August 2, 2001
This is my thought for the day: fairytales are the downfall of society.
You may think I'm being a little bit drastic here, but look around... How many fairytales can you recall? Cinderella? Sleeping beauty? How about the ones we're diluded with later in life... the romantic movies and the love ballads?
Fairytales are the downfall of society.
October 29, 2001
What is love?
In a society surrounded by so-called love, what true meaning of the word is there to cling to? Around every corner is an interpretation, a person's voice, a lie.... but how can we tell what true love is?
How can I say "I love you" if I don't know what it means?
Seriously.
If you grow up believing in princes and fairy godmothers and "happily ever after", reality is going to dissapoint you severely.
If the entire existance of reality dissapoints you, your options in life are drastically limited.
You could live out your life, dissapointed in everything. You would be without joy for as long as you lived, always longing for a fairytale existance, a dream.
Or you could escape reality. Drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, material excess... society is filled with convenient escapes. Whether you alter your perception of reality, or simply hide from reality behind an expensive facade, all you're doing is avoiding the truth.
When an entire soceity either finds no joy in living, or escapes from reality through external sources, what hope is there for... well... anything?
Now how many people do you know that seem to have no joy in their life? How many people do you know that distract themselves from reality with substances? with material possessions? with a demanding schedule that allows no time for reflection?
Is this you?
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a says that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
By this definition, I will never be truely loved or love truely. No relationship, however strong, can be prefect. Even in its most infintesimal moment, I will doubt, I will be jealous, I will get angry, I will seek to fulfill my own good.
If I watch tv, however, I see a different depiction of love. Love is a fleeting desire, a short-lived passion. Characters love one another then fade apart, only to love another, and another, and another. Love is something you can feel for more than one person at the same time, something that you can have and lose, something that can be forgotten.
Fairytales teach millions of children yet another definition of love. Love is a single kiss during which all of your problems dissapear. Love is a strong brave man sweeping the helpless woman off her feet, and love is happily ever after.
Three versions of love. How can such an ambiguous word be the basis by which we judge people and the very framework of our lives? How..........
