Some days you're just happy and grateful to be alive. Seriously, you should be every day. But I sincerely doubt that there has ever been anyone in history that didn't take at least one day for granted. Today was not one of those days.
I am just so grateful to be alive and have a life filled with so many blessings. There are so many things I focus on and think of all I don't have, when things like having a roof over my head, a full belly, companionship, love, health and freedom are constants in my life. Thank you God for all the blessings in my life and help me to remember when I'm not in a grateful mood. We are fickle beings.
Today was an excellent day. I went hiking today for several hours with my friend Ali. It was a great time as I did Runyon Canyon and hiked up behind the Hollywood sign (separate hikes). My legs are not entirely excited about the day, but they'll get over it in short order. My working out has started to pay dividends for me as I am quite certain I couldn't have handled those hikes nearly as well (if at all) just two months ago. I was tired when I was done, but I'm pretty sure I could have easily hiked for another couple hours too. Long live healthier Luke!
After hiking we went to a restaurant called "The Griddle", a place I'd heard a lot about in the last few months but never had occasion (or money) to go there. But my mom sent me some happy money for Thanksgiving, so I figured, "No time like the present!". Let me just say that it definitely lived up to it's reputation. The French toast I had was insanely good. I don't know how, but it almost literally melted in my mouth. So good. So for all you friends and family reading this from the non-LA area, I have a new place to take visitors!
I also received a call today from a production called "Locked In", a new pilot for the History channel. Tim had submitted us for the casting call and they are interested in having us on. The show's basic premise is they lock teams of three in a hardware store over night (6pm-4am) and give them building challenges. We will have full access to all the tools and building materials we could want. It sounds like an awesome night to me and I'm really excited about doing it. Also, it pays $90 which isn't too shabby for building random stuff with my friends.
We are submitting more materials but it sounds like they really want us on the show. I'll keep you all up to date on that though.
Other than that, not a lot to say about today. Some days you're just happy. God bless!
p.s. Just a few minutes ago, Super Apartment Bros. reached it's 300th subscription in the last 7 days! It's a new record and blows away the old best by a substantial amount. Still got 11 hours to go to complete the week, so we will see how we end up with that.
28.11.12
26.11.12
The Faith of A Mustard Seed: Combining Parables
I was thinking today. About mustard seeds. Jesus famously twice made mention of mustard seeds in his parables. In Matthew 17:20 he talks about how "faith as big as a mustard seed" can move mountains. And in Matthew 13:31-32, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, that grows from something small into a mighty tree, where birds take shelter. The stories appear in other Gospels as well, though I'm just gonna go with Matthew for now.
These are two of Jesus' most famous teachings and anyone that grew up in a church has surely heard them before. But as I said before, I was thinking about these parables today. In conjunction. Warning: this is more of an illustration, postulation discussion than a strictly theologically sound one (I feel somewhat wary about combining separate passages in general, but I like this so I'm gonna try it out here). For serious theological advice, consult someone with an M.Div...
First of all, I've always thought that the mustard seed reference to "moving mountains" seemed a little extreme. Was this meaning that God would reward the smallest amount of faith with the mightiest of deeds? What then could be done by someone with a lot of faith? Or was this more about how the real power lies with God and not with anything we can do but believe? (very possibly, but like all scripture I think there's more that can be gleaned from it, so stick with me).
It always seemed almost condescending to me how he rebukes his disciples as well. These were the apostles he was talking to. Was he really saying they didn't have a mustard seed's worth of faith? How can we hope to surpass the faith of the men Jesus was closest to on earth, who couldn't even muster a miniscule mustard seed's worth of faith? Or was he really just saying that their faith was too little and trying to illustrate that?
I've been thinking about it in terms of a God that keeps sculpting us and perfecting us throughout our life, even using mistakes we make along the way. I misspoke (miswrote?) before when I called them "the apostles". They weren't really. Not yet. Jesus was still before them and we are told that they were kept from fully understanding all that they saw. They were not "complete" if you will.
Maybe Jesus didn't use the mustard seed in both of these illustrations by accident. I think it was, in fact, done deliberately. Because faith and the Kingdom of God are intertwined. The Kingdom of God is within those that believe.
What I see, when I combine these passages, is Jesus saying "Give me even the smallest amount of faith, faith as small as a lowly mustard seed, and I will make it grow up within you. I will cultivate your faith until it becomes a safe place for those in need of shelter and rest."
In 1 Corinthians 3:7, it says:
These are two of Jesus' most famous teachings and anyone that grew up in a church has surely heard them before. But as I said before, I was thinking about these parables today. In conjunction. Warning: this is more of an illustration, postulation discussion than a strictly theologically sound one (I feel somewhat wary about combining separate passages in general, but I like this so I'm gonna try it out here). For serious theological advice, consult someone with an M.Div...
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
First of all, I've always thought that the mustard seed reference to "moving mountains" seemed a little extreme. Was this meaning that God would reward the smallest amount of faith with the mightiest of deeds? What then could be done by someone with a lot of faith? Or was this more about how the real power lies with God and not with anything we can do but believe? (very possibly, but like all scripture I think there's more that can be gleaned from it, so stick with me).
It always seemed almost condescending to me how he rebukes his disciples as well. These were the apostles he was talking to. Was he really saying they didn't have a mustard seed's worth of faith? How can we hope to surpass the faith of the men Jesus was closest to on earth, who couldn't even muster a miniscule mustard seed's worth of faith? Or was he really just saying that their faith was too little and trying to illustrate that?
I've been thinking about it in terms of a God that keeps sculpting us and perfecting us throughout our life, even using mistakes we make along the way. I misspoke (miswrote?) before when I called them "the apostles". They weren't really. Not yet. Jesus was still before them and we are told that they were kept from fully understanding all that they saw. They were not "complete" if you will.
Maybe Jesus didn't use the mustard seed in both of these illustrations by accident. I think it was, in fact, done deliberately. Because faith and the Kingdom of God are intertwined. The Kingdom of God is within those that believe.
What I see, when I combine these passages, is Jesus saying "Give me even the smallest amount of faith, faith as small as a lowly mustard seed, and I will make it grow up within you. I will cultivate your faith until it becomes a safe place for those in need of shelter and rest."
In 1 Corinthians 3:7, it says:
7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.Continue to grow up my faith Lord and help me to move mountains in your name.
24.11.12
Full Day
Yesterday was a full day that left no time for blogging. Sorry if you were waiting for a post.
My friend Kevin Brooks woke me up at 10 am yesterday asking me to go to Black Friday sales with him. Since Kevin doesn't have a car, it may have also been asking me to drive him to Black Friday sales. But whatever.
I hadn't planned on going to Black Friday sales this year because I think they are getting out of hand. But I agreed to go along because I like to help people. It was a dangerous proposition for someone in my financial situation, but the sales really are ridiculous. I ended up buying a couple movies that I'd really been wanting to buy for the last year or two ("Social Network" and "Crazy, Stupid, Love") for just $4 and I managed to find the first four seasons of "Breaking Bad" (one of my favorite shows, and possibly the greatest show ever made) for $10 a piece. That was just too good of a price to pass up. I also bought a few gifts as well. So productive times overall.
I then had to scramble back from shopping to change and get ready for an afternoon hike. It being the day after Thanksgiving, a few of us were eager to burn some calories. We hiked to the top of the Verdguo mountain range behind my apartment. We could see the entire valley, downtown Los Angeles and could even see the ocean if it weren't for the clouds. Took us about 2 hours but we made it up and back down in one piece. More or less...
After that wonderful hike, I had just enough time to shower and catch my breath before heading out for a post-Thanksgiving potluck with my church community group. It was a great time and marked the fourth consecutive day I had Thanksgiving related dinner plans. Again, that hike was really necessary for burning some excess calories ;)
That was basically my whole day, but there was another element as well. On Thanksgiving morning, someone posted about "Super Apartment Bros." on a website called cheezburger.com. In the first 48 hours following the posting, we welcomed 215 new subscribers to our channel (which by itself, would be a new high for a single week for us). It's the kind of thing we've been hoping for more of since the show premiered and we're very grateful for the boost. Our total subscriber base has now topped 860 (for the record, about 500 of those subscribed within the last month) and we're hoping to break 1,000 soon.
We still haven't heard anything from the Machinima Festival we submitted to so I don't know what to make of that. The festival starts next Friday so I would think we'd have heard by now, but I also would think we'd have heard a "no" by now as well. I'm still holding out for hope though (to be fair, Eric has been in an area with no cell reception and no real internet to speak of for the holiday weekend, so it's possible he just hasn't received the message). I, of course, will post as soon as I have any news on that front. No matter what happens, I'm very grateful for the headway we have made already this month.
My friend Kevin Brooks woke me up at 10 am yesterday asking me to go to Black Friday sales with him. Since Kevin doesn't have a car, it may have also been asking me to drive him to Black Friday sales. But whatever.
I hadn't planned on going to Black Friday sales this year because I think they are getting out of hand. But I agreed to go along because I like to help people. It was a dangerous proposition for someone in my financial situation, but the sales really are ridiculous. I ended up buying a couple movies that I'd really been wanting to buy for the last year or two ("Social Network" and "Crazy, Stupid, Love") for just $4 and I managed to find the first four seasons of "Breaking Bad" (one of my favorite shows, and possibly the greatest show ever made) for $10 a piece. That was just too good of a price to pass up. I also bought a few gifts as well. So productive times overall.
I then had to scramble back from shopping to change and get ready for an afternoon hike. It being the day after Thanksgiving, a few of us were eager to burn some calories. We hiked to the top of the Verdguo mountain range behind my apartment. We could see the entire valley, downtown Los Angeles and could even see the ocean if it weren't for the clouds. Took us about 2 hours but we made it up and back down in one piece. More or less...
After that wonderful hike, I had just enough time to shower and catch my breath before heading out for a post-Thanksgiving potluck with my church community group. It was a great time and marked the fourth consecutive day I had Thanksgiving related dinner plans. Again, that hike was really necessary for burning some excess calories ;)
That was basically my whole day, but there was another element as well. On Thanksgiving morning, someone posted about "Super Apartment Bros." on a website called cheezburger.com. In the first 48 hours following the posting, we welcomed 215 new subscribers to our channel (which by itself, would be a new high for a single week for us). It's the kind of thing we've been hoping for more of since the show premiered and we're very grateful for the boost. Our total subscriber base has now topped 860 (for the record, about 500 of those subscribed within the last month) and we're hoping to break 1,000 soon.
We still haven't heard anything from the Machinima Festival we submitted to so I don't know what to make of that. The festival starts next Friday so I would think we'd have heard by now, but I also would think we'd have heard a "no" by now as well. I'm still holding out for hope though (to be fair, Eric has been in an area with no cell reception and no real internet to speak of for the holiday weekend, so it's possible he just hasn't received the message). I, of course, will post as soon as I have any news on that front. No matter what happens, I'm very grateful for the headway we have made already this month.
22.11.12
The Great Paradox
Time to get a little personal here. And some of this I've never told anyone before (I know that's kind of cliche, but I've never even considered talking to someone else about this). But I'm running out of friends who are close enough that I can talk to them about this stuff, so consider yourself fortunate that our paths have crossed here and now in this moment.
Thing I've never told anyone before number 1. I can sense, almost immediately, when a guy is interested in a girl. That moment where "I think she's cute" becomes "I'd like to date her" is as clear as a light bulb physically going off over their head to me. It's not anything about body language, or any kind of conscious thing. I just can sense it, from across the room even. Like their soul is crying out and I can hear it. It catches my attention without even needing to be looking sometimes.
Maybe it's pheromones, maybe it's telepathy. Maybe it's some kind of premonition, sixth sense kind of thing. But it's very real. I can also usually tell when a girl is into a guy, though it usually isn't as quick. Maybe women are more subtle. I've always had a very sensitive intuition and empathy, with people especially, so I tend to think that is responsible.
But one thing I can never tell is when someone is attracted to me. I have lived on this earth for nearly 27 years so I'm sure that it has happened a few times along the line. The only times I've ever known was when a girl's friends explicitly told me. And that's only happened twice. Once in 5th grade, which really shouldn't count. And once in college, where the feeling was not mutual and we still managed to be "dating without the good stuff" for about two years. So yea...
Now, it is important to mention here that I've pursued other girls. And it's also important to mention that I'm batting .000 in that category. Not one of the girls I've pursued has reciprocated my feelings at all. So just like a batter who is batting .000 in a baseball season, it starts to get in your head after a while. My self confidence is low enough that it's become an incredible mental struggle to even convince myself that someone I'm interested could feel the same way about me. Not even necessarily that they do now, but that they could, someday, actually be interested in me too. And when your self confidence is that fragile, it's pretty near impossible to drag your bat back up to the plate to try again. It doesn't matter what my logical brain says. Emotionally, I'm just not capable of that level of self belief.
But even with all my own broken brain and self confidence issues, the biggest factor working against me is history. So here's thing I've never told anyone number two. Historically, I can consistently tell when a girl is about to enter into a relationship. And the way that I can tell this is that I really think she might be into me. It's 100%, never fails. I think a wire must have been crossed at some point. Maybe it really is pheromones and I'm picking up on the feelings she has for the other guy? Seems plausible enough.
I have gotten to the point where I can at least logically discern that when I think a girl who I have little to know interaction with might be interested in me, she's definitely pining after someone else. So at least I'm not actually fooled as easily anymore. But the point being that, historically whenever I've thought a girl might be into me, she's been into someone else. So today, every time I think that a girl might be into me, and I can somehow manage to overcome my self doubt/batting average and convince myself that I may be reading it right, I have this little factoid staring me in the face and reminding me that it's almost certainly someone else.
So there it is, the great paradox of my life. I can sense these things for other people but I can't sense it for me to save my life. Am I destined to live alone or will I find a solution to this conundrum?
Of course the easy answer is to just ask girls when I think there is something between us. But as I said before, it just gets harder every time I strike out. At least in the batter's box, I can hold on to the hope that this time will be different. Then, eventually, I am called out for not stepping up to the plate at all, and I'm in the same place either way. But logic doesn't get the final say and my heart is cowardly. I pray God can teach it to be brave.
Thing I've never told anyone before number 1. I can sense, almost immediately, when a guy is interested in a girl. That moment where "I think she's cute" becomes "I'd like to date her" is as clear as a light bulb physically going off over their head to me. It's not anything about body language, or any kind of conscious thing. I just can sense it, from across the room even. Like their soul is crying out and I can hear it. It catches my attention without even needing to be looking sometimes.
Maybe it's pheromones, maybe it's telepathy. Maybe it's some kind of premonition, sixth sense kind of thing. But it's very real. I can also usually tell when a girl is into a guy, though it usually isn't as quick. Maybe women are more subtle. I've always had a very sensitive intuition and empathy, with people especially, so I tend to think that is responsible.
But one thing I can never tell is when someone is attracted to me. I have lived on this earth for nearly 27 years so I'm sure that it has happened a few times along the line. The only times I've ever known was when a girl's friends explicitly told me. And that's only happened twice. Once in 5th grade, which really shouldn't count. And once in college, where the feeling was not mutual and we still managed to be "dating without the good stuff" for about two years. So yea...
Now, it is important to mention here that I've pursued other girls. And it's also important to mention that I'm batting .000 in that category. Not one of the girls I've pursued has reciprocated my feelings at all. So just like a batter who is batting .000 in a baseball season, it starts to get in your head after a while. My self confidence is low enough that it's become an incredible mental struggle to even convince myself that someone I'm interested could feel the same way about me. Not even necessarily that they do now, but that they could, someday, actually be interested in me too. And when your self confidence is that fragile, it's pretty near impossible to drag your bat back up to the plate to try again. It doesn't matter what my logical brain says. Emotionally, I'm just not capable of that level of self belief.
But even with all my own broken brain and self confidence issues, the biggest factor working against me is history. So here's thing I've never told anyone number two. Historically, I can consistently tell when a girl is about to enter into a relationship. And the way that I can tell this is that I really think she might be into me. It's 100%, never fails. I think a wire must have been crossed at some point. Maybe it really is pheromones and I'm picking up on the feelings she has for the other guy? Seems plausible enough.
I have gotten to the point where I can at least logically discern that when I think a girl who I have little to know interaction with might be interested in me, she's definitely pining after someone else. So at least I'm not actually fooled as easily anymore. But the point being that, historically whenever I've thought a girl might be into me, she's been into someone else. So today, every time I think that a girl might be into me, and I can somehow manage to overcome my self doubt/batting average and convince myself that I may be reading it right, I have this little factoid staring me in the face and reminding me that it's almost certainly someone else.
So there it is, the great paradox of my life. I can sense these things for other people but I can't sense it for me to save my life. Am I destined to live alone or will I find a solution to this conundrum?
Of course the easy answer is to just ask girls when I think there is something between us. But as I said before, it just gets harder every time I strike out. At least in the batter's box, I can hold on to the hope that this time will be different. Then, eventually, I am called out for not stepping up to the plate at all, and I'm in the same place either way. But logic doesn't get the final say and my heart is cowardly. I pray God can teach it to be brave.
21.11.12
Challenge Failed: Dang, I missed one
Oops. Looks like I missed a post yesterday. Disappointing. Oh well, back in the saddle.
Yesterday was a busy day for me. We threw together a Thanksgiving party for the people that are working on Thursday and won't be able to have a proper dinner that day. So I spent the entire day cooking with hostess extraordinaire Ali Williams.
Monday night, I found out that I was supposed to have been invited to this event but my text message got "lost in the mail" as it were. Ali's text have had trouble finding my phone in the past (now I wonder what other texts I've missed) so it wasn't terribly surprising. I had heard that it was a possibility and had left my schedule open for it, but it was still nice to have it confirmed finally. And since neither of us had gotten the food we were supposed to be bringing to the dinner yet, we resolved to go on a late night shopping run together.
Long story short, what started as "get the missing ingredients for the chicken & dumplings" and me getting a couple cans of corn turned into 7 dishes, pie (store bought), whipped cream and gravy. Because I felt somewhat responsible for allowing Ali to take on that many additional dishes to prepare (and frankly encouraged it more than a few times), I offered to help her with the cooking. She gratefully accepted as I think her excitement had gotten a bit ahead of her during the shopping.
It was quite an experience. Ali had been buzzed on Red Bull when we were shopping so she had stayed up, after she got home, working on a plan to get everything done and out the door on time for the dinner. She went through... must have been 5 or 6 rough drafts before settling on a final plan. With the two hour cooking session planned down to the minute, we were ready to start. Very ready even.
In hindsight, I can't imagine her attempting to do that cooking session on her own. I'm sure she could have pulled it off but it would have taken her a lot more time and a LOT more work. As the assistant, I mostly took on menial tasks that allowed her to stay focused on the big picture and the dishes I have no idea how to make (mostly the sweet potato casserole and chicken and dumplings, both from scratch). I mostly was just cleaning dishes, slicing veggies, setting out rolls on the baking sheet, etc.
When it was all said and done, we figured we had enough food that we could have put on our own thanksgiving feast by ourselves. Not only had we gotten everything made, but we got it done precisely on schedule as well. We put those sitcom Thanksgivings to shame. Go team!
Dinner was a great time and everyone loved the food we made, which is always the greatest reward for two hours in a kitchen. I enjoy cooking but rarely get the chance to cook for people (which is way more rewarding than cooking for myself or for leftovers) so I was very happy about that. I was pretty tired after all the cooking and subsequent eating of food, so I wasn't much for conversation after dinner unfortunately (if I had a dollar for every person that asked if I was ok after dinner, I would have been able to cover my costs for the night). I was fine, I was just digesting and wanted to do it quietly while watching a movie. Something that's hard to do when the movie is muted and there's 30 people talking everywhere. But I digress.
I realized yesterday that, as much as it sucks being away from family for Thanksgiving (again), it's a cool opportunity to try different dishes and traditions that are not a part of my upbringing. I got to try my hand at cooking a lot of new dishes that I've never attempted before and eat some others. It was a great day all around.
Yesterday was a busy day for me. We threw together a Thanksgiving party for the people that are working on Thursday and won't be able to have a proper dinner that day. So I spent the entire day cooking with hostess extraordinaire Ali Williams.
Monday night, I found out that I was supposed to have been invited to this event but my text message got "lost in the mail" as it were. Ali's text have had trouble finding my phone in the past (now I wonder what other texts I've missed) so it wasn't terribly surprising. I had heard that it was a possibility and had left my schedule open for it, but it was still nice to have it confirmed finally. And since neither of us had gotten the food we were supposed to be bringing to the dinner yet, we resolved to go on a late night shopping run together.
Long story short, what started as "get the missing ingredients for the chicken & dumplings" and me getting a couple cans of corn turned into 7 dishes, pie (store bought), whipped cream and gravy. Because I felt somewhat responsible for allowing Ali to take on that many additional dishes to prepare (and frankly encouraged it more than a few times), I offered to help her with the cooking. She gratefully accepted as I think her excitement had gotten a bit ahead of her during the shopping.
It was quite an experience. Ali had been buzzed on Red Bull when we were shopping so she had stayed up, after she got home, working on a plan to get everything done and out the door on time for the dinner. She went through... must have been 5 or 6 rough drafts before settling on a final plan. With the two hour cooking session planned down to the minute, we were ready to start. Very ready even.
In hindsight, I can't imagine her attempting to do that cooking session on her own. I'm sure she could have pulled it off but it would have taken her a lot more time and a LOT more work. As the assistant, I mostly took on menial tasks that allowed her to stay focused on the big picture and the dishes I have no idea how to make (mostly the sweet potato casserole and chicken and dumplings, both from scratch). I mostly was just cleaning dishes, slicing veggies, setting out rolls on the baking sheet, etc.
When it was all said and done, we figured we had enough food that we could have put on our own thanksgiving feast by ourselves. Not only had we gotten everything made, but we got it done precisely on schedule as well. We put those sitcom Thanksgivings to shame. Go team!
Dinner was a great time and everyone loved the food we made, which is always the greatest reward for two hours in a kitchen. I enjoy cooking but rarely get the chance to cook for people (which is way more rewarding than cooking for myself or for leftovers) so I was very happy about that. I was pretty tired after all the cooking and subsequent eating of food, so I wasn't much for conversation after dinner unfortunately (if I had a dollar for every person that asked if I was ok after dinner, I would have been able to cover my costs for the night). I was fine, I was just digesting and wanted to do it quietly while watching a movie. Something that's hard to do when the movie is muted and there's 30 people talking everywhere. But I digress.
I realized yesterday that, as much as it sucks being away from family for Thanksgiving (again), it's a cool opportunity to try different dishes and traditions that are not a part of my upbringing. I got to try my hand at cooking a lot of new dishes that I've never attempted before and eat some others. It was a great day all around.
19.11.12
The Challenges of Being an Introvert
That's right, you read that correctly. While many of my friends I've met out here may not be at all surprised to see me label myself as an introvert, anyone that's known me for more than one or two years knows that I'm as talkative as they come. To any new friends that may somehow stumble on this post; note that it's introvert, not shy. Let's talk about the distinction for a minute.
Introversion and Extroversion are not the same as shy and outgoing. They have to do with the way that the person processes their environment, emotions and thoughts. Sometimes they relate to what the person finds value in (i.e. going out and "partying" with no meaningful interaction vs. staying in or having a one on one conversation). Most, if not all, of the world's greatest thinkers have been introverted (guess which one most reality TV stars are...). They process their environment internally and consider it carefully. As a result, they are able to see and interpret stimuli differently than their extroverted counterparts. Naturally, they are much more satisfied in an empty room by themselves than an extrovert who would become quickly bored and under stimulated.
One of the challenges for introverts is that extroverts have a leg up in the reproduction game, as they are more apt to go out and meet people, are less likely to overthink themselves in social situations and so forth. As a result, scientists estimate that about 75% of the population is extroverted. And this means that society is geared towards extroverts. So while the extrovert may get bored from too little stimuli alone in an empty room, the introvert has the opposite response when forced into a overly stimulating environment by extroverts. Introverts tend to shut down in loud and crowded spaces, where there is simply too much happening for them to process. It's not a choice, it's just a natural reaction of an over active mind.
But extroverts, being unthoughtful and introspective, will often times assume that there must be something wrong with the introvert that he/she doesn't want to do the same things that the majority does. They will try to coax the "shy" introvert out of their "shell". This is about as effective as trying to coax a turtle to fly by the way, for those that have been on the other side of this. Introverts don't need the approval of the crowd to be content so peer pressure like that isn't usually effective anyways (to a certain extent, it is on young introverts that don't realize that there is not, in fact, something wrong with them, but that's another discussion).
But when put into an environment that is less stimulating, say a dinner party or a group of a few friends, introverts will often surprise people. They can be quite intelligent, well spoken and are often very insightful.
Ideally the world needs both to succeed as they both have important roles to play in history and society as a whole. Let's hope this generation of introverts can carry the torch of understanding to our extroverted brethren and keep the light of human reason and ingenuity shining for the next generation.
Introversion and Extroversion are not the same as shy and outgoing. They have to do with the way that the person processes their environment, emotions and thoughts. Sometimes they relate to what the person finds value in (i.e. going out and "partying" with no meaningful interaction vs. staying in or having a one on one conversation). Most, if not all, of the world's greatest thinkers have been introverted (guess which one most reality TV stars are...). They process their environment internally and consider it carefully. As a result, they are able to see and interpret stimuli differently than their extroverted counterparts. Naturally, they are much more satisfied in an empty room by themselves than an extrovert who would become quickly bored and under stimulated.
One of the challenges for introverts is that extroverts have a leg up in the reproduction game, as they are more apt to go out and meet people, are less likely to overthink themselves in social situations and so forth. As a result, scientists estimate that about 75% of the population is extroverted. And this means that society is geared towards extroverts. So while the extrovert may get bored from too little stimuli alone in an empty room, the introvert has the opposite response when forced into a overly stimulating environment by extroverts. Introverts tend to shut down in loud and crowded spaces, where there is simply too much happening for them to process. It's not a choice, it's just a natural reaction of an over active mind.
But extroverts, being unthoughtful and introspective, will often times assume that there must be something wrong with the introvert that he/she doesn't want to do the same things that the majority does. They will try to coax the "shy" introvert out of their "shell". This is about as effective as trying to coax a turtle to fly by the way, for those that have been on the other side of this. Introverts don't need the approval of the crowd to be content so peer pressure like that isn't usually effective anyways (to a certain extent, it is on young introverts that don't realize that there is not, in fact, something wrong with them, but that's another discussion).
But when put into an environment that is less stimulating, say a dinner party or a group of a few friends, introverts will often surprise people. They can be quite intelligent, well spoken and are often very insightful.
Ideally the world needs both to succeed as they both have important roles to play in history and society as a whole. Let's hope this generation of introverts can carry the torch of understanding to our extroverted brethren and keep the light of human reason and ingenuity shining for the next generation.
18.11.12
Losing Sight of Things
Listened to a particularly convicting sermon today in church. The pastor was preaching on Matthew 5:13, the verse about being the salt of the earth. It was a wildly appropriate way for me to close out what has been a less than stellar weekend emotionally.
I often have struggled with things out here in LA. I came out here to follow God's calling to reach this city and reach its people for Him. My goals within the industry are, and must remain, secondary to that. Yes, I need to be in this industry to reach it because it's an extremely cloistered group. But it's easy to lose sight of the overarching objective in all of this.
Christians are kind of seen as underdogs and weaklings (or worse) by most of this city and much of the country in general. And the truth is we have embraced that role. Or we've focused on pervading the public eye to change people's behavior (though not their hearts).
But Jesus sees us differently. The pastor pointed out something very important about this passage that is so obvious it sometimes goes unmentioned. He didn't say we should be the salt of the earth or that we could be if we live right. He says we "are" the salt of the earth. As he said in the sermon, "The God that said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light, has said to you, 'You're salt.'" So live like it.
Salt had many purposes in the ancient world but the three the pastor talked about today were preventing decay in meat, renewing soil for fertilization and adding flavor to food (something it's still widely used for). So no matter which way you look at it, it's a pretty vivid picture of how we are supposed to be salt in the world.
That's all I have for now, since I'm still kind of processing this wonderful sermon. I'll post up a link on here when it gets posted to their website. It's pretty compelling and I'll be listening to it several times in the coming week (and probably beyond).
*REALITY LA Sermon
I often have struggled with things out here in LA. I came out here to follow God's calling to reach this city and reach its people for Him. My goals within the industry are, and must remain, secondary to that. Yes, I need to be in this industry to reach it because it's an extremely cloistered group. But it's easy to lose sight of the overarching objective in all of this.
Christians are kind of seen as underdogs and weaklings (or worse) by most of this city and much of the country in general. And the truth is we have embraced that role. Or we've focused on pervading the public eye to change people's behavior (though not their hearts).
But Jesus sees us differently. The pastor pointed out something very important about this passage that is so obvious it sometimes goes unmentioned. He didn't say we should be the salt of the earth or that we could be if we live right. He says we "are" the salt of the earth. As he said in the sermon, "The God that said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light, has said to you, 'You're salt.'" So live like it.
Salt had many purposes in the ancient world but the three the pastor talked about today were preventing decay in meat, renewing soil for fertilization and adding flavor to food (something it's still widely used for). So no matter which way you look at it, it's a pretty vivid picture of how we are supposed to be salt in the world.
That's all I have for now, since I'm still kind of processing this wonderful sermon. I'll post up a link on here when it gets posted to their website. It's pretty compelling and I'll be listening to it several times in the coming week (and probably beyond).
*REALITY LA Sermon
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