Psalm 107:27-28

I don’t usually get very religious on this blog but it’s another side to me that gets me through a few rough patches. I’ve been home sick for almost a week now and I have had a lot of time to think (uh-oh). Earlier I felt a little down about my situation and I threw myself to sleep. I woke up to find this email from a guy I met at church a very long time ago. It’s a poem “Wit’s End Corner.” I decided to look it up to see if there was a book (and there is one on Alzheimer's) of the same name and I found this link – it’s the same poem used as the ending of the sermon. It had some supplementary words of encouragement I thought I would share with you as all.

In Psalm 107 there is a wonderful verse, "At their wit's end they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out ..." Based on that verse a wonderful poem has been written:

Are you standing at Wit's End Corner,
Christian, with troubled brow?
Are you thinking of what is before you
And all you are bearing now?
Does all the world seem against you
And you in the battle alone?
Remember -- at Wit's End Corner
Is just where God's power is shown.

Are you standing at Wit's End Corner,
Your work before you spread
All lying begun, unfinished
And pressing on heart and head
Longing for strength to do it,
Stretching out trembling hands?
Remember -- at Wit's End Corner
The Burden-Bearer stands.

Are you standing at Wit's End Corner?
Then you're just in the very spot
To learn the wondrous resources
Of Him who faileth not;
No doubt to a brighter pathway
Your footsteps will soon be moved
But only at Wit's End Corner
Is the "God who is able" proved.

It is at Wit's End Corner, driven by the Spirit into the place where the pressure is so great that we have no other recourse but to cry out to God for help, that at last we begin to learn. It breaks upon our dull, slow minds that this help is not something intended for emergency situations only. This dependence on him is the principle upon which God expects us to meet every circumstance. It is thus we enter into rest.

Have you ever felt like you’ve reached to your wit’s end? I have hit it a few times. And now in retrospect, what felt so overwhelming? Somehow, things seem to work out huh? So even if you’re not religious, just remember that after you’ve reached wit’s end, there’s still tomorrow.

Do not get discouraged; it may be the last key in the bunch that opens the door.

--Stansifer

Allegory of the Cave

I love Philosophy. One of my favourite Greek philosophers is Plato. When I saw this Garfield strip I thought of his work in the “Allegory of the Cave.”

For my readers who aren’t familiar with the account, it tells of a situation where prisoners are held in a cave. They are bound and placed to sit only with their backs turned to the opening of the cavern. Their view is limited to the back wall and the only thing they can see are silhouettes of objects that pass in front of the opening where the faint light casts a shadow.

One of the prisoners escapes and decides to venture out in to the unknown. Once stepping through the entrance, he is blinded by the intensity of the light as his eyes have grown accustomed to the dimly lit environment. After his eyes have adjusted, he sees that there is a whole new world outside the cave – objects have more depth to them and they are in colour.

He decides to return to share his new experience with the others who are still bound. After the exposure to outside, he has difficulty seeing anything inside in the darkness, wanting more light. He describes all the wonderful things he has seen but they cannot relate. In fact, they start to wonder if he isn’t crazy and how leaving has damaged his sight. The prisoners are resolute about not being freed because they are comfortable with how things are.

I can relate to the freed prisoner. Ever feel like no one’s on your wavelength? Like you’re seeing things in a different dimension from everyone else? And when you give your account the reaction you get is like wide-eyed wonder, “O k a y t h e n …?” You’re always misunderstood?

Yeh… it sure does suck. But alas it’s not going to let me change who I am. A simple example is how some people can’t relate when I say that a shade of green has more yellow in it. Blue is blue. Yellow is yellow. Right? How you see some other colour in a colour?

I’m sensitive. Sometimes overly so and it’s because of how I think. I’ve been told many times that I “think too much” and people get in trouble when I think. Hmmm… Sorry? I don’t want to live my life with limited scope and not be able to have a deeper understanding of everything I’m interested in. And I don’t mean to be condescending either. I’m just different.

Right now I am just trying to make myself comfortable in the patch of weeds. Why can’t we all accept that the one thing we all have in common is that we’re different?

When life throws you lemons...

'The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change, and the REALIST adjusts his sails.'

-- Author unknown

People Kill People

At the risk of sounding cliché, do you ever feel lonely when you’re in a crowded room? Or how about no one’s tuned in to your wavelength? Maybe even like your life is like an oxymoron – sad and can’t find happiness; lonely yet you stay alone; misunderstood but continue to build that wall around yourself; being a social butterfly yet still an anthropophobe?

Somehow I thought that these emotions only plagued teenagers when their hormones are making them crazy. As an adult with the same experience, people start thinking there is a problem at hand and psychologists have monopolised on the opportunity and branded these “conditions” with all sorts of fancy names and charge you the big bucks to sit and listen.

You know how they say “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people,” it’s so true. Our mental stability hinges on the survival of the fittest concept. Think of this – Sam rapes Ann and she is traumatised for life – discovers she got pregnant as a result of the incident, becomes depressed and commits suicide. Sam was subjected to watching his own mother – Kate, and sister – Mary, beaten and raped by his father – Tim, when he was a child. Kate died as a result of the domestic violence, Tim was imprisoned for first-degree murder, and Sam and Mary sister grew up in a foster home as two of twelve children. Hereinafter Mary grows up, suffers from munchausen - making herself sick by taking medicine, in order to get the affection she lacked as a child, overdoses and dies alone in her apartment and is undiscovered for days.

Sounds like something out of a TV show but it’s real. It’s life. It’s how we are all victims of our own demise called life. The weak among us break like Sam and Mary. The outcome for some is rehabilitation by people who are given incentive to care rather than the sincerity that it takes. Others are just overlooked. Some even turn to religion to feel accepted. There you’re with a group of people who are taught to be hypocrites to each other, and even when that fails, to believe that there is this invisible being that loves you regardless. The vicious cycle continues.

Bottom line is that human beings are inherently selfish. We don’t like to admit the fact that underneath the developed speech and the “forward” thinking that therein still beats the heart of a vicious animal. If we can’t rise above the cannibalistic tendencies, no wonder our environment and other species suffer at our hands.

I’ve really come to hate the way people are. And I am extremely tired of turning the other cheek.

Diet Questions Answered

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

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Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain?
Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

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Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

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Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

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Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

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Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening!!!.... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

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Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

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Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO! Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

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Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

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Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
And remember:
'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO! What a Ride'

AND...

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Wishlist

I have been bitten by the AutoBug again. I've been fighting the urge to play with my car and so for almost two years I have done nothing more than drive it and service it. I'm scared to start messing with it because I don't want bad karma to follow me - oh but wait - that's when you have sex in your car, nevermind. LOL But still... I would like to do some little projects on it. Here is my wish list and I will update it as this week goes on:

1. Skunk2 Catback Exhaust
2. Tein S-tech Lowering Springs