tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965218.post113738677843587788..comments2023-08-04T05:59:02.938-06:00Comments on laughtear: ameliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16516187741132836325noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965218.post-1140929767318226802006-02-25T21:56:00.000-07:002006-02-25T21:56:00.000-07:00brooke,thanks so much for your thoughts. i've had...brooke,<BR/><BR/>thanks so much for your thoughts. i've had to do my share of learning to be more generous where other people's political and religious viewpoints are concerned. i think it was one of the hardest lessons i have had to learn. but as i've tried--and by tried i mean really worked hard at--i've learned to love those people more. because being generous requires thinking in their grooves for a bit. searching for the process by which they apprehend realities and then mesh them into an understanding of good and evil, right and wrong, how the world should be. i haven't made as much progress as i want to. i still grind my teeth in frustration when certain people comment. but at least i'm thinking about it.<BR/><BR/>and i've learned how very valuable laughter can be when it comes to dealing with anxiety-inducing opinions presented by strangers in large settings (thinking particularly of church here...).ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16516187741132836325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965218.post-1140929311572361952006-02-25T21:48:00.000-07:002006-02-25T21:48:00.000-07:00Caroline,I often feel the way you do. i don't lik...Caroline,<BR/><BR/>I often feel the way you do. i don't like to think about prayer as being a formula for getting what i want or what i think i need, because it's impossible for me to reconcile getting something even as significant as a beautiful and health marriage and family with others getting things even more significant--like food or shelter or life. what i'm trying to get at now, though, is very different. i want to use prayer not as a means of actually getting the good things i pray for, but rather as a means of loving god. of acknowledging him for all the good beautiful powerful crazy things he is without there being a sense of obligation moving in the direction from him to me as a result of my prayers. i want to stop thinking of prayer as magic and think of it more as communion. and by doing so, making it possible for my faith to be a constructive force through the happiness and sinsitivity that i think comes from communing with god.ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16516187741132836325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965218.post-1138432764145921462006-01-28T00:19:00.000-07:002006-01-28T00:19:00.000-07:00I have been wanting to put a comment on this post....I have been wanting to put a comment on this post. Such a neat juxtaposition of thoughts. I am most moved by the last one. Although, regarding your resolution section in the middle, I have also decided to be less critical of other people's opinions--to be generous in giving someone credit for having thought something through and decided what to think. Especially where certain political and religious viewpoints (and certain family members) are concerned. I don't want to get caught up in thinking my beliefs are better than someone else's. And I don't want them to think that of mine either. We were talking a little about this tonight at dinner (which was so great, BTW, and not just the food--good company!).<BR/><BR/>And then there's your last section. I am admiring you in so many ways. I often find myself disappointed because my expectations weren't met in this or that part of my life. But I admire your faith, your willingness to give it a go, and the poise with which you handle it all. I really am not sure I could imagine the pain of expecting something that I'd been promised and that was a good thing to desire and then having to wait and wait and not see when it's supposed to happen. You are brave and strong. I'm happy for you having this change in perspective.Brookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00542017000729688632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965218.post-1137477709007510382006-01-16T23:01:00.000-07:002006-01-16T23:01:00.000-07:00Hi Amy,What a thoughtful post. I'll respond to th...Hi Amy,<BR/>What a thoughtful post. I'll respond to the last part. I have mixed feelings about what your friend told you. I respect and admire that pure kind of faith, probably because it's so entirely foreign to me. It's simple and beautiful and good. But I have a hard time putting that kind of trust in God. There just seem to be so many times when people have pure faith and pray sincerely and things don't come turn out the way they want. I'm sure many of the tsunami victims, or earthquake victims had that kind of faith as they watched their families die...<BR/><BR/>What I do like about your friend's approach is the way it's made you feel. That God loves you and is good. I personally don't know how much God interferes in our personal affairs, but I do like to believe in his essential goodness. And perhaps even more, I believe in our own individual power to carve out meaning and happiness, even when our situations don't fit our preconceived ideas (often generated as ideal from the pulpit) of what we need to be happy. And in my experience, it is often when people have reached that point of happiness and fulfillment with life that opens doors and opportunities for others to become a part of their lives. <BR/><BR/>(By the way, as you know, I am nowhere near that point, as I am often filled with angst and self-doubt about the direction my life is taking as well as anger about the world's iniquities... I think Mike would love it if I could find that confidence and peace I am talking about. But it's really not that simple to get rid of, is it?)Carolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00895275783472155916noreply@blogger.com