Briefly

More and more of what I hear and read today seems like complete nonsense. Even things which most people treat as great wisdom seems ridiculous and shallow to me. Then when I run across ideas and information which seem to be exciting and potentially life-changing to me, I find that most other people’s eyes glaze over when I try to share those things. My uneasiness about this isn’t about politics or ideology or religion. It’s not about one particular interest group or another. It’s something far more fundamental. It seems to be a difference in how we view the world and evaluate foundational information — how we process reason and truth. It feels as though the foundations of the Enlightenment have radically eroded and we’re descending into a new Dark Age in which the philosophical values I hold dear will largely be forgotten. The Western Civilization which has given us such great gifts is in jeopardy — and I fear the things we are proud of today will soon lie in ruins, as has been the fate of so many other great civilizations which have died.

When I learned to write, my words were speaking purely from my head. I was a smart kid and I thought I knew everything. I learned to write well enough to express my ideas. Then I learned to write factual news and sports and features in a style which newspapers wanted. But something odd eventually happened. About seven or eight years ago, I learned to be vulnerable and open — and the words I wrote started coming from my heart instead. That was transformative for me. But while the head is satisfied to make a point strongly one time and move on, the heart needs to keep speaking, over and over, as its emotional depth runs over. Because of this, I constantly find my heart needing to express love and longing and hope and other things, but I find that I’ve said these things before — and I can’t imagine someone wants to hear them again. Then I remember the words to a beautiful song by Terry Scott Taylor about speaking truth from the heart. He wrote, “Love is a question mark. Life’s in a shadow box. God hides himself sometimes inside a paradox. And there may not ever be anything here new to say, but I’m fond of finding words that say it in a different way.” My heart overflows with love and need and longing, and I have no choice but to keep finding new ways to express what my heart needs to say. Again and again. Because it never goes away.

I know people who spend more than $200 every month with their television provider. At the end of every day, the people of those families disappear into separate rooms to enter different worlds of television, movies and gaming. They tell me their lives would be boring otherwise. I can’t tell them they’re wrong, but I do know the things that mean the most to me are more analog than digital. Lucy and I just got back from walking through the peaceful downtown of the sleepy suburb where we live. She loves sniffing everything and watching the sights and sounds. Traffic is endlessly fascinating to her. And I get to walk and think about life — about problems and goals and working all sorts of things out. Lucy isn’t concerned with the same things I am, but she’s a great listener. The things that bring us joy and meaning don’t have to cost money. I suspect it’s far better for mental health than more typical modern entertainment. Now if I just had a wife and some children to come along for the walks, things would be even better. There’s a lot of peace to be found in simple joys which are completely free.