What Would You Do?

Picture it; you are at an important crossroads in your life, paralyzed by indecision, fear, frustration, sadness, and in your isolated silence you are visited by someone.
This person is a stranger to you, but you are clearly not a stranger to them. Not only recognition, but admiration is apparent in their eyes. The weight of the current situation muffles any alarm and you really only feel confused.
"Who are you?" You would naturally ask, to which the immediate response would be a grin finally breaking the dam of reverence.
"I have studied you. All of my life. I have read of you, viewed documentaries, theatrical adaptations of you, written essays, argued for you. I never dreamed that I would ever be in your presence."
More confusion. This person is clearly older than you.
"What have I done?"
An impish and simultaneously sympathetic half-smile belies a desire to reveal knowledge which is apparently forbidden.
"You...are you," is the cryptic answer.

Why have I constructed this visage? Hindsight has the upper hand in everything, but we do not have the luxury of seeing beyond that which we must travel through in our lives. We must be guided by our values and faith. We must never assume that our personal choices and decisions affect only ourselves, for we are all connected and eventually everything is effected, be the actions transmuted by emotion or logic. No matter who you are in society, there is more than just yourself.

Picture something else; you are granted access to a famous person in history at a time and place where they are solitary and in distress. Imagine their eyes, only seen by you before in antiquated photos, taking in your person in full color and reality. You know that they would marvel at what you have learned of them and the effects of this decision they are facing, but all you are allowed to offer is admiration and a little encouragement. This person, made larger than life through the magnification of fame and historical analysis, seems smaller than you imagined, and certainly more vulnerable. Before you is a simple human form.

We should take every day as a gift, every difficulty as an opportunity to learn and grow stronger. Our words are powerful and should be calculated. Impulse should not be ruling our actions, leading to the adoption of apathy in the face of inevitable shame.
If you feel that you are insignificant in the face of humanity, you are not. You were created for a reason. Living with intention is the only answer to cultural apathy, social depression, and economic corruption. We can be better.

What Would Jesus Do?

Hi! I'm back! I missed several days of blogging because of this and that. I was in one of my best friends' wedding on Friday, and another one of my best friends had her bridal shower yesterday, and I got to spend a lot of time with my family in between. I had a couple days of emotional difficulty because of my stagnant old situation...do I break up with my boyfriend and forge a new direction in my life for myself, or just settle into this quagmire of relative comfort? While I was attending the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and wedding, it seemed pretty darn clear to me that I should put myself on the path to extricate my life from my boyfriend's. It was clear as a bell, during the ceremony; "You have to do it. It's the way. Stop burying your head in the sand. Just push through it." This always seems painfully clear to me when I'm with family, church family, or situations which remind me how little I enjoy my boyfriend's family, or really anything involving him that isn't just himself. I am aware that you can build a successful marriage without the amiable merging of families, but I want an amiable merging of families. I want family heavily involved in our lives, in a healthy and supportive way.

Anyway, today. What would Jesus Do?

It's a simple question, often taught first to small children to teach them the importance of critical thinking involving the teachings of our faith. If we are to aspire to be like Christ, then we must ask ourselves what he would do in ordinary and extraordinary situations.
It continues to be an important question throughout all stages of life, and I have found it especially essential to push me through undesirable situations. It's very important to keep the desires of our Lord and Savior, and the love of our unconditionally loving God in our hearts.
That's pretty much what I wanted to say.