Saturday, December 23, 2006

Choice and Existentialism

**Note this is still in rough form, and not very cohessive, and not fully what i want to say, But i will post it and make corrections as nessessary. **

There are two things in life that I love (well there is more but philosophically there are two things): Choice and Existentialism. Both of these are interconnected and like theology (or the more popular term: worldview) these things inform my life and how i interact with the world in even the smallest instance. Also, like theology, my views on these things change. And I seem to be in quite the moment where these things have changed for me recently.
Last week, I was sitting in Old Chicago's with one of my closest and longest friends ever, and three people that I don't know very well, but have been quite friendly with as of late. So the two guys that i was with were discussing issues with women and relationships and the like, and requesting information from the two other women that we were with. The question of does God have a specific someone, or a group of people that could be your specific someone to spend the rest of your life with.
I have thought about this, and really I think this is a stupid way of looking at things. Because like so many of the little divining games that we play with God and his "will" this sets one up for failure either way.
Suppose I meet someone and I believe they are the "one" for me, but as I often do, i get the jitters and never really make a move and they move on and marry someone else. Blast! Did i just f'up my chance with "the one" that God "picked" for me... This is way to much pressure, and then it works on the other end too... A couple of times I know that someone thought I was "the one" and I KNEW that I was not the one, but you would not believe the pressure that that places on a person, and how freakin' creepy it can get. It also puts a person on a pedastil. But more about that later.
The second divining outcome is the "multiple One's." The thought goes that God has multiple people that could be your "one" and that it is your choice to pick. Yeah, here is the awesome problem with this... it opens one to the thought "hmm... I wonder if I didn't pick the best 'one' for me" and leads one to wonder this....
So both ways of approaching this is flawed. That's why I love existentialism. It is not my job to evaluate what God's will is, and if i like it, or even if i can divine what it is. It is my job to submit myself and say here I am, here are my wishes, thy will be done. But alas that is the hardest thing to do but it is the most satisfying.
The other area of Choice and existentialism that I love is evaluating others' motivation. Every choice and action i make affects everyone that I know. God created us for connectedness. However, as with everything in the fall, this has its tarnished spots too. When one person makes a choice and follows through with that, it can affect a multitude of people in Good and bad ways. However, in our culture now, it is the default to view everyone's actions as an afront to yourself personally if you don't like the result.
For example: This morning i was driving a van back from DIA. Now i am not familar with this van, as i don't drive it often. Being wet, the front window was beginning to get muddy. In an attempt to turn on the wipers, I flashed my brights at a VW that had just merged in front of me. This was the time I wished for an "oops" light, but alas there was no way to communicate to the driver that I was just an idiot that couldn't work the wipers, and that I was not mad at him for merging.
So this serves as an example of choices and descisions in life. There are things that people need to do, called to do, or even just choose to do that affects others. And in the spirit of deference one should not always jump to the conclusion of it is an intentional act againt the person.

Anyways, that was rambeling, and I believe i will be editing this in the future, but I will just post it and make changes as nessessary. Enjoy the spelling mistakes.

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