Something in the Air

Spring time is here in NYC and things are blossoming all around-especially love. Meeting so many men and connecting with a few great ones who don't live in NYC it is quite interesting...My romantic side wants to find love, but how far is one suppose to go for love? Are we suppose to go the distance literally or are we just fooling ourselves thinking that love exists when two fools rush on ones travels.  one can choose the path of love or can they? Does absence make the heart grow fonder or is it really just not knowing the reality of what lies ahead? There is still a mystery and a longing between two strangers and that makes things more intriguing.  It is distracting the whole idea of thinking of someone else and caring about their well being. of course it can be quite lovely, but how does one determine if it something real and worth investing. Like a nice brand new laptop or a new home-how does one figure out if men are worthe the investment?

You Got The Love (The XX Remix)

The Checks And Balances

Bringing Out The Best
Checks And Balances
The traits we notice in others, both good and bad, can be opportunities for us to understand ourselves more deeply.

Most of us have probably come across the universal wisdom that the people who irritate us the most are expressing qualities that we ourselves have. This is why family members can be so vexing for so many of us—we see ourselves in them, and vice versa. This isn’t always true, of course, but when it is, it’s a real opportunity for growth if we can acknowledge it, because it is infinitely easier to change ourselves than it is to try to change another person, which is never a good idea. For example, if we have a coworker who engages in some kind of negative behavior, like complaining or trying to control everything, we can look and see if we ourselves carry those traits.

We may have to look to other situations in our lives to see it, because we behave differently in different environments. Perhaps we don’t complain at work, because our coworker overdoes it, but maybe we do it with our friends. Maybe we aren’t controlling at the office, but we’re used to being in control at home, and this is why we feel so irritated not to be in control at work. Even if we look and find that we are not engaging in the same behavior that we see as negative in others, we can still learn from what we are seeing in this person. The truth is, human nature is universal, and we share many of the same tendencies. What we see in others can always help us to understand ourselves more deeply.

Having the ability to see something in another person, and automatically bring this observation back to ourselves, is like having a built-in system of checks and balances that enables us to be continually engaged in self-exploration and behavior change. When we see behavior we don’t like, we can make a concerted effort to weed it out of ourselves, and when we see behavior we do like, we can let it inspire us to engage in imitation. Through this process, we read our environment and let it influence us to bring out the best in ourselves.

Florence + The Machine - Dog Days Are Over (2010 Version)

Another one of my life songs.. I feel this songthrough my mind, body, and soul.
love it!

Signs, Symbols, and Catholicism

Attending a private Jesuit school, Loyola University Chicago, my love for Jesus Christ was solidified through my beautiful education there. My favorite class was taught by a priest Father Bosco. The class was life changing. God's spirit was always inside of me, but it took my love and committment to God to a whole new level. Here is something I wrote about signs and symbols. Reading it today I love it because I feel fully connected to signs and symbols. I always think about my life and I SEE, FEEL, HEAR, TOUCH the signs. I experience and believe in the signs God is giving me everyday and especially amongst my travels and interpersonal interactions with othes. I feel his presence in me in each and evey interaction with people called to my spirit actually his spirit within me.  It is such a beautiful thing and I can't even begin to fathom a life without him.

Signs, symbols, and ontology are significant words to the sacramental theology of Catholicism.  First, signs point to what is significant.  They are epistemological involved more in the mind than presence.  A symbol is a sign that embodies what it signifies.  Symbols hold more power for Catholicism because they are ontological.  They pull together the meaning which extends beyond experience.  They do not just take place in the mind (epistemological), but they are present in a real way.  They are present in not only our conscious, but our unconscious ways as well.  Symbols signify the reality of God and his presence.  Symbols are never “just symbols” rather they embody the definition of a sacrament. 

Signs and symbols can described in an analogical way (both/and).  Sacraments are both signs and symbols, which are instituted by Christ, to give grace. Symbols lead to the true, real, and substantial ontological presence of Jesus Christ.  During sacraments such as marriage, baptism, confirmation, or the Eucharist, the presence of Christ is present through the matter and form of the sacrament in Holy Spirit.  Jesus is a sacrament of the loving reconciliation and presence of God, and Jesus is a sacrament for the whole world.  A priest is both and sign and a symbol for Jesus Christ.  Every sacrament is approached in an analogical way making comparisons through metaphors and images.  For instance, “God is both like and unlike human beings.”  God measures up to our most proud sacramental moments and our imperfect moments.  Throughout the life of a Catholic, the Catholic sacraments involved the signs and symbols that lead to the real, ontological presence of God.

"American Beauty" Through a Sacarmental Lens

“American Beauty” is a movie that demonstrates the beauty of life through many significant signs, symbols, and images.  The characters do a wonderful job at portraying a perfect, suburban life that ends up not being so perfect after all.  The characters may not have presented physical, religious encounters, but they portrayed many sacramental moments from the beginning to end.  If an individual views this movie from a hermeneutic lens, it is near impossible to not see the sacramentality of the movie.  The characters: Lester, Carolyn, Ricky, Jane, Angela, and Colonel Frank clearly demonstrate these sacramental images of life.

            First, Lester demonstrates the sacramental imagination through his spiritual awakening.  He is the typical white, suburban husband who works the boring 9-5 job.  He is unhappy with himself and his family, and has lost the meaning to living his life.  The first site of Angela starts up a lively spirit inside him; a spirit that now seeks a forbidden desire.  A sacramental moment is when Lester is laying in bed, and finally starts to communicate with Carolyn and tell her how he is feeling. He started living life like a teenage boy, such as: he gets a new car, listens to new music, works out, and eats healthier.  He is not going to live doing everything to please her, but now he chooses to please himself.  In an ontological way, his life moments take place with god’s presence beside him.  He realizes the beautiful moments are sacred moments.    Lester states,

“It's hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world…. And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life…You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. Don't worry ... you will someday.”

Everyone will experience death at some point or another in life, and looking back they too will cherish the beautiful moments of life.  Lester looks back and realizes he took all the precious moments for granted such as: communicating with Jane, his wife’s smile, and his wife’s own beauty.

            Next, Angela portrays a sacramental image of “American Beauty.” Throughout the movie, the red rose petals are constantly surrounding Angela’s body.  The roses

represent desire, sin, lust, and evil to Lester.  Angela wears red lipstick indicating sin and temptation. Angela follows societal norms striving to maintain a cool, perfect image.  She acts like a superficial blonde, but in the inside feels like an ordinary girl.  And she does end up representing an ordinary girl in an ordinary world.  She is not this sinful, seductive girl who gives into temptation; rather she is a young, pure, beautiful girl.  For instance, in the end she is wearing the white top appearing like an innocent young woman.

            On the other hand, Carolyn gives into temptation, but she is also very similar to Angela.  She portrays a successful, suburban career woman with an optimistic life perspective.  She controls her marriage with Lester and with the lack of communication it ends up falling apart.  When her perfect life image is threatened, she begins to fall apart as well.  Like Lester, she seeks a temptation, and someone to make her feel desired.  She commits adultery with Buddy and enjoys the fun, the romance, and the compatibility.  When Lester finds out, Carolyn feels regret seeking reconciliation for her sins.  She truly loved Lester, but she did not stay true to the sacrament of marriage.  Carolyn embraces Lester’s shirts and then falls to the floor like a devastated child who wants her normal, ordinary life back.

            Lastly, the hermeneutic lens is the lens of Ricky’s camera. Ricky’s camera objectifies Jane yet graces her with beauty.  Jane feels ugly in comparison to the beautiful Angela, and she has body image issues like any ordinary teenage girl.  Ricky’s lens records her real beauty by revealing her true identity.  While the camera is on, Jane does not have to act, but rather she can just be herself.  She lets the real moments such as: the fights, the crying, the gossiping, and the family moments are viewed by Ricky.  Ricky uses this lens to record lives of others because he does not enjoy his own life.  His father is too strict with too many rules and his mother is sick.  He would rather watch the sacramental moments such as: the plastic bag in the leaves, the homeless woman walking, or the mother taking her daughter to school.  Ricky says, “It’s as if God is looking right down at you-it’s beauty.” The lens catches the moments for God, and God is watching over everyone through this hermeneutic lens.  He sees everything including the bad moments and the good moments, but the beauty overpowers the evil.

            What defines “American Beauty”? It is the beauty of reality, an imperfect world.  It is a world that is not based on material possessions, but it is based on the real world.  The world contains homeless people, imperfect marriages, adultery, homosexuality, and guns.  The movie catches the sacramental images, moments, and relationships through the hermeneutic lens of God.  The world is full of so much beauty and the beauty should be cherished throughout ones life onto their death. 

Copyright

Priscilla C. Raj

Nelly Furtado - In God's Hands