2013 The Year I Found Home

For the last few years I have written a reflection piece on the previous 12 months.  It allows me express my thankfulness for the blessings received and renews my spirit to seek out the challenges of the coming year with optimism and humility.

A few years my reflections were based on difference and contrast.  How am I better than I was?  Why did it take me so long to celebrate life?  Why did I stay in one relationship or another for so long?  Why did things not work out certain occasions when I swore they would? Etc.

2013 I learned that if you give 100% you never have to worry about living with regret.  I grew up and became a the man I wanted to be rather than the one I thought should be.  In true form, a picture tells 1000 words, so I put together my transforming images of 2013, the images which let feel HOME.

Pope Francis Catholicism: Stoicism v Humanity

The Catholic Church is a difficult discuss without offending because commentary is as passionate as it is opinionated.

In academia our view of "Catholics" or the "Church" is shaped by the Crusades, the Protestant Revolution, harsh treatment of Galileo, Spain’s Conquest of the America, Henry the VIII, etc.  Just as those examples exist so to does Christ, the social justice champions (saints) (link), Roman oppression during the first two centuries of the church, Joan of Arc, the Cristero Movement (movie), the Protection of America’s Native Population (VascoDeQuiroga-Link), Papal Succession from Peter, etc. etc..

The history illustrates the polarizing views regarding the Catholic Church's place in human history and within the Church itself.  Pope Francis, hereafter Pancho, via his acts of humility shifts the focus and connects with the faithful and non-faithful in a different manner.  Many observers say his actions are more Christ-like; embracing the lowly, removing excessive bishops (link), removing the opulence of the Church in favor of the simple and even calling members directly.  However detractors argue his statements walk a thin line between dogma and heresy permitting wiggle room to subjects long considered closed.  [note: he has not said anything contrary to church teaching]

Had the Axis triumphed the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s may not have happened nor would the Eiffel Tower or Louvre exist in current form had Charles Martel not brilliantly maneuvered at the Battle of Tours stopping Muslim takeover of Gaul…the historical examples are endless.  The examples are always looked at in hindsight and from the winner’s perspective.

Pope Francis has taken winning and hindsight out of the equation.  Rather than waiting for history to dictate whether the sin was in fact a sin, Pancho takes the fight directly to the soul.  As parents balance between punishment and forgiveness when raising their children so too has Pancho moved to re-balance the church and her members.  

In the information age it is pointless to reiterate the "rules" of the Church since anyone who wants them can freely seek them.  Why repeat them ad infinitum? Why repeat what is wrong all the time?

The CC determines what is right and what is wrong in terms of faith and morals for Catholics, if you are not Catholic why should anything the Church decrees bother you?  The fact is that it does...maybe not because you care, but because the church has always been at the forefront of moral issues making critiques and dispensing advice.  This view in light of modernity shows the focus teaching the rules muddied the best way to apply them.

As a child is allowed to learn life's lessons by falling and getting up so are the members of the CC invited to learn.  We fall 7 times and rise 8.  The whole purpose of organized religions is to provide a guide to being a good person, so why not focus on the purpose rather than the method?

Access to information and ever expanding scientific discoveries have shaped the way we think about nature and our place in it.  The pope’s statements admit that there is a lot more gray out there than previously considered.  Finally, the function of the Church is not to condemn but to save.  In this spirit I think Pancho is choosing to leave the ninety-nine in an attempt to recover the one.

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The Atlantic - GOP should be like Pope Francis (link)

The New Yorker - Conservative Catholics Feeling Left out of Pope’s Embrace (link)

Gawker Article [Opinion] Proposing to Liquidate the Church (link) (my comment on the article link) 

The Value of Imagination

The most common drawback of natural intelligence is: people who believe that intelligence is innate tend to give up much faster than those people who believe it can be developed.  

It seems to comes down the subtle distinction between A or not A. Believing skill-intelligence-ability are innate qualities we perceive them as foreign, thus more easily discounted as "not A" rather than "A."  Application means seeing this "not A" person is gifted i.e. different than I (A).  

Alternatively, if we believe regardless of talent that hard work and diligence will gain us the same results as someone to whom things come "naturally" we view ourselves as "A" rather than "not A." This alternative perspective means no skill-intelligence-ability is remote nor alien; therefore can be developed.

 

the dilemma

This weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Artisanal LA with my girlfriend.  Dozens of booths lined he LA Mart on Broadway with local merchants generating new business and fostering new peer connections.  Originally I aimed to only visit Le Pop Shop (http://www.lepopshop.com) since I have known that business since inception and and addicted to macaroons (particularly with coffee).

Drip Stand seen at Artisanal LA

Cruising the aisles I saw a coffee drip stand for the Hario V60.  The stand was $85, i.e. out of my ballpark.  I like coffee, I do not think this is a secret.  The process by which the taste and aroma of each blend is extracted is like Dexter's Laboratory to me.  The strange thing is coffee calms me down.  Most people enjoy a cup of joe for that extra pep in the morning, but for me its purely the taste.  In the mornings I am pretty wacky and my mind races with random thoughts.  The scent and taste of a cup of coffee settles me into a "home" feeling and I am better able to go about my day.  Anyway, I saw V60 cone drip stand and thought…how clever.  Noting the price I thought to myself, why would someone charge this much for a drip stand?  A quick google search for "Hario V60 Stand" yielded shocking results: prices ranging from $30 - $124 for a stand!

I decided; why not make my own?  It can't be that complicated.  I opted to be "A" rather than "not A."  I rarely have the ability to use my imagination and go from idea to reality.  All of us are rushing from one place to another so creating something in our mind then applying it to life is luxury we do not have.  

the process

But, Saturday, my muse encouraged me to just do it.  We were not busy and had no "plans" so why not try and create something?  The result was a personal drip stand that looks great and works for my life costing around $20.  At Home Depot, C and I spoke as if we were on a planning committee.  What about 1/4" ? 1/2" ?  Should it be taller since we use travel mugs a lot?  Can it be adjustable? What the hell is a washer, finished wood or stain, etc. etc.?

Finished Product

We engaged in "A" behavior.  Rather than simply shelling out some cash for someone else's work we decided to make it personal and functional, why? Because it's fun to create and see ideas materialize.  It is fun to accept that we can accomplish things that are not normally in us to do.  Think about it…why are you so happy when you do something that you thought you couldn't do?  Because you are A rather than not A; the little voice in your head that makes things unknown suddenly whispers…why not, go for it. 

Gentleman in the Modern Era

Lately there has been a trend in fashion, music and culture towards the "old-fashioned."  Males want to be more cultured, respected and manly while maintaining amicability and emotive freedom.  Often times I am complimented or frowned upon for having "old man" tastes.  I believe few things are best done old school like: keeping a journal, knowing how to open a book without ruining the binding, wet shaving and courting a lady.

But, let us not forget the past lest we be doomed to repeat it.  Although a women were revered and respected this old fashioned-ness; she was at the same time seen as chattel and not an equal.  Women have not always shared the same societal place men have enjoyed and even today are a long ways away from gender equality.  

So why the trend to the classic?  The economic downturn of the last decade has left many of looking longingly into the mirror asking the big questions.  Who am I?  Why do I "blank"? or alternatively why do I not "blank"?  Our consumerism, flagrantly displayed in the late 80s and 90s, is not sustainable so we collectively sought the things that worked for those that came before us.  This seems to me as a a substitution for what we were already doing; cherry picking.  All us us tend to look to the past as a springboard to the future and in times of uncertainty we simply go further and further back. 

The inquiry into what a gentleman is or what is appropriate for a man to be or do makes us all philosophers.  We can make lists ad infinitum and never get it right or complete.  A gentleman dresses appropriately, is chivalrous, well read, loves family, is opinionated but not closed minded, etc, etc.  The "old fashioned trend has focused heavily on these ideals and made them marketable.  We see fashionistas and trend riders profit hand over fist by capitalizing on our need to look into our past for answers.  Five or six years ago "vintage", "tarnished", "organic", "reclaimed" were words reserved for antique roadshow and architecture students and now are all over everything and everywhere.

A few days ago I used my girlfriend's nickname while speaking to my mother.  It was an unconscious slip of the tongue.  However, reflecting on the slip I realized it was no mistake.  Subconsciously I hold both of these women with the same respect and the care reserved for those closest to me.  I realized it is more a function of how I went about doing things rather than what I went around doing things with.

Being a gentleman, old school, old fashioned or an old man is not about what you do or what you have but rather about how you do it.  I admittedly cherry pick.  For example, I am not going to use a rotary phone nor am I likely to develop my own film, etc.  The trend things of things "old school" in my opinion should be tempered by an awareness of context.  Is our love for the old genuine or simply a substitution for avoiding that long look in the mirror?