Thinking

Sometimes I wonder if it drives y'all crazy that I put so many You Tube videos on my blog. And then I remember. This is my blog. Then I experience a surge of power. And then I laugh at myself for trying to be funny when everybody else is looking at the computer screen with a "huh?" expression on their face. Then I erase this paragraph and move on with my post. But today I think I'll leave it. Surely one of you will chuckle with me. [chirp, chirp]

Okay, so here's the You Tube video. (And yes, you will have to watch it in order to fully appreciate my next remarks.)



The part that particularly struck me started about second 50, although the beginning in interesting enough. By the way, this is Richard Feynman, a physicist.

When it comes to counting and talking or reading, I'm like Feynman, I think. I can count and read at the same time, but not talk. I notice this on the phone. I can multi-task with a lot of things, but if I try to do something similar, I trip all over myself and can't talk and therefore sound like a bit of an idiot. :) Whatever...

Anyway, it has often struck me that even when we're all speaking English, we can't always be speaking the same language. For example, one day I was sitting in Relief Society and the teacher asked us to read a certain paragraph, answer a question and then talk it over in a small group. Well, we read the paragraph and thought of our answers and then began to discuss. The answer seemed very obvious to me. It was practically stated exactly as the question was asked in that particular paragraph. That led me to a particular train of thought and I learned something quite profound. As the women in my group began to discuss their thoughts about our paragraph and question, my first thought was that somehow I had read the wrong paragraph and thought about the wrong question. I quickly realized that no, we really had been looking at the same words, but somehow what was completely obvious to me was totally missed by everyone else and it seemed like other people were pulling their answers out of thin air. Incredible.

Another time, we were discussing something of a political nature with a friend who has different views from ours. He asked a question about one of our views. We gave a clear, concise answer. He accused us of changing the subject. We restated his question and matched our answer exactly to his question. He again accused us of changing the subject. I thought him impossibly dense. Hm...

I have many times considered whether we even see things the same way. For example, my husband and I have a vastly different opinion of beauty. Are we seeing the same things? Do colors look the same to you as they do to me? Do shapes look the same way? What about depth perception? How much of this has to do with the way our eyes function? Brains? Conditioning? Do we hear things the same way? Feel things the same way? People make fun of the way I can't stand touching flour or sand. But do you feel the same way when you walk across the beach? Taste the same orange juice I do?

I am now thinking to myself, "I wonder how clear this post is coming across. It all makes sense to me. Each thought logically leads to the next." Are any of you thinking, "Not only does this girl ramble, she's totally incomprehensible, too!"? But surely you have to admit this is such an interesting thought! No wonder we're counseled to not judge another before we've walked a mile in their shoes. Maybe it's that we shouldn't judge another before we've seen/felt/heard... like they do. And since that seems to be impossible, at least for now, that's why we really shouldn't judge?

Life

My aunt told me about MLIA.com for the first time last week. That's My Life is Average to those of you like me who are not in the know. I just got on the for the first time and found this story:

"Today in my Calculus class, someone asked the question "Are we ever going to use this in real life?" My teacher turned around and said "Believe it or not, this is real life. This moment is actually happening, right now" and then continued his lesson. MLIA."

I loved this. How many times do we ask, "What does this have to do with real life?" And this answer is perfect. This IS real life. Welcome to reality.

Some thoughts

This will be a bit of a long post, but I ask you to forgive my bramblings. (And please remember if this sounds one-sided that my feelings are not one-sided. I couldn't possibly condense all my thoughts on this subject into a readable-length, so you'll have to bear with me and give me the benefit of the doubt, please. Arg. This is why I don't usually publish such personal subject matter.)

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

In addition, let me add a link to my favorite Davy Crockett story. It takes a little reading to get to the crux of the matter, so keep reading.

I hope you take time to read the whole thing and think about it. I was going to sum it up, but thought some of y'all would take the lazy way out. :) I might have. Anyway, story says it so much better than I would.

I think this quote and that story sum up a lot of my feelings on the matter of the government today. I don't think of myself as a selfish person. (Although admittedly, who does?) :) We believe in giving of our substance to those in need. I often think about the scripture passage Mosiah 4:16 - 25.

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
22 And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world.
24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give.
25 And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received.

I have seen these scriptures used to justify some big government. Government welfare and the like. But remember, King Benjamin just previously had said, "I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes..." In the verses I quoted before, he was not, I believe, saying to foist your giving on the government, but rather telling us to individually give of what we have.

I could go on and on with personal opinion and personal experience (take it from one who is self-employed, thus seeing all the money she earns and therefore seeing all the money the government gets just for plain taxes we pay every year, not to mention things like sales tax, etc...), but I think I'll just leave it at that with Dr. Adrian Rogers, Davy Crockett, and King Benjamin with a little me thrown in so you can see how it's tied together.


P.S. For a little additional reading, try this. A very interesting speech given at BYU by Arthur C. Brooks entitled "Why Giving Matters." He's Roman Catholic, just as a note of interest.

Since it's been forever...

I know it's been a few weeks since I've posted, but I've been so busy and tired... You know the drill. So to tide you over until I come up with something to say, enjoy some opera humor. (Really, this guy is so stinkin' funny. I could listen to anything he does.)



I figured after my opera post, some of you would really enjoy this. :)