"I can't believe in God because I can't explain the suffering in the world."
"I'm more of a believer in science."
Same person said this and yes, I was eavesdropping on a conversation I shouldn't have been, but I couldn't help but to be slightly frustrated at these statements.
When did God ever say that there wouldn't be suffering? Where in the Bible does it say that?
The idea that suffering should not exist in this world and that there is a god who is out there that will take it away is a purely Western cultural construct. In America, in times of hardship, the prayer often goes, "Lord, please take this suffering away." In other countries (or perhaps it was just this one country - I forget which one though), the prayer goes, "Lord, please help me get through this suffering."
There is an expectation in Western culture (or was it just in America?) that there should be no suffering and when it comes down to it, life should be easy. Yet there's something inherently wrong with this kind of thinking, especially in light of cliche phrases like "no pain, no gain," "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," etc. Suffering is sometimes necessary in order for a person to grow. Training for a marathon can be painful but also rewarding. Exercising and dieting (i.e. creating a healthy lifestyle) can be painful for people who have certain types of addictions or extenuating circumstances that make it really difficult for them to cultivate that which is good for them. However, to say that one should remove the cause of suffering (especially in the cases mentioned) seems ridiculous and even wrong.
To extend the argument then, how can one say that the suffering, hardship, or problem that a person is going through is something that should be taken away when no one can say how it'll change, develop, or refine the person? Isn't that a little presumptuous? To bring God into the picture, isn't it also to question God's methods?
I suppose the counterargument could mention something about how it doesn't have to be in that manner, but from my experience, people can be so stubborn that only something as jarring as some kind of suffering will change the person. And sometimes, even that does not change the person for the better. So no, I don't think that taking suffering away will actually address the issue.
This goes into the idea of free will because humans have autonomy, which is precisely why things get so messy, imo.
Anyway, my point is that the perception that suffering is somehow bad or wrong is flawed. Now, this is not to diminish suffering and say that suffering is an easy thing to go through. It sucks. I'm just saying that it shouldn't be viewed with a take-it-away-because-no-one-should-go-through-anything-bad kind of attitude.
To address the second statement, the very thinking that science and religion are diametrically opposed is incredibly archaic thinking that has roots in the Enlightenment period (what is that, like the 1600s?). Go to the upper echelons of science, and they will tell you otherwise. Go to the most learned doctors in medicine and they will tell you that they still cannot determine why sometimes certain illnesses and cancers are cured without treatment (because medicine is not an exact science). Obviously, there are opposing arguments, but I feel like the statement that a person "believes" in science and not religion has (again) inherent flaws. In saying this, I also feel like the person is saying that science and philosophy are separate and irreconcilable because what else is religion but philosophies on how to live one's life? If this is truly the case, then what does science say about morality or of how to treat others? The basic idea (ideologies, perhaps?) of science then is that it is good and right for humans to act purely out of self-interest and that greed is simply a by-product of survival. And here we have the problem because such people also say that we shouldn't suffer, yet by believing only in science, humans will be the very cause of such suffering.
I think I've oversimplified the argument in many ways and there are many holes that need to be filled but I'm le tired so we shall stop here.
I'm probably guilty of similar faults as this person who so glibly spouted such ideological inconsistencies but I think that it bothers me, because I've gone through the trouble of reconciling such things (though I'm not quite all there yet and there will probably be more to be reconciled in the future).
Monday, March 16, 2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
Follow-through and perfectionism
When one makes a goal, one should do their best to achieve said goal.
There's this idea of follow-through with this. A goal is a projection and in some ways, a hope.
"I will run a marathon."
"I will lose weight."
"I will stop playing Tetris Battle once the energy bar runs out."
To follow through with what one sets out to do (or hopes to accomplish) is probably the most important part of goal setting (the most obvious, yet the least acknowledged, perhaps?).
This is where I fall apart. I'm so good at setting goals and setting up plans to achieve said goals, and then I don't follow through.
I'm bad at following up with people too.
"Did you remember to...?"
"Are you going to...?"
"I'll call you back when I get home." (and then I don't)
I usually attribute it to distractions and forgetfulness and I wonder if there's something else to it. Perhaps I can fall back on the ol' excuse of my self-diagnosed mild ADHD.
Perhaps it has something to do with being a perfectionist.
The steps I set out to do have not perfectly manifested in the way that was planned and thus, I cannot move on to the final step of the process and follow through with/achieve the goal I set out to do.
I wonder if being a discouraged perfectionist (term taken from Kevin Lemans' The Birth Order Book, which I found to be an interesting read) has anything to do with it.
그냥 대충하고 넘어가 (Just half-ass it and get it done and over it) becomes a mantra for me when I don't have time but it grates against my standards for the quality of work I hold myself to.
There's never enough time in the world to do all the things we want.
그냥 대충하고 넘어갈까?
(Should I just half-ass it and get it done and over with?)
There's this idea of follow-through with this. A goal is a projection and in some ways, a hope.
"I will run a marathon."
"I will lose weight."
"I will stop playing Tetris Battle once the energy bar runs out."
To follow through with what one sets out to do (or hopes to accomplish) is probably the most important part of goal setting (the most obvious, yet the least acknowledged, perhaps?).
This is where I fall apart. I'm so good at setting goals and setting up plans to achieve said goals, and then I don't follow through.
I'm bad at following up with people too.
"Did you remember to...?"
"Are you going to...?"
"I'll call you back when I get home." (and then I don't)
I usually attribute it to distractions and forgetfulness and I wonder if there's something else to it. Perhaps I can fall back on the ol' excuse of my self-diagnosed mild ADHD.
Perhaps it has something to do with being a perfectionist.
The steps I set out to do have not perfectly manifested in the way that was planned and thus, I cannot move on to the final step of the process and follow through with/achieve the goal I set out to do.
I wonder if being a discouraged perfectionist (term taken from Kevin Lemans' The Birth Order Book, which I found to be an interesting read) has anything to do with it.
그냥 대충하고 넘어가 (Just half-ass it and get it done and over it) becomes a mantra for me when I don't have time but it grates against my standards for the quality of work I hold myself to.
There's never enough time in the world to do all the things we want.
그냥 대충하고 넘어갈까?
(Should I just half-ass it and get it done and over with?)
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Language and Culture
Nebulous concepts that embody so much.
Nebulous because they defy simple definition. I mean there's always going to be the dictionary definition, but what language, culture, and a host of other ideas embody is hard to pin down because it is constantly changing. There are rules but language and culture are creative. There can be a ripple in the rules that permanently change the thing.
I see concepts (ideas?) such as language and culture as clay or something a little more elastic where a nudge may cause a ripple, but a strong enough force (whether one big force or tiny and repetitive force in one location) changes the shape of the thing. Slang enters the realm of dictionary language and is eventually absorbed into the "norm."
These things are three-dimensional and change according to circumstance. It's fascinating.
Nebulous because they defy simple definition. I mean there's always going to be the dictionary definition, but what language, culture, and a host of other ideas embody is hard to pin down because it is constantly changing. There are rules but language and culture are creative. There can be a ripple in the rules that permanently change the thing.
I see concepts (ideas?) such as language and culture as clay or something a little more elastic where a nudge may cause a ripple, but a strong enough force (whether one big force or tiny and repetitive force in one location) changes the shape of the thing. Slang enters the realm of dictionary language and is eventually absorbed into the "norm."
These things are three-dimensional and change according to circumstance. It's fascinating.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Poetry is evocative
So many thoughts roaming around in my head!
There are too many thought projects to synthesize into coherency.. I shall list a few to at least get something down.
1. The perception of people's states as stationary or robust (is that the word?) and how it affects another person's attitude toward them.
2. Life, attitudes, and our surroundings is all about synthesis.
3. Cooking, for me, does not end with a "finished dish." Like reading, I am in constant dialogue with my cooking.
4. The illusion in certainty.
5. Poetry's ability to evoke emotion with its outward simplicity and underlying complexity. (And I do love wordplay).
Bah, I'll never get through them all.
Been motivated now that I'm pretty much over my cold (there's a lingering cough, as if to remind me of my weakened state).
Poetry makes me poetic. Rather, it makes me enjoy wordplay.
Getting back into writing, at least fiction. Now to turn that energy towards academic writing! It really is like an imposing wall, just looming over me in this very domineering and impregnable fashion.
Perhaps it is all in my head. I feel like my thoughts are bouncing in 100 different directions. We shall see where this leads us (because each of my thoughts has become a person, turning me, into a collective we).
There are too many thought projects to synthesize into coherency.. I shall list a few to at least get something down.
1. The perception of people's states as stationary or robust (is that the word?) and how it affects another person's attitude toward them.
2. Life, attitudes, and our surroundings is all about synthesis.
3. Cooking, for me, does not end with a "finished dish." Like reading, I am in constant dialogue with my cooking.
4. The illusion in certainty.
5. Poetry's ability to evoke emotion with its outward simplicity and underlying complexity. (And I do love wordplay).
Bah, I'll never get through them all.
Been motivated now that I'm pretty much over my cold (there's a lingering cough, as if to remind me of my weakened state).
Poetry makes me poetic. Rather, it makes me enjoy wordplay.
Getting back into writing, at least fiction. Now to turn that energy towards academic writing! It really is like an imposing wall, just looming over me in this very domineering and impregnable fashion.
Perhaps it is all in my head. I feel like my thoughts are bouncing in 100 different directions. We shall see where this leads us (because each of my thoughts has become a person, turning me, into a collective we).
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
What if it's not enough?
Lately, I feel like the stakes in life have gotten higher. The mistakes I make, the things I do or don't do down to even the events I attend or groups I choose to take part in all seem to make a mark on my future.
One can chalk it up to just stress and age and perhaps a number of other factors, which may or may not be true and beyond that, I think my conclusion is this:
Whatever happens will happen. I just need to do what I've always been doing. So what if the window of opportunity is getting smaller? Or that bigger life decisions are coming up? In the end, I feel like I've always approached life in a manner where I'll end up where I need to be, when I need to and I don't see why that should change now. By putting more pressure on myself, I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I just need to be good at what I love and keep loving the people in my life to the best of my ability. There's nothing else I can do, really.
I don't know why I forgot that recently.
And now comes the hard part. Living this philosophy.
One can chalk it up to just stress and age and perhaps a number of other factors, which may or may not be true and beyond that, I think my conclusion is this:
Whatever happens will happen. I just need to do what I've always been doing. So what if the window of opportunity is getting smaller? Or that bigger life decisions are coming up? In the end, I feel like I've always approached life in a manner where I'll end up where I need to be, when I need to and I don't see why that should change now. By putting more pressure on myself, I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I just need to be good at what I love and keep loving the people in my life to the best of my ability. There's nothing else I can do, really.
I don't know why I forgot that recently.
And now comes the hard part. Living this philosophy.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Good parenting is...
when your children acknowledge that you've done a good job.
For obvious reasons, this statement has flaws but more and more I realize that I've been blessed with awesome parents. By no means were they perfect nor have they become any closer to it now because they're older (and somehow, we associate age and experience with wisdom...). However, the decisions they made, the type of people they were, they type of people they have become, the experiences they chose to put us kids through (or perhaps there was less choosing and more falling into though..), and the way they raised us helped to form us as people. I see resonances of their philosophies in the way I live my life and I can say that I've picked up some good things from them. I say that my parents did a good job, despite (most likely) being clueless, because I knew I was loved, I knew they were trying, and I knew they listened.
One thing that I've noticed with parents is that children often think their parents can't/don't change but perhaps it has to do with the child's approach to them. The parent-child relationship is always evolving (quite obviously because children grow up and parents age) and sometimes one side or the other doesn't want to or can't seem to acknowledge the change/growth and friction forms, the relationship never grows, or it becomes toxic. I sometimes feel like an anomaly when I realize that my parents treat me like an adult amidst all the people who complain that their parents don't listen or don't acknowledge that they are adults too. So I feel lucky. But I do think that there are a lot of kids whose relationships with their parents have evolved in a good way - perhaps I only hear the complaints because one never does seem to talk about how awesome things are with one's parents (or significant others or friends or anyone of significance, really... the talking usually is about the bad, whether it is to see if there is any advice that can be given or simply to vent.. hm.. I smell another blog post with this one...).
At any rate, I am not a perfect being nor do I claim to be one and there are flaws in all things human. However, I'm glad that I had the parents I did and I'm thankful for what they did for me, especially for instilling me with the values that they have.
Aww, it's too early for either of the parent's day, but I'm just glad they exist. :) I can only hope that I become like them.
I love you, Mom and Dad.
For obvious reasons, this statement has flaws but more and more I realize that I've been blessed with awesome parents. By no means were they perfect nor have they become any closer to it now because they're older (and somehow, we associate age and experience with wisdom...). However, the decisions they made, the type of people they were, they type of people they have become, the experiences they chose to put us kids through (or perhaps there was less choosing and more falling into though..), and the way they raised us helped to form us as people. I see resonances of their philosophies in the way I live my life and I can say that I've picked up some good things from them. I say that my parents did a good job, despite (most likely) being clueless, because I knew I was loved, I knew they were trying, and I knew they listened.
One thing that I've noticed with parents is that children often think their parents can't/don't change but perhaps it has to do with the child's approach to them. The parent-child relationship is always evolving (quite obviously because children grow up and parents age) and sometimes one side or the other doesn't want to or can't seem to acknowledge the change/growth and friction forms, the relationship never grows, or it becomes toxic. I sometimes feel like an anomaly when I realize that my parents treat me like an adult amidst all the people who complain that their parents don't listen or don't acknowledge that they are adults too. So I feel lucky. But I do think that there are a lot of kids whose relationships with their parents have evolved in a good way - perhaps I only hear the complaints because one never does seem to talk about how awesome things are with one's parents (or significant others or friends or anyone of significance, really... the talking usually is about the bad, whether it is to see if there is any advice that can be given or simply to vent.. hm.. I smell another blog post with this one...).
At any rate, I am not a perfect being nor do I claim to be one and there are flaws in all things human. However, I'm glad that I had the parents I did and I'm thankful for what they did for me, especially for instilling me with the values that they have.
Aww, it's too early for either of the parent's day, but I'm just glad they exist. :) I can only hope that I become like them.
I love you, Mom and Dad.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Contrary
Been feeling off all day. My entire existence annoyed me today.
Depressed? Perhaps.
Bad mood? Oh, for sure. And because I was in a bad mood, I didn't want to do anything, which put me in a worse mood because I was being unproductive.
Got some stuff done, talked to the bf (love that he makes me laugh :)), and felt marginally better.
Eh, perhaps sleep will help.
I feel like being dramatic and it annoys me. I'm being meta-dramatic now. Ugh.
Tomorrow will be a better day. Sleep cures all, imo.
Depressed? Perhaps.
Bad mood? Oh, for sure. And because I was in a bad mood, I didn't want to do anything, which put me in a worse mood because I was being unproductive.
Got some stuff done, talked to the bf (love that he makes me laugh :)), and felt marginally better.
Eh, perhaps sleep will help.
I feel like being dramatic and it annoys me. I'm being meta-dramatic now. Ugh.
Tomorrow will be a better day. Sleep cures all, imo.
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