March 10, 2011
March 09, 2011
the start of lent
The season of Lent has begun again. 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. 40 days to sacrifice as Jesus did for us. 40 days to deny temptation. 40 days to prepare for the time of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. According to the Gospels, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.
To start off Lent, my sister and I went to an Ash Wednesday service on campus put on by the Catholic campus ministry. It was nice to go to a Catholic service directed towards college-aged people. The priest spoke on typical Lent elements, but it was so good to hear.
He spoke about the importance of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. ALMSGIVING: Being generous not only through money, but also through kindness and talents. PRAYER: Spending time needed in prayer. FASTING: Refocusing physical needs and in turn, allowing others to have our food.
So why the ashes? The ashes represent that we are nothing without God. We are only human, only ashes. We are nothing and He is everything and He came down to love us.
These encouraging words make it a little easier to give something up for Lent. Jesus has done so much for me, so why can't I do something in return? And so for Lent, I decided not to give up something like coffee or chocolate or junk food. Although those may be good for some people to give up, without the best motives, the season can become a time of disguised selfishness. I decided to give something up that would serve me no purpose other than to have more time to focus on Jesus and more time to love people. I'm giving up Facebook and Twitter. My intentions are pure and I want only to grow closer to Jesus during this season.
I can already tell I'm going to like this.
To start off Lent, my sister and I went to an Ash Wednesday service on campus put on by the Catholic campus ministry. It was nice to go to a Catholic service directed towards college-aged people. The priest spoke on typical Lent elements, but it was so good to hear.
He spoke about the importance of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. ALMSGIVING: Being generous not only through money, but also through kindness and talents. PRAYER: Spending time needed in prayer. FASTING: Refocusing physical needs and in turn, allowing others to have our food.
So why the ashes? The ashes represent that we are nothing without God. We are only human, only ashes. We are nothing and He is everything and He came down to love us.
These encouraging words make it a little easier to give something up for Lent. Jesus has done so much for me, so why can't I do something in return? And so for Lent, I decided not to give up something like coffee or chocolate or junk food. Although those may be good for some people to give up, without the best motives, the season can become a time of disguised selfishness. I decided to give something up that would serve me no purpose other than to have more time to focus on Jesus and more time to love people. I'm giving up Facebook and Twitter. My intentions are pure and I want only to grow closer to Jesus during this season.
I can already tell I'm going to like this.
December 20, 2010
the heart
This morning, I was laying in bed with my hand over my heart and as I felt my heart beat slow and calm, I wondered...why is this organ inside my body associated with love? Who thought to have this lumpy, redish, beating tissue in our chests to represent all that is amazing, sickening, selfless, distorted and pure about love? Well, I decided to do a little research...
Looks like many classical and medieval philosophers and scientists including Aristotle considered the heart to be the seat of thought, reason or emotion and that the heart often rejected the value of the brain. I suppose this is why people say "do what your heart tells you" or "follow your heart, not your head," even though all of our decisions are obviously made with our brains. Along with being the seat of emotions, philosophers also thought the heart to be seen as the soul, instinctive and wise. They believed that decisions were made with the heart/soul and not the brain.
The way I see it is that the heart is at the core and that we cannot go on without it. Its constant beating lets us know that we are alive and well. Could it not be said the same for love that we need it throughout our lives to feel healthy and whole?
Just as events take place that could biologically damage the center piece organ, things happen that hurt us at our core. Even though a piece of my muscle tissue isn't gone, I still feel as though I've lost something. I know this has been said before and will be said again, but when you actually feel this, it's all you can say to describe the feeling. I suppose when you make decisions with your heart, as some philosophers think we do, you put it in jeopardy of losing pieces and becoming damaged.
So why do we think with our hearts? I think it's because we believe in true love and that it is out there somewhere and when we find it, we will get our missing pieces back and be made whole again.
Looks like many classical and medieval philosophers and scientists including Aristotle considered the heart to be the seat of thought, reason or emotion and that the heart often rejected the value of the brain. I suppose this is why people say "do what your heart tells you" or "follow your heart, not your head," even though all of our decisions are obviously made with our brains. Along with being the seat of emotions, philosophers also thought the heart to be seen as the soul, instinctive and wise. They believed that decisions were made with the heart/soul and not the brain.
The way I see it is that the heart is at the core and that we cannot go on without it. Its constant beating lets us know that we are alive and well. Could it not be said the same for love that we need it throughout our lives to feel healthy and whole?
Just as events take place that could biologically damage the center piece organ, things happen that hurt us at our core. Even though a piece of my muscle tissue isn't gone, I still feel as though I've lost something. I know this has been said before and will be said again, but when you actually feel this, it's all you can say to describe the feeling. I suppose when you make decisions with your heart, as some philosophers think we do, you put it in jeopardy of losing pieces and becoming damaged.
So why do we think with our hearts? I think it's because we believe in true love and that it is out there somewhere and when we find it, we will get our missing pieces back and be made whole again.
November 10, 2010
every single little moment
I'm sitting in a cafe on campus right now. How did I get here? I walked over from my sociology class. I took the bus to the sociology class with my best friend and roommate Charity who suggested that class to me. Charity and I became friends because we went to The INN together and lived on the same floor last year. I lived on the same floor as Charity because I chose to live on the fourth floor two years in a row because I wasn't ready to move out on my own yet. I went to The INN with my roommate at the time, Laura. Laura and I became roommates after I requested to switch after the first week of freshman year.
This obviously doesn't end here. This thought of how every single little moment affects the paths that we are on was brought on by a prayer I heard at a worship night. Now I can't stop thinking about this idea.
People say that it is the little things that count and while this mentality usually annoys me. I can't agree with it more at this moment. This realization has really taught me to be thankful and thoughtful with every single little moment I live. The little things lead us up to the huge events. The beauty and complexity of this idea boggles my mind.
So I will let my mind boggle as I leave this cafe and go to meet up with my now boyfriend Andrew. I started talking to Andrew because I found out we were in the same major. I found out we were in the same major through another friend who I ran into on campus a month ago while I was waiting to be picked up after work to go to Trader Joe's...and on and on it goes.
This obviously doesn't end here. This thought of how every single little moment affects the paths that we are on was brought on by a prayer I heard at a worship night. Now I can't stop thinking about this idea.
People say that it is the little things that count and while this mentality usually annoys me. I can't agree with it more at this moment. This realization has really taught me to be thankful and thoughtful with every single little moment I live. The little things lead us up to the huge events. The beauty and complexity of this idea boggles my mind.
So I will let my mind boggle as I leave this cafe and go to meet up with my now boyfriend Andrew. I started talking to Andrew because I found out we were in the same major. I found out we were in the same major through another friend who I ran into on campus a month ago while I was waiting to be picked up after work to go to Trader Joe's...and on and on it goes.
September 09, 2010
easy to laugh
I love to smile and laugh and I feel like lately, I've been laughing even more than usual. Not because things are funnier now than they have been in the past, but because I've been letting myself enjoy different types of humor...and I like it!
Something that made me laugh today...
How sad is it when people leave photos in frames when they donate them to Goodwill? Not like I'm complaining though. This four generational picture provides laughs for dayz!
September 03, 2010
September 02, 2010
love me, love me, say that you love me!
The other night, Kim Kardashian and I had a talk about how we wanted to be loved for exactly who we are and all that comes with our lifestyles. Kim obviously has a much more extreme lifestyle and ass (even compared to me), but I totally sympathized with her.
Isn't that what we all want? To be loved for exactly who we are? As far as humanly love goes, I think that a lot of us are loved for who we are, just maybe not in a romantic way. Although we yearn for that romantic, unconditional, fairytale love, sometimes we need to look right in front of us and see that we may have something very close to it.
Friends and family see you through a lot of crap and those that are still around should be counted as true gems. They must love you for who you are, and you the same for them.
So maybe we should stop searching so hard for our one true love or soul mate or partner for life. The presence of companionship is a longing, while the lack there of is an insecurity for everyone. But just take a look around! Do you have contacts in your phone? Friends on your Facebook? We have companions all around us. And the true friends are real, down for the count, not going to leave you when someone thinner or younger comes along. I believe that invested love in these relationships results in the most happiness.
As said best by Carrie Bradshaw: "Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with."
Isn't that what we all want? To be loved for exactly who we are? As far as humanly love goes, I think that a lot of us are loved for who we are, just maybe not in a romantic way. Although we yearn for that romantic, unconditional, fairytale love, sometimes we need to look right in front of us and see that we may have something very close to it.
Friends and family see you through a lot of crap and those that are still around should be counted as true gems. They must love you for who you are, and you the same for them.
So maybe we should stop searching so hard for our one true love or soul mate or partner for life. The presence of companionship is a longing, while the lack there of is an insecurity for everyone. But just take a look around! Do you have contacts in your phone? Friends on your Facebook? We have companions all around us. And the true friends are real, down for the count, not going to leave you when someone thinner or younger comes along. I believe that invested love in these relationships results in the most happiness.
As said best by Carrie Bradshaw: "Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with."
August 30, 2010
convenience
As I've reflected on the summer, I have come to the realization that June has always been a month of celebration and sorrow. Celebration because my birthday falls at the end of the month, sorrow because I always seem to have a terrible heartache right before that. This summer was no exception.
To make it short, I got hurt a couple times by guys who weren't willing to invest as much as I was. (Why I'm always to attracted to guys who do this? I still don't know.)
With comforting words, a dear friend told me that a lot of it has to do with convenience. UM YES! The more thought I put into this fact, the more I believe it! In so many aspects of life, people are more willing to put convenience in front of something that might take more work, but be so much better in the long run.
The fact that humans like to take short cuts is obviously not ground-breaking news, but it just really hit me when I thought about my relationships...and then in true Brittany fashion, I connected it to the idea of convenience in clothing choices.
It always amazes me how people are willing to sacrifice what makes them look best for what is comfortable and easy. We are all so stuck in what is convenience and painlessness. But I say why not wear heels? Why not wear a button down shirt? And why not date someone who is long distance or not in your close friend group? I truly believe that taking these risks and roads less traveled could lead to so much more fulfillment than living in our short cut ways. It's definitely easier said than done, but from now on, I'm willing to endure the inconvenience if it means a greater reward in the end.
So here's to making a Cosmo instead of drinking a beer, reading a book instead of skimming Spark Notes, making dinner instead of ordering in, and investing more in someone special than less in someone easy.
To make it short, I got hurt a couple times by guys who weren't willing to invest as much as I was. (Why I'm always to attracted to guys who do this? I still don't know.)
With comforting words, a dear friend told me that a lot of it has to do with convenience. UM YES! The more thought I put into this fact, the more I believe it! In so many aspects of life, people are more willing to put convenience in front of something that might take more work, but be so much better in the long run.
The fact that humans like to take short cuts is obviously not ground-breaking news, but it just really hit me when I thought about my relationships...and then in true Brittany fashion, I connected it to the idea of convenience in clothing choices.
It always amazes me how people are willing to sacrifice what makes them look best for what is comfortable and easy. We are all so stuck in what is convenience and painlessness. But I say why not wear heels? Why not wear a button down shirt? And why not date someone who is long distance or not in your close friend group? I truly believe that taking these risks and roads less traveled could lead to so much more fulfillment than living in our short cut ways. It's definitely easier said than done, but from now on, I'm willing to endure the inconvenience if it means a greater reward in the end.
So here's to making a Cosmo instead of drinking a beer, reading a book instead of skimming Spark Notes, making dinner instead of ordering in, and investing more in someone special than less in someone easy.
August 11, 2010
instrumental music
Instrumental music is nice when you don't want lyrics to distract you, but I find that my mind wonders more when there aren't words. I create my own words and stories to move with the music. My favorite scores to create stories to? 500 Days of Summer and Amelie. Make a playlist on youtube and give em a listen if you want to relax and let your thoughts soar.
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