End of the Month Update: January

So it’s the last Monday of the month, and I’ve decided that this will mean an update with my progress on my New Years Resolutions.

First on the subject of my weight and fitness, I started off well, having joined Fitocracy (more on this later), and had been on the right track until my knee suddenly swelled up to twice its size. I honestly have no idea what I did, but after several days of caring for it (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), and careful use of anti inflammatories, I’m ready to continue my workouts. I’d also started counting my calories a few months back, which seemed to be working well when I was doing it. I took the month of December off, and that turned into January as well, but I intend to return to this method as of February first. As of this date, I’m 305 lbs, down from 328 when I started, and I’m going to keep a monthly log.

Second, my house is in order, at least for the most part. I’m actually happy with most of it. I have a bedroom office which is almost usable, for lack of a chair. My kitchen, dining room, and living room are serviceably comfortable. My basement has finally become a place to entertain. The only thing marring my home now is a stack of boxes in one corner of the basement, and I fully intend to have those taken care of before February first.

Third, as to my skills, I realize that this is a difficult one to track, but I’m happy to say that at least one very important skill has had a lot of work. My confidence in my abilities has grown, and I’ll be putting some of them to the test tonight to gauge what else needs to be worked on next.

Fourth, my blog has been updated weekly, on Mondays, and I’m working on a buffer so that I can have a post ready to go on Sunday evening, but that might take a bit of time.

Fifth, my business. I know this is tied in closely with my third resolution, and also won’t be resolved until the end of the year, but I have made progress. Next month I may have something more to say about this one.

Now, a nod to the first post of the month. I realize that I didn’t comment after the fact, but I did manage to get everything accomplished. The desk is moved and now serves as an entertainment centre in the basement. The room is tidy, and I’ve been blogging regularly.

All in all, things are looking good, and I’m feeling good about them. I hope that you all have had as much success with your resolutions, but even if you’re off to a rocky start, please don’t give up! Self improvement is possible, it just takes hard work!

Thanks for reading,


-Step.

Christianity and Judgement

Too many Christians do the thing which Christians are forbidden from doing. Too many of us judge others. In the world we live in, sometimes judging others is unavoidable. Some of us (those in authority) have a responsibility to judge, and judge fairly, the actions of those under their influence. Parents and teachers judge the actions of children. Employers judge the actions of their workers, and Judges must judge the actions of defendants in trials, but the key here is that all of these people are judging the actions, not the person. As soon as you start judging a person, you lose your firm footing. We don’t know what goes on in a person’s head, and we can’t know everything which led to an action, so all we can judge is the action itself. Some loud Christians seem to have forgotten Matthew 7:1.

There seems to be no end of small minded Christians telling the world that it should be ashamed of itself.

I agree with them, but we ought to start with ourselves. Matthew 7:4-5 tells you that you shouldn’t be worrying about others until you have your own shit straight, and if that isn’t a good enough reason, then Matthew 7:6 goes on to the flip side of why you shouldn’t waste your time preaching to people who don’t want to hear it!

We Christians have a duty to be the light of the world. That doesn't mean we should go around setting dry  brush ablaze. We have a duty to be the salt of the earth, which is quite the opposite of salting the earth, something which loud Christians don’t seem to get. We are meant to preserve, to repair, to help. All that judging others gets you is fear, anger, and resentment. It’s not only counter productive, it’s stupid!

Love your brothers, no matter what! Love him even if he sins. Feel his pain as if it were your own. That’s the way to start guiding people, not by yelling at them about what you think they’ve done wrong today. Oh, and don’t bother trying to convince me that you love someone if you’re holding up a sign that says “God Hates...”


 God doesn't hate, God loves. Period.

Trying to love (in this case, feel compassion toward) everyone is a good thing to do, regardless of your personal religion or lack thereof. People who try to see the good in others are generally happier than people who focus on the bad. I like to say that it’s better to assume ignorance than malice. An earnest desire to think the best you can about everyone around you and their intentions will keep you from being bitter, and will probably improve your interactions with other people.

Of course if you find that the nicest thing you can think about a particular person is that they’re rather a fool, or unaware of the world around them, then you may want to have a conversation with them. Far from passing judgement or spouting vitriol, however, a conversation with someone for whom you care, about how they can better themselves is a loving endeavour.

I guess that’s the key. We aren’t going to change the world by shouting at it and holding up signs. We’re going to change the world by having quiet conversations with people who will listen. I hope someone out there is listening.

Thanks for reading,


-Step.

Wants vs. Needs

It is not uncommon to hear the words “I need”. Many times I’ve been in the middle of a conversation, making a plan, or listing things I’d like to do, and someone comes out with some variation of the phrase “We want much, but we need very little.” The fact that people continually make this statement is, I feel, a problem. One which has plagued the English language for far too long. My reply to them at this point is usually something along the lines of “If you want me to cook you this omelette, then I’m going to need a damn frying pan.”

A want is a goal, a desire, or an objective to be reached, whereas a need is something which is required to complete a task, or reach an objective. I want to eat an omelette, so I need eggs. I want to have a new phone, so I need the money to buy it. I want to keep on living, so I need food, water, and oxygen. If I want to live comfortably, then I also need shelter from the elements, and maybe the occasional conversation with a close friend.

The whole idea of limiting the word need to our basic necessities of life is not an issue of grammar, but of poetry. Someone could say in a song “I need you like I need to breathe”, and they are making a poetic simile in which the beloved takes on the characteristics of a basic necessity. From there someone may say “I don’t just want you, I need you!”. This is the essence of the problem. Any time you add just or only to a sentence, you’re devaluing something, usually in comparison to something else. Think of the phrase “He’s only a lad”, or “It’s just a scratch”.

Wants have become devalued for the sake of needs, and it’s a misuse of the language. Wants supersede needs, not the other way around. In order to need something, you have to have a goal and requirements to be met along the way. Don’t let yourself think that necessities of life are any different. Life, in this case, is a want. You have to want to live in order to need food, water, and air. It is true that your body will go on wanting these things, even when your mind doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean you can’t decide to go without. People who want death can, and sometimes do, commit suicide, God rest their souls. Life is the absolute want. Without wanting that, you can’t need anything.

Let me put this another way. People have been trained to think that want and need are different degrees of the same thing. They have been taught that a need is primal, and a want is a luxury. I’m letting you know that these two words mean completely different things. A want is the prime thing, the goal, the big shiny treasure at the end. A need is only something which is required to reach the treasure, like finding the hidden switch, the key to the vault, or the magical mcguffin.

I want an omelette, so I need eggs.
I want a heart container, so I need to collect the pieces.
If I want to succeed at this whole blog thing, then I need to update regularly.

So far, so good.

Thanks for reading,


-Step.

The Chaos I live in.

I'm beginning to take into account how my atmosphere affects my state of mind. I hadn't intended to write another personal life update right on the heels of the last, but here it is. The truth is, I've been procrastinating just as badly as ever this past week. There were plenty of other things I needed to do first, but I also spent lots of time on things which didn't need to be done.

When, at long last, I sat down to write, I found myself blocked, were as if I just went to do other things, my mind would form the ideas freely. I think that the chaos around my desk is causing me problems, and this will be fixed post haste, but in the mean time, my dear readers must survive with a quick, personal update. I decided that this was a preferable embarrassment to not having anything up on time, and ruining one resolution before I could even get going.

I am therefor listing the things which I must accomplish before next Monday, in hopes to motivate myself.

1. Write a blog post.
2. Edit that post to a publishable quality.
3. Move my desk to a new location.
4. Make certain that the desk itself and the room around it are tidy. (This will probably happen first)

Once these four things are complete, I will hopefully be in a much better state to carry on.

For anyone who is interested in writing, I should mention that this is the only entry which has not undergone any editing. I’m putting this up raw.

Thanks for reading,


-Step.