Blog on Xanga

Just in case anyone ever comes across this page, I've moved my blog over to xanga. It is www.xanga.com/travelingmercy

Waste, in all its many forms

I hate waste. In fact, if I had to pick one of my biggest pet peaves, I think that waste would be a major contender. One reason why it ranks so highly is because it encompases so many different problems.

Probably our earliest memory of waste comes from our mothers guilting us with "Don't you know there are starving children in ______(fill in any third world country) who would be glad to eat those peas. Don't you waste that food." I suspect, however, that the older generations really may have been more motivated by haunting fears of scarcity and deprivation embedded from growing up in the Depression or by being raised by the children of the Depression.

But food is not the only commodity that is wasted. Money, ability, time, and intellectual energy are several other things that quickly come to mind. Wasting money is an act in which practically everyone who has money engages. I believe that if we could ever grasp two ideas we could stimy the massive hemmoraging of our wallets. First, we could focus on how much can we live without rather than focusing on how much more we want, how much we can spend based on our income, and how much more we need to keep up with the proverbial "Joneses." Second, if the plight of our worldwide brothers and sisters really ever griped our hearts as much as it garnered our mothers' attentions at meal times, we would spend less in order to share more.

Ability is wasted often from fear of failure. It is easier not to try than to be a failure. In fact, it is just easier not to try because we are lazy. It is even easier not to try because we are afraid of success. With success comes responsibility and more work. Even here is the combination of fear, fear of success, and laziness, not wanting more work. Beware of being found competent for your only reward may be more labor!

Perhaps the best example of waste is the classic waste of time. How often have we left a movie or meeting only to long that those hours be restored to us? I have left many a class feeling that I was dumber than when I walked in the door. These classes are the epitome of wasted time and mental energy, and it was because of one of them that I first began this blog. I fear, however, that instead of regaining any of the precious commodities lost I only have wasted more in writing this blog.

family 

The Art of Teaching

The art of teaching is to simplify the complicated and to complicate the seemingly simple.

The Irony of Wealth

It seems ironic that the great wealth of our nation has served as a means by which our relationships have become impoverished. We have bought into the notion that we are sufficient in and of ourselves. With enough money everything can be brought into our homes. We need never leave our safe places of refuge and so come in contact with others or have any sort of meaningful exchange with them. Why go out if everything can come to you? Why join together with others if you can achieve what you want on your own?

When one is poor, group collaboration becomes a necessity, a matter of survival. For example, living alone is not an option because of the exorbitant amounts charged for rent and utility bills. These costs must be defrayed by sharing them with others. Living together forces interaction and creates new relationships or perpetuates old ones. Having to accommodate the needs and adjust to the idiosyncrasies of another also keeps one from becoming too self absorbed and isolationistic. Those who are wealthier often live by themselves, thus further shutting themselves off from community. Wealth is not always a blessing, especially when it comes to teaching interdependence and reliance on others--two good lessons necessary for community.