Because I don’t. I’m not trying to complain or bash it. I just don’t understand why they would play it on the radio. It’s not catchy and the “singing” is more like random speaking–even the chorus. I think it’s about the most flat, lifeless track I’ve ever heard from a popular artist, let alone Beck.
It happened again.
For three weeks, I attempted and failed to solve a problem that was happening at work. Something simple. Something that I’ve done a hundred times before, just not quite like this. Someone deleted something that they shouldn’t have, and restoring it should have been an easy task.
But not this time.
In the end it turned out to be something that had come to mind ten times or more during my time troubleshooting the issue, something my instincts raised over and over again, but something they also immediately rejected. Something trivial, yet glaring you in the face, and so simple it couldn’t be the solution. But it was.
It strikes me every time this happens, every time something obvious is the answer, that most of life is just like this. The mystery of life is that it’s not mysterious at all, we are just convinced that it has to be more complex. We are just so sure and so proud, with so much faith in our preconceptions, that we are blind.
How many times have you given good advice to a friend, just to be told, “I tried that. It doesn’t work.” You insist that it does, and the reply, “Well it doesn’t work for me.”
The proud missing the obvious. Had they really tried the advice out, not just given it a half-hearted, faithless attempt just to prove that it would fail, then it would have worked. If they would have tried to get inside the advice, understand the philosophical foundation of the advice, and applied the advice from the standpoint you had given it, then it would have worked for them. But they were sure it wouldn’t work and it was just a simple self-fulfilling prophecy of failure in the end. That’s not following advice. That’s being prideful. That’s having so much faith that it wouldn’t work, that it doesn’t.
Swallowing pride is not only the hardest but the best thing you can do. There’s something right now in your life that is just like this, something with an obvious solution, an easy solution, in terms of actual effort, and that something is staring you in the face. But like me, you are convinced that can’t be the issue.
Let me tell you, recognizing such a thing is an art. It’s not scientific. It’s not a formula or a checklist so that you can diagnose the problem with a piece of paper and a pencil. It’s an art. It takes you being an expert on your life. It takes you submitting your life for inspection to other experts practicing the art of life. And it takes accepting that sometimes hard problems have easy solutions.
If you don’t believe me, just think about e=mc2. Some of the most complex science yet reduced to such an elegant, simple formula.
I was at a community group leader gathering last night. Community groups are what my church calls weekly bible study and fellowship times. Other churches call them bible studies, home groups, life groups, and many other names. One of the group leaders shared that their group wasn’t very close. The discussion was shallow and kind of impersonal. No one wanted to really share a lot, or be friendly too much with each other.
This group leader shared that on a completely unrelated note, he had started to find the food being an awkward distraction. The food was all in the middle of the room on a table. While people talked about what they were going through and what they were reading in the bible, they would eat food. Only it would be awkward, because they would have to lean forward or even get out of their chair to grab food to put on their plate.
Finally, the group leader moved the food to another room. He reasoned that if they wanted more food they could just get up and go get it without distracting everyone else. Instantly, the problem with people not opening up or getting close with each other vanished. Why?
I don’t know exactly why, but you can guess. There the solution was, right under their nose the whole time, and they just didn’t realize it. They may have thought about it half a dozen times, but it was such a small thing, something they could obviously live with right? There’s no way that could be the answer to all the other complicated issues of opening people up, all the complex psychology and ice breaker methods. Or could it?
Funny how that is isn’t it?
It’s because people are people.The way you solve a problem in this world isn’t necessarily logical. If the problem is X, you try to find an X-rooted solution. But you might need a Y-rooted solution, like moving the food into another room.
I remember another time when I was with my dad. It was freezing outside and the hot water heater broke in the house. All that was wrong with it was a seal needed replaced. Only problem was that to replace the seal, you had to empty the hot water heater. So we basically just opened it up, with water gushing everywhere…all through the garage (thank God it was in the garage!) and replaced the seal.
The only problem was that a lake formed, and then froze, right in front of the garage. Being the man of ingenuity that I am, I suggested that to break up the ice lake, we take a couple of hair dryers or a space heater, something like that, and melt it away. I was so logical. I just thought, oh it’s ice, it needs melted, and we have just the fancy 21st century technology to do so.
My dad is a primitive brute though. He thought about my suggestion for about 15 seconds, then he said, “No, that’s silly.” He grabbed a sledge hammer and took a couple swings at the ice lake and picked the broken ice pieces up with his hands. The lake was gone in about five minutes. So much for my fancy, city-boy, 21st century, mindset.
I wish I could say that I’ll be watching for these things in the future. Ways that my mind dismisses the obvious so quickly, ways that it attempts to parade itself pridefully about, but I wonder if that is true. There’s something fundamental to the way our minds work that we just look for the complex solutions when we perceive a complex problem. But, I will say this, I am going to try. I’m going to force my mind to think simply. I think that just the fact that I know this happens, that I am aware of the mind’s vanity, I think that knowing that will matter. Maybe it will make the difference that changes everything.
You probably never thought that there could be a right way to consider others when choosing your outfit. Most people have very simplistic thoughts toward fashion. On the one hand there are vain and self-absorbed people who use fashionable clothing as a means of elevating their status and pushing others down. On the other, you have those rebel elements of society who have reacted against the status-seekers by flaunting dress codes and styles.
But can there be a better reasoning for choosing your manner of dress?
Consider that when you attend a wedding, you should think about dressing in a way that respects the bride, groom, and families involved. If you love them, then you do not show up in torn jeans and a wrinkled thrift-store shirt. Why? The reason is that how you dress speaks of your care for others. Choosing appropriate clothing for the occasion tells them that you are celebrating with them, that their wedding is important to you because you put thought into even your clothing, and that you feel that this is a special time (requiring special clothes) just as much as they do. People don’t get married every day. You shouldn’t wear the same clothes you wear every day to a wedding.
To use another example, you do not violate the dress code at work. Why is that? Why is there even a dress code at work? The simple mind thinks that it is merely a) a way for “the man” to keep you down, or b) a display of vanity and pride. However, that is a thought process formed without consideration (once again) to others. First of all, work is a place of business. When doing business, people should wear business clothes. BECAUSE: Business clothing, once again, shows respect to those you are doing business with by saying that their business is important to you, that you relate to them as a peer, and it also speaks to the quality of the service or product that you are providing for them. It also shows consideration for your coworkers, by telling them that you respect them and what they do, because you put thought into appropriate clothing for what you do. It can also speak to how much you respect yourself and what you do.
Now, on the other hand, I’m sure you can imagine a bank, restaurant, or other place of business where people dress in what we would consider inappropriate clothing, but let me ask you, why would such a place of business exist? I’ll tell you why: because their customers and their colleagues are more respected this way. Certainly this would be appropriate, if, for instance, your restaurant was geared towards hippies. It would not be respectful to hippies to dress in formal black and white attire.
So you see that this principle of dress is really far more mature than the two standard ideas I presented above. According to this principle, how you dress is because of others. It considers others, respects them. It applies in all situations, to all people.
Let me make one final clarification. Dressing because of others is far different than dressing for others. That would be a mistake easy enough to make, but that is not what I am saying. Dressing for others is really nothing more than insecurity. It is done to ingratiate oneself with others, to gain their approval, or alternately, to elicit their praise, to gain glory for yourself. But dressing because of others is different. Dressing because of others shows them respect. It is an act of service. It communicates that you are considerate of them. That’s the difference.
So next time you step in front of your closet, ask yourself, will what I wear show respect and consideration? It will make life easier. It is one small step you can make that put people around you at ease to be themselves, and not be provoked to jealousy, envy, greed, or many of the other vices that well up naturally in people. When they are free of these provocations, people will be nicer to you, more willing to do you a favor, and more happy around you in general.
Our band is looking for a permanent drummer now. Friends have been helping us out until now. We need someone around 21-30, who wants to play fun pop/punk, has reliable transportation and gear, and is available to practice twice a week. We’re looking for the right drummer for the band so take a look at our myspace and message us or email band -at- thefollowthrough.net if you or someone you know is right for it.
The band I play in regularly, The Follow Through, is going to play a CD release show this Saturday, August 2 at KTUB. The show starts at 7:30pm and features City Against the Grain, Look Closer, and The Promise Morning. We are playing a new song and most importantly, our first show with our new drummer Barrett!!
