Emotions and Movement

I had a girlfriend in college who thought being tipsy/drunk revealed honest emotions. I countered that tipsy/drunk didn't reveal honest emotions but uninhabited behavior. We never went farther than consensual groping.

It's an interesting contrast now, as many of my rambling writings are done in the evening after a few sips of bourbon, no groping involved. My thoughts and fingers seem to work more fluidly at this time. Practice from my younger day? Is this honest emotions or semi-drunk uninhabited behavior? I'm glad I'm not back in that college dormitory.

I wish I could type my thoughts while I run. That is when I reflect. Movement is an important part of my mind's ability to process. That worries me, as I am experiencing more issues with my feet that have the potential to restrict my movement. Arthritis, gout, broken tendons. All are threatening my ability to continuing to run. I fear not just losing the time spent reflecting, but also the satisfying feeling of finishing a workout drenched in sweat, the feeling of lungs being stressed, legs tired, mind/body fulfilled. Can I reflect if I can't run? How will I experience the spiritual feeling of body-mind-soul coming together?

I often think that Jesus would have been a runner. He moved. Walking was his primary means of movement. It allowed time for reflection, introspection, contemplation. Something many modern day interpreters of Jesus' thoughts do not participate in. "Never trust an idea arrived at while sitting down." Seems like a good philosophy to me. 

Movement allows you to feel not only your own struggles, but the struggles of others. A beauty of running is that a plodder like me can feel the same exhaustion, hurt, and joy of the elite runner. A training run can be difficult, yet it allows time for introspection, honest emotions to surface. Something the plodder and the elite can experience.

Through movement, emotions are explored.

 

Ben Blankenship, Craig Engels, Kyle Merber (all 2016 Olympic Trials Finalists), and another guy with great facial hair!

 

WWJD

The sharing of a current version of the parable of The Good Samaritan brought it home to me. Though my brother and I were raised by the same parents, went to the same church and Sunday School classes, attended the same elementary and high school schools, we either learned completely different lessons from those experiences or our experiences after leaving our home town were influential in creating that divide.

I viewed the parable as we should help those in need, no matter their background, beliefs, circumstances. He took it as heaven is obtained by those who follow the rules and believes in the salvation of Jesus to enter heaven. 

To me it is so disappointing and sad that Christianity has evolved into a belief that we should only help those who believe like us. People leaving their home towns on a perilous journey to the US so they can be safe, provide for their families, yet are seen as leopards not worthy of love, healing and compassion. 

I don't understand the religion I was raised on. The love and compassion for others, no matter their circumstances, seems to have left. Or maybe I have left it. Because I don't want to be a part of a belief system that is not compassionate, not focused on love of all God's children regardless of their beliefs or lifestyles. We are all God's children, made in his/her image. If God made such diverse people, should we not love them all? 

Selectively quoting the bible does not change that we should care for those in need. No matter their home town, the person they love, or the person they are. One of my greatest challenges is giving that same level of compassion for the leader of our country who displays the exact opposite of the lessons I learned in my home town.

Proverbs 10:12, Hate stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Unfortunately we are so divided that love for others and this blog post will likely be seen as a delusional expression. 

Epstein

I've been bothered the last 36 hours or so. I watched the news conference of the women who were raped and sexually abuse by Jeff Epstein and his "colleagues". I don't know if I have the words. 

Those women were used and thrown away. Ignored, while rich and powerful men found more to abuse. The woman have shown more courage than I could ever imagine having. 

What I don't have the words for is why, after hearing their stories, the people, mostly men, who have the ability to bring justice for these woman and reveal and prosecute the other rapists, are cowardly not doing so.  

Is it more important for them to remain in power and in the good graces of the person hiding behind the vale of lies and contradiction? Do these congressmen not have wives and daughters? I wonder how they explain their cowardice to them in not wanting justice for these women. 

As the victims said, this is not a red or blue issue, a conservative or progressive issue. This is a human rights issue. Is seeking justice for those 14 year old girls who were trafficked to the rich and powerful less important than protecting pedophiles? How is that even a comparison? Do they see young girls as just collateral damage, much like those killed in school shootings, in their pursuit of power and money? Have these elected officials become so indifferent to violence young woman experience? Have they so lost their conscience that they are willing to ignore the raping of young girls to please their party leader?

I don't understand. Explain it to me using your Christian values, @mikejohnson.