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Editor's Note:If you're subscribed to me, you're going to recognize this blog as one that mysteriously disappeared several hours ago. It was brought to my attention that during my hiatus some rules on blog posts wereupdated/added. Due to my ignorance of these changes, a moderator, doing their job, removed the post as it "did not pertain to MC/PMC". However, this moderator was also kind enough to realise my misunderstanding ofsaid rules and gave me the chance to revise the post and re-submit it. So here I am, and there you are, and you're now reading what honestly was my intention from the start, but I wasn't very clear in that matter. So, withoutfurther ado, I give you "Concerning Human Nature and Recent Events".
So it was 12:43 AM at the time that I first sat down to write this, but for some reason the deep stuff chooses to reveal itself to me when it's late at night. I suppose this has something to do with the fact that by this hour I'mexhausted and I don't have the strength to maintain all my preconceptions about life and existence. But I suppose that part of what triggered this instance tonight was a conversation that I had with my old friend Jetra overSkype, spanning the better part of 3 hours and 200+ messages. We talked about something that I dare not mention here for fear of being descended upon by those who come in the name of tolerance and, despite their goodintent, fail to see the bigger picture.
And there's always a bigger picture. We as humans aren't blessed with omniscience; There's always something that, despite our best effort to consider every angle, evades our foresight in the consideration. There's alwayssome truth, some reality that exists just beyond our perception that we can neither plan for or change. However, as I grow in experience and years, I begin to find in myself a thankfulness that this is such the case. You see,despite our best efforts to plan and account for the future, we are constantly trumped by its changing nature. The future is never certain, changing at a moment's notice, swaying with the whims of those who determine it. Onlywhen it has come to pass is the shifting and swirling of the future solidified and able to be trusted.
We say we have tomorrow to do what we know we should today. We expect to meet our friends for that lunch we've been planning for the past week. And yet in complete disregard of our petty plans, the future has its way.Something comes up and your friends have to take a rain check on lunch, leaving you to partake of your meal in solitude, or even more grave: the tomorrow you so shortsightedly expected to have never comes.
You see, what drew out this exposition in the first place was a simple conversation with a guy who's struggling with some tough things (but aren't we all?). It occurred to me that if Jetra hadn't have allowed me to be privy ofwhat's going on in his life, I wouldn't have known any different by looking in from the outside. How strange to find yet another thing that I cannot know? How many people that you know here could that apply to? For all youknow, I could be struggling with any number of things, but I can hide it behind the facade that I choose to put up for myself on the internet.
I suppose there's several conclusions I could draw here. I could implore you to seize the time you have, carpe diem, live for the moment, but in the end it would lead you to waste your life. I could challenge you to be honestwith the reality that you don't know how much time you have, but in the end it would distract you from the gift that is that knowledge. So instead I am simply going to encourage you to love others.
"Well Skipper, this is all well and good, but how does this apply to PMC?" Good question, I'm glad you asked.
Unlike the future, love doesn't change. Unlike our plans, love doesn't fall apart. If there is one thing that I have found to be unchanging in a constantly shifting world, it is love. Love transcends all boundaries and is understoodby everyone. In the words of a philosopher of old, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no recordof wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails."
There are people around us hurting, lacking the love they need. If you have ever asked why there are so many submissions here on PMC that scream "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT HOW GREAT I AM!", it isn't because of"immaturity". (Besides, it's not just the ones that literally scream that in all caps that are begging for attention. Others are far more subtle.) The reason we don't like those who scream for attention is because it speaks volumesabout ourselves! But instead of facing the reality, we've tried to shovel the things we don't like about ourselves into a back room by labeling members who do this as a "problem", something that needs to be "fixed" or"removed". Who made us judge, jury, and executioner in this matter? While I do not condone such posts in any way, shape, or form, I also do not condone us treating any member who does so as anything less than whatthey are: A human being with a desire to be loved.
Sometimes all a person needs is someone who is willing to look past their own agenda and see a way to help/support/encourage another, and for us that means seeing past the words on the screen and into the heart and theneeds of the person posting it. That means:
As I draw this writing to a close, the clock nears 1:30 AM, and as I survey the words that my tired mind has put forth, I am content. If I've stirred you up, good! Don't try to take from this an encouraging word or a goodfeeling, because that's not what it's about. Take from this a challenge, a call to arms. Refuse to join in with the crowd in condemning those who are just looking for acceptance and love. Instead stand for them and stand withthem. I will, will you?
~Skipp
So it was 12:43 AM at the time that I first sat down to write this, but for some reason the deep stuff chooses to reveal itself to me when it's late at night. I suppose this has something to do with the fact that by this hour I'mexhausted and I don't have the strength to maintain all my preconceptions about life and existence. But I suppose that part of what triggered this instance tonight was a conversation that I had with my old friend Jetra overSkype, spanning the better part of 3 hours and 200+ messages. We talked about something that I dare not mention here for fear of being descended upon by those who come in the name of tolerance and, despite their goodintent, fail to see the bigger picture.
And there's always a bigger picture. We as humans aren't blessed with omniscience; There's always something that, despite our best effort to consider every angle, evades our foresight in the consideration. There's alwayssome truth, some reality that exists just beyond our perception that we can neither plan for or change. However, as I grow in experience and years, I begin to find in myself a thankfulness that this is such the case. You see,despite our best efforts to plan and account for the future, we are constantly trumped by its changing nature. The future is never certain, changing at a moment's notice, swaying with the whims of those who determine it. Onlywhen it has come to pass is the shifting and swirling of the future solidified and able to be trusted.
We say we have tomorrow to do what we know we should today. We expect to meet our friends for that lunch we've been planning for the past week. And yet in complete disregard of our petty plans, the future has its way.Something comes up and your friends have to take a rain check on lunch, leaving you to partake of your meal in solitude, or even more grave: the tomorrow you so shortsightedly expected to have never comes.
You see, what drew out this exposition in the first place was a simple conversation with a guy who's struggling with some tough things (but aren't we all?). It occurred to me that if Jetra hadn't have allowed me to be privy ofwhat's going on in his life, I wouldn't have known any different by looking in from the outside. How strange to find yet another thing that I cannot know? How many people that you know here could that apply to? For all youknow, I could be struggling with any number of things, but I can hide it behind the facade that I choose to put up for myself on the internet.
I suppose there's several conclusions I could draw here. I could implore you to seize the time you have, carpe diem, live for the moment, but in the end it would lead you to waste your life. I could challenge you to be honestwith the reality that you don't know how much time you have, but in the end it would distract you from the gift that is that knowledge. So instead I am simply going to encourage you to love others.
"Well Skipper, this is all well and good, but how does this apply to PMC?" Good question, I'm glad you asked.
Unlike the future, love doesn't change. Unlike our plans, love doesn't fall apart. If there is one thing that I have found to be unchanging in a constantly shifting world, it is love. Love transcends all boundaries and is understoodby everyone. In the words of a philosopher of old, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no recordof wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails."
There are people around us hurting, lacking the love they need. If you have ever asked why there are so many submissions here on PMC that scream "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT HOW GREAT I AM!", it isn't because of"immaturity". (Besides, it's not just the ones that literally scream that in all caps that are begging for attention. Others are far more subtle.) The reason we don't like those who scream for attention is because it speaks volumesabout ourselves! But instead of facing the reality, we've tried to shovel the things we don't like about ourselves into a back room by labeling members who do this as a "problem", something that needs to be "fixed" or"removed". Who made us judge, jury, and executioner in this matter? While I do not condone such posts in any way, shape, or form, I also do not condone us treating any member who does so as anything less than whatthey are: A human being with a desire to be loved.
Sometimes all a person needs is someone who is willing to look past their own agenda and see a way to help/support/encourage another, and for us that means seeing past the words on the screen and into the heart and theneeds of the person posting it. That means:
- Be sensitive about how you reprimand new/young users. Remember the above rule!
- Be discerning about how you critique the work of others. Remember the above rule!
- Be cautious in the way you talk with/to/about others. Remember the above rule!
- And above all, remember the above rule! You can never go wrong in letting every word, decision, and interaction flow from love.
As I draw this writing to a close, the clock nears 1:30 AM, and as I survey the words that my tired mind has put forth, I am content. If I've stirred you up, good! Don't try to take from this an encouraging word or a goodfeeling, because that's not what it's about. Take from this a challenge, a call to arms. Refuse to join in with the crowd in condemning those who are just looking for acceptance and love. Instead stand for them and stand withthem. I will, will you?
~Skipp
| Credit | Jetra, Charlizard |
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