to an impasse, where everyone merely agrees to disagree and there is no real learning involved in the usually drawn out discussion. I noticed myself heading down that all too familiar path and I paused, took a breathe, and focused on finding a middle ground and then furthering the discussion from there (I also tend to use my listening skills to catch people misusing words, despite me knowing their intent, but that is another fault to be discussed another day). What I realized is wisdom is in that breathe that I took. Recognizing that the true goal of debate is to create a point of mutual understanding and learning between both parties and putting that realization in action is, to me, the very definition of a "wise" action. For a long time, I have used the knowledge that I gain to suppress the opinions and ideas of those who disagree with my own opinions and ideas. I have used my knowledge to destroy rather than build. Rome wasn't built in a day, but recognition is the beginning of all progress right?

"There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is limitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest."
- Confucius

New Old Friends

Ran into some old friends that I hadn't seen in almost a year today. It was funny because I was just talking about one of them yesterday and I ran into him at the studio tonight. We did the usual "where you been ats?" and "What's goings ons?" and then just fell into the routine like we never missed a beat. What was noticeable to all of us was how much we had grown since then. One of the first thing one of my friends said about me was "your confidence is different". I noticed the same about them. One of them had a daughter since the last I saw him and I could see the maturity that having a child had generated within him. He was still a little bit of the same ol' silly self, but he definitely had an aura of being more aware of what was going on, something he lacked before. My other friend was still a little bit frustrated about his current situation but he had taken more control of his life, doing things like attaining his GED, and that made him a little more "matter-of-fact" when discussing his grievances, mentioning them not in an effort to suck people into his own misery, but merely to discuss his feelings, a huge difference, trust me.

All in all, I was reminded of how valuable time is. How so much can change about people in just a year. How critical events can shift mindsets so vigorously, pushing people in new directions, creating an almost natural selection scenario; adapt or perish. I think about how much I've changed since I last saw them, how much of my life has changed. I think about how much more I will change in the next year. How will I be one year from now? I know the more I delve into my ongoing process of self-examination, I can only improve. I'm excited for my future. I'm excited for what God has in store for me. I'm grateful for running into my "new old friends". After they left, I sent them a message letting them know that it was great to see them and that I missed them....A new me indeed...