Are We Really Free?

I recently had an assignment in my philosophy class to answer the question of free-will. I was a little iffy when it came to responding because; 1. I wasn't sure exactly what I believed about it and 2. I knew I could start some pretty steamy debates among fellow classmates. That being said, I posted what I believed regardless of the controversy it may have caused, and this is what I came to conclude:

IF free-will was non-existent people would not have as many religious beliefs. I believe in a God who is based on the idea of free-will. Without free-will we couldn't chose to be with God or a god. Aside from what you believe; being with God will make you more free. A lot of people say religion will just bind you down to more rules and laws, but I disagree. The concept of being with God is so that you can be "free" from all of the other binds in life that could take you down the path of not being free. This may include; drugs, alcohol, sex-addiction, etc...I am not saying that one can't get out of those things once they are submerged, but I am saying it is more difficult to, if say, you had a belief in something much higher than you that will help you stay free from those things.

With that being said, because this concept of God is to "set one free" in a sense, you have the choice to do ANYTHING you want. Being a believer, doesn't make you better and doesn't make your wide variety of decisions in your life different, it just helps you distiguish bad from good and be free of going down a path that could take your free-will from you in a heart beat.

Without the Bad; the Good Disappears

I read and shared a quote recently that said, 'sometimes it takes a  good fall to know where you really stand.' I couldn't agree with this more.

I guess you can say that recently I 'fell' but through the midst of the pain, tears and hurt I have learned a lot about myself. 

Sometimes I think people miss the point and don't understand why we experience suffering and heartache, but if we never experienced the hurt we wouldn't appreciate the good. Without the bad, the good disappears. 

To an extent, falling is a good thing. It means that you stood for something at one point and you believed in it. I'd rather stand for something than nothing at all because if I didn't then I would never fall to realize what I SHOULD stand for. 

The Giving Tree

Relationships. We all have them. Whether they are with a spouse, friend, family member or pet; they are inevitable. 

But how do relationships work? What keeps them alive? There have been thousands of studies done to answer this question because so many relationships fail. Some say just love each other, the rest will fall into place. Others encourage communication and honesty. All of these have a good point, but I think that relationships are a lot more complicated than that.

When I think of a relationship, I imagine a tree. Starting out, it is planted by commonalities and similar ways of thinking. As it grows, it is watered by time and care. Not a shallow type of care, but a much deeper care that allows the roots to grow stronger. This care turns into love. Love, in turn, translates to communication, honesty, loyalty, and trust. This looks like a more developed tree with branches and a strong trunk. Over time, there will be storms, overwatering, and maybe a couple broken branches. But through all of this chaos a general consensus of nurturing and learning from these trials this tree will grow stronger and taller. Eventually, the tree should blossom beautiful flowers and these can be shared with others. Passing on what you have learned from your trials and storms will, in turn, lead to more trees being planted and that is a beautiful thing.

Don't be afraid to let your tree to get knocked around a little bit. That's a good thing but allowing it to fall over is probably the worst mistake you can make when those relationships were worth it from the beginning.

When it Rains; It Pours

Imagine a beach. You are on this beach. Basking in it's vast beauty and soaking the sun into your tanish-pink skin. All around you are beautiful palm trees and there is sand between your toes. You can hear the rush of the water smacking against the sand as the tide comes in, then suddenly; you hear a blood curdling scream. A scream that you can't describe to others, but try to in the most vivid way possible. You jump up from this oasis and you see a figure, in the water, struggling to stay afloat. You run towards the figure in hopes to save it, but as you keep running, it seems as though you aren't getting any closer---the figure continues to shrill and you are starting to feel hopeless and then you realize that what you are trying to save is a mirror image of yourself. This utopia of perfection is merely an idealistic image you created in your mind to erase all of the chaos in your own life.

I don't know who can relate to this, but I'm sure we all have an escape of some sort. I like to call these our sanctuaries. There are days where you just want to crawl up in a ball, fall asleep and never wake up, but instead; you grab that book that changed your outlook on life or you go on a walk on your favorite trail and nestle yourself in that special spot on the trail where no one can see you. We all have them. Whether they are the things I described above or your family, faith, friends or church. Our sanctuaries are our safe havens. The things we turn to when we are drowning in the realities of life. If you don't have a sanctuary, you should get one. They will be your savior when everything around you is crashing down like a waterfall. 

It seems as though whenever one thing goes wrong, it doesn't end there. The one wrong thing multiplies into a bigger mess then you can handle. Instead of giving up hope and letting the overwhelmingly powerful wave of failure drag you under; grab the steering wheel of your ship and learn how to sail through the storms of life.  Don't lose touch of reality, if everything is crashing down; sail on harder, push yourself, pray, ask for help, swallow your pride and hold on tightly because storms want to win, but they won't if you face them head on and not only dabble in the water, but get completely drenched.

Because When It Rains; It Pours and it's probably a good idea that you bring your Ship :)

What to expect when your expecting

Spring break is one of those things that people look forward to especially as a young adult. Whether its going home to see family, going to Florida with friends or going to visit old friends.
My spring break twenty 13 consisted of me going back to the college I went to y freshman and sophomore year. I was so excited, anticipated it to be amazing to see old friends and even teared up when I got the ticket.
As the days drew near I kept thinking about all the people I was going to surprise, catch up with and have fun with.
Little did I know that my trip was going to turn out differently then I thought.
The trip taught me about the people who really do care about me, about the people who don't and that I was just expecting more then I should have.
It's crazy how a little bit of hope can be crushed by one judgmental look, a mean comment or facing your worst enemy. I am disappointed in myself because I expected too much and thought highly enough about myself that people who I thought were my friends would miss me, but through it all, I am so thankful for the friends who have put up with me through thick and thin. Their love will surpass all of those judgmental people or those who I thought were my friends.
Overall, spring break was a learning experience. I learned a lot and I don't regret it one bit.

A Box of Donuts

Today was my last day working with a boy I have been taking care of for the last four months who has a mental disability. Sure, the job is rewarding and I love the boy immensely but at times it can be exhausting to repetitively tell someone to put their clothes on (just saying). The thing I love the most is that this boy has pushed me to my limits with patience.

Patience. That word that a lot of us struggle with living up to in definition. It's not a simple concept and it definitely is something that, at times, I'm not patient enough to deal with. But what does patience really look like? Is patience being able to not yell in a tight situation? Or is patience being able to stand in a line for 2 hours to get a dozen donuts?

I think patience is being content with any given situation you are in, whether it be taking care of a boy with Aspergers, standing in line at the grocery store or waiting for the right person to come along in your life. Being patient requires a lot of patience which is an incredibly odd concept, but it's true. Patience is the ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay (As defined in the dictionary).

Ultimately, patience goes a long way, patience takes you places you've never been before, such as; a sense of peace within yourself, a better bond with other homo-sapiens, and maybe even, a box of a dozen donuts ;)

Perfect Love

You know? Being an open follower of Christ is a scary thing. Especially in the day and age we are in right now, openly following Christ and not being afraid to do it is not cookie cutter perfect or as easy as saying the ABC's. Most of the time on Facebook I read how great God is or a blessing He has showered us with (myself included) which is true,  but here's the thing, being a Christian is and can be scary. As I reflect on this past year, I look at the fear I have had with being open about my faith and ACTUALLY being open about it. Not this 'I have faith' and 'God bless America' stuff. Anyone can say those things now a days, but that doesn't deem anyone a true follower of Christ. 

So what's the solution? Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate solution. He came down to this earth and poured out His PERFECT love to every individual person on this planet and that includes the terrorists, the young adult that killed 20 children, and you. If we as followers of Christ decide to delve ourselves into Christ's PERFECT love, it will cast that fear away. (1 John 4:18) 

One of my goals is to not be afraid of WHAT I believe, WHO I believe and WHY I believe it :)