ski lift philosophy

First a disclaimer - this may be similar to "arm chair quarterbacking" because I'm not a philosopher by trade or training, I just like to play at it. So anyways...

I was sitting on the chairlift today and had some time to think about more than planning my next route down the mountain. I think it started with the idea of control and oh yeah, I was thinking that I wasn't as obsessive/compulsive about tying up all the loose ends before leaving on vacation. I was reminded today of a couple things that I didn't take care of (oops) by the guys at work. So I asked myself why and is that a good thing and how do I move away from being a control freak but not toward being careless or apathetic (I know the answer is "carefully"- very funny). This sparked a thought into a much bigger arena which I will do my best to describe. (remember the disclaimer before reading on)

It seems to be human nature to want to figure it all out- to make sense of our existence in a general, philosophical sense as well as all of the details. So mankind, in every culture throughout history has developed overarching themes, stories, religions, and philosophies to explain life. Even if someone claims to be independent of all of this, they are still living from some type of script, whether consciously or not. (oh, and excuse my grammar)It seems that the authors of any given script always make their own people out to be the best, the 'good', the right and preferred.

I have lived from a script inherited from my parents. I've lived from a similar script contained in the community. In a general sense, I've lived from a script that is common in our country and in western civilization. That script has always represented truth to me. The unsettling thought that usually is repressed is "how can everyone on earth have conflicting stories/philosophies/religions and think that WE are right, WE are the chosen ones, WE have truth" when everyone else has the same thought. It's easy to believe the script when you're surrounded by all the reinforcing script writers. What if I'm immersed into a foreign culture with a completely different or even opposite script? And so (sidenote) this is how the majority get complacent, the minority have more of a determination to rock the status quo and history keeps repeating itself.

In the interest of staying focused, this was where my thoughts went on the chairlift (yeah it was a long lift). There is a danger in thinking that we have life all figured out, that we can make sense of the minutiae. I think there is a condition called "wonder" that is healthy. Healthy because it's real. It lines up with reality better than thinking we understand how it all works. Historically it seems that when a script gets too defined and rigid, it loses it's life and becomes the status quo. Even the minority roles that seeks to usurp the old status quo can become the new status quo.

Challenge to self: is there a way to avoid the trend toward lifeless dogma? There is an answer, but be careful, because the answer can itself become lifeless dogma. (We can turn anything new and fresh and exciting into tiresome rules and formulas given enough time) The answer is a personal relationship with my Creator. Now life takes a whole fresh meaning (if I let Him open my mind in wonder and don't blindly accept the dogma that's been scripted about Him, but read His own script through new, fresh eyes) If I try to see it through His eyes- how sad that people have preconceived ideas that keep them from approaching Him! How hurtful to see Yourself misrepresented by so many in religious authority. How much He wants to include you and I into His community but will not force the issue (can one force love, even if they are all powerful?) What can I do today to discover the real Lover of my soul and work past the scripts that might not be representing Him well? It may involve deconstructing of some familiar storylines, replaced with constructing on Truth (as in a person, not a script)

My concluding thought on the lift: I want to always be in a posture of wonder. I don't have to try to pigeon hole everybody and every situation. God knows and I will trust Him, he has proven Himself to me beyond any shadow of a doubt. Ever wonder what God is up to in a certain situation, how he's working in someone? I wonder....