Then I took a flight. Or more correctly, the plane was delayed for six hours...
and then I took a flight.
And during this flight I met a few people. (Of course, what else do you do with six hours when you are stuck in a terminal with dozens of people stuck with you?) And, obviously, one of the topics was the delay. We all shared our opinions, most were quite upset about the delay. I don't exactly remember where the conversation led, but I do know I shared a certain idea and wondered why it wasn't implemented. A new friend said, "Well, some people don't think as logically as you do."
I thought that was a funny comment.
I don't really think of myself as logical.
Math is logic, right? I'm not terrible at math, but the way it functions really disagrees with me. I thought the word "cold" might fit, but that seems unfair. I have a great respect for those who can master the discipline of math. For me, it's seems I have a touch of C.S. Lewis' problem. When it comes to math, I can just as well as anybody add, subtract and multiply. I can set up an equation for you and understand the concepts... but for some odd reason I don't get the right answer. But it's logical.
Sometimes when one of us kids would do something wrong or dangerous, etc., my dad sat us down and would ask why in the world we did what we did. It didn't make sense. It wasn't logical. Apparently by the age of seven, we develop the ability to "think logically". Whatever the heck that exactly means. Honestly, this stuff we call "knowledge" can be so terribly vague sometimes.
I wonder if there is a certain distinction between being logical and being sensible. I might be more sensible than logical. Correct me if I'm wrong, are not logical decisions more based on what will end up being most efficient or something of the sort? Because being efficient makes the most sense...
Okay, so who made up that rule?
I understand that we must be good stewards of what is given us. But since when does that mean efficiency. Or, to be more specific, efficiency in the sense it is thought of it today. "Make the most of your money" and all that. Now, I hope you're not thinking what I'm trying to say is "Blow all your money! Who cares??" ((People have a tendency to believe that if you don't think or agree with one idea, you must think or agree with the complete opposite. For example, if a person says they don't agree with such and such republican candidate's ideas about this and that issue, people automatically assume this person is a democrat.)) My point is: I do think we should be good stewards (because eventually we'll have to give an account), but perhaps the idea of efficiency has been skewed.
Is one efficient when they are able to gain more than they gave? Like, investing in stock and getting more money back. Or developing interest off your money. (How did this turn into a money issue anyway?) What I am really getting at is perhaps there are different ways to be efficient, if that's the key.
Or maybe it's more about the experience. Maybe it's more about the journey than the destination. Maybe the journey is the destination. . .
- The writer then drifted off into a pondering mood...
4 comments:
I enjoy reading your thoughts..and I think being sensible includes using logic but perhaps in more of a common sense way instead of a lofty type of logical thought process
well, this seems to be a very "logical" post. In fact, the way you wrote led me to think you have buried yourself in books. If this post was a conversation, Jane Austen would've probably written the dialogue for her day and age. It would make the most "sense" to her. You know, "logical".
This is what you were telling me about at the river shore the other day…
Maybe being sensible means you exercise sound judgment in addition to mere logic?
And I think efficiency can be a good thing, but I don’t think it’s the only good thing. In fact, if there was nothing else good, then to what end would you want to be efficient? That would be illogical, right? Like when you’re choosing between the scenic route and the short one- you’re choosing between beauty and efficiency. Isn’t it logical to ask questions like “what’s the wise thing to do?”, “is it worth it?”, “which is most valuable?”, and “which is most meaningful?”? Because sometimes the answer I choose isn’t always the most efficient one as much as it is the most meaningful one. That’s logical, isn’t it? Or sensible, at least.
I suppose we could try a Biblical example… I think we can say it would have been more efficient for God to deal with mankind simply by wiping out humanity. It would have been more 'efficient', but that’s not what He did, was it? I think we can also say that living on earth as a human, teaching, suffering, and then dying was the less efficient thing to do. I would venture to say that God chose to do the loving thing over the efficient thing to do. But then that leads to a question I don’t know the answer to- Is the ‘ loving thing’ a perfectly logical choice that should always be taken into account, or are the ‘logical choice’ and the ‘loving choice’ two entirely different things? Because I certainly don’t consider love in itself to be logical, but if love is good, then it’s logical to choose it, right?
That probably raised more questions than it answered.
so here i am waiting around at the airport (guess what? my parents' plane go..yup...delayed..)
some thoughts: efficiency is often the goal since it has the smallest waste component. it's the shortest route to where you want to go to, right? the best way to the prize. hmm...so what is waste? stuff that's unusable? maybe everything other than the prize?
Paul says he strips away everything to go after the prize. no waste. but then again...what is this waste?
to me waste is every moment i miss for what it is...because I was somewhere else. wanting something else. having a compass without a true north and being consumed by something other than my only true Source a joy. chasing after a little big thing called..it.
my prayer is to be less "efficient" in my own direction and more "efficient" on the road less traveled. i want to run towards eternal significance. towards my Dad's arms. every moment.
dearest writer i hope these words find you well :)
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