it never shines twice

This evening fate had it that I should end up on the couch with a bowl of ice-cream, watching the matrix. Once again I was reminded of how sequels never are as good as the original. The matrix truly is a great accomplishment. It is thought-provoking; so much more than mindless action. The original Pirates of the Caribbean is also a work of cinematic art - more on the merit of its classic blend of action, romance, and comedy than its worth for thought, but a great movie nonetheless. The sequels may well have provided their makers with a hefty profit, but they should never have been made. The originals would have been best left on their own; but art is hardly the only driving force behind cinema. A sequel can only be a good movie; it will never be great, never escape the shadow. Only an original will ever break into the light - not as something else, but as its own.

to the simple things

Sometimes it's the simplest things that make me the happiest.

- The first bite of my aunt's chocolate cake.
- Tasting the salt in the sea breeze.
- Feeling the wet sand stick to the soles of my feet.
- Having a hot drink in the middle of the night.
- Seeing the smile on someone's face knowing I've made a difference.
- Catching up with an old friend and talking all night.
- Finishing something I've been working on for a long time and knowing it is good.
- Enjoying a good book or movie.

All those good, simple things - let's do them.

trust

I guess you could say I've been having trust issues. The Christian walk is built on trust. Trusting that God is in control, that he will reign victorious, and that He has our best interests in mind. Trust is also integral to prayer; prayer is founded on the belief that God listens, and trusting that prayer is more than good for the psyche. The Bible is full of stories of how God protected His people; those who remained faithful to Him. It tells us of the glorious victories God brought the nation of Israel, yet it tells us little of the men who fell in battle. The Bible is the story of how God intervened in history, not of how He didn't. One of the few authors that takes us behind the scenes, is the author of the book of Job. Although many people claim to take comfort in Job, I can't help but admit that I do not feel the same way. We are brought to the climax, the topic of interest - why did God allow Job to suffer? Only to fall belly first to the surface, "who are you to ask questions, just trust me."

We are told to trust in God, to step out on a limb for Him, He will take care of us. Yet great thinkers such as Solomon are left distraught at the apparent lack of differential treatment between the faithful and the ungodly, exclaiming "There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless." To me, this speaks of a world where God does not intervene. He may well be there, observing from afar, but this does not vouch for the God who protects those who love Him. My mind could be at rest believing in this kind of a God. A God who because of the choices we made watches the consequences of sin unfold, until the day when enough is enough. This belief could go hand in hand with what I see. Perhaps this is why anger stirs somewhere inside me when I hear stories of how God saved someone's life; how God saved them to live another day because He still had a plan for their lives; because their work for God was not yet completed. Although this sounds like a pleasant sentiment, what does it imply for the lives of those who were not saved? You are left with some very unpleasant conclusions - although you may not be aware of this until disaster strikes a little closer to home. The Bible does not offer the rationale behind God's decisions in the book of Job, but perhaps Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived - perhaps he figured it out? Alas, no, Ecclesiastes ends on a similar note to Job: fear God, he deserves it.