Really enjoyed this article from a Cooking Magazine's site. The writing was so nice and the words just flowed. I am reminded of how easy it is for me to recognize some scents that are from my childhood and teen years. Perhaps it is because I was closer to the land and life as a whole then than now. The scent of heating electronics isn't quite the same as fresh cut alfalfa after all.
"Breathing filtered, conditioned air, eating processed foods, and experiencing adventure while sitting in an armchair is certainly not what Homo sapiens was designed for. I have no idea what life is really about or whether it holds meaning, but happiness is not to be found in a box of cereal, even if it does contain a prize. Living with zero degrees of separation entails risk—yes, that glass of raw milk might contain pathogens—but nothing worth doing is entirely risk-free."
Zero Degrees of Separation
This article from a Catholic perspective (I am not Catholic) interestingly lists three temptations of the modern day church. I found the comparison of the ways the devil tempted Christ to the temptations faced by the church today to be provocative.
"A very serious temptation of the Church is to gain acceptance of its authority and message by solving social problems. " (it goes on to explain that social justice is connected and linked and important, but not equal to salvation)
"There is a temptation among some segments of the Church to draw people in and make conversions through “signs and wonders.” " "But lasting faith ordinarily grows in low-key surroundings in the silence of the heart." (ah, I love that last line)
"The temptation of the Church, similarly, is nothing so gross as devil worship, but much more subtle – making accommodation with evil, to be seen as “progressive,” and thus winning many of a progressive mentality to its side. " (*sigh*)
Three Temptations of the Church
This last article deals with addiction in our society. It also is from a Catholic source and is written by the pope. Now I first ran across it thinking... addiction, oh more about drugs but some of the lines really hit home with me. As someone who has struggled to lose 50 pounds of weight I had to face some harsh realities about my own addictions. And to an extent I face them every day. In addition new addictions are being revealed to me all the time. Perhaps I just have an addictive personality. In for an ounce in for a pound.
"....so dependent have we become on the little bursts of pleasure produced by sugar that we buy ourselves treats when there is nothing to celebrate – merely boredom to alleviate."
"One of the neatest descriptions of the addictive process comes from the American writer Craig Nakken. He sees it as the progressive replacement of people by things. In a society in which so many traditional bonds have stretched and snapped, we look for comfort in sensation – so much so that we build our lives around rituals of consumption."
This last quote really struck home in the area of the internet and especially social networks such as Facebook. The replacement of people by things. We live now on little blurbs and antidotes from friends lives without really enjoying conversation or anything indepth and we think it is relationship. We have allowed status updates to replace really knowing people. People don't have time to interact and relate face to face but they have time to go online. Now don't get me wrong, a couple of my closest friends I have found through the internet but I have taken time to write long letters and actually meet several in person and spend time with them developing real relationship. If I could I'd jump on a plane and go to Indiana to meet a lady I greatly admire yet have never met in person. Perhaps some day I will be able to do just that yet those internet relationships do not replace the need for in person relationships. Are we on the way to replacing people with an online presence?
The Age of Addiction
