Tonight I am wanting to write…yet feeling quite uninspired to do so. Not sure where that leaves me. All week long I have been thinking about the different posts I would love to write such as:
………..as I listened to more of Rob Bell’s book and started the other book – God Wins. I think this experiment in comparing the two books has done really nothing more than show me how hard it is to get myself out of the way and not jot prejudge others or their works. Perhaps this is because of where I am at in my life right now…and the fact that my tendency is to reject anything – anything that feels even a little legalistic to me….and this has me siding with Rob’s book and cringing to Mark Galli’s book. It could also be influenced to the readers – Rob reads his own book and Galli doesn’t. Yet, while I am eager to re-listen to Rob’s book and start the study that goes with…I find my self totally spacing with Mark’s and having to rewind time and again. Mark’s book is definitely not how I would have refuted a book…for I would have done a chapter by chapter rebuttal. But I didn’t write the thing. When I am catching his points – which seem hard to catch but again not sure if that is me or the voice or what – I am confused because he seems to be making a point that Rob makes – just in different ways. I even feel like the book I have heard from Rob is not the same book Mark is talking about in his book. Could it be that I am totally missing something from Rob’s book? Or is Mark? It seems to me like people are so eager to stick to their doctrine and not really LISTEN to others if it opposes their own…that perhaps this gets in the way of really hearing the other and what they are trying to say….and I could certainly be included in this as I try to listen to God Wins. (Insert BIG sigh here.)
….Breaking Dawn Part 1 – I could certainly write about Bella and Edward….but I think because I am trying so hard to do away with my romance addiction that I am sadly just not really into this whole story anymore. It could also be because the movie – as was the book at this point – was not all that exciting. The biggest thing I think I got out of the series …actually two things is this:
1) Edward in a sense is a Christlike figure – minus the bloodsucking demon of course :-). Honestly though, I did find a book last year that analyzed all the theology in the Twilight series and while over my head – it was pretty amazing. For example, Edward, like Christ was in a human body even though he was not human. Edward, in order to live the life he wanted to live, had to deny himself – which was that he was a vampire who usually survives by – well you know how. Christ too, while fully being God, was fully man and had to deny this his very human nature in order to lead a sinless life. The book even talked about there being symbolism in the blood. I’m sure there was more there…but don’t remember.
2) What really stood out to me this time thru the movies and the 1st book was the fact that Edward – like most of us humans – had a fear of being seen for who he really was. Throughout the entire story he kept waiting for Bella to run away from him after realizing that he was a blood sucking demon (wouldn’t any normal girl run away?). He even says this in very similar words at one point to Bella – yet she sees him for who he is – faults and all – and decides to stay and to love him…all of him for who he is. He totally deserts her in book 2…because even though she has accepted him for him – he can’t seem to do the same thing. And while most fairy tales have the man saving the woman – looking at the story now I see why I have liked it…because Bella saves Edward just as much as Edward saves Bella. They aren’t the same – but they are equals. They draw out the best in each other …allowing the other to be who they truly are – giving each other freedom which is the only place the love can thrive in. Even for all of the love triangle that Bella, Edward and Jacob are in – you see the freedom Ed gives Bel in allowing her to explore her feelings for Ja (almost too much in my opinion). So maybe not all love stories out of Hollywood are fairytales. Okay, okay I know it there is still the whole vampire bit…
Oh, and I just had to share Edward’s wedding toast to his Bella…for again it makes my point for me that even vampires just want to be truly seen and still loved for their good and bad parts:
“Its an extraordinary thing- to meet someone who you can bare yourself to, who’ll accept you for what you are. I’ve been waiting,it seems like for a every long time to get beyond what I am and with Bella, I feel I could finally begin. So I’d like to propose a toast to my beautiful bride: No measure of time with you would be long enough, but we’ll start with forever”.
…....Or even after viewing Happy Feet 2 which I have to say is my favorite movie of the year so far….”Get your happy on,” says one of the krill as he is dancing! What is there not to be happy about when you are dancing? The world is just a better place with dance.
Yet, none of those seem very inspiring to me right now. Maybe because I am eager to jump back into the world of Felicity, Ben & Noel. Yes, I found Netflix has this “old” drama series to watch. I watched it in its entirety right before/after my first was born…helped pass all those hours of feeding they do early on.
As I started watching it again…I am once again drawn into the drama Felicity gets herself into – such as following Ben all the way from Palo Alto to NYC, then telling him she did this face-to-face because of her “intense feelings” she has for him…and even sending her application essay to him that again talks about him. Wow, it’s amazing they ever got together in the end after that kind of start…yet for all of this, she stays true to who she is and “doesn’t wait in line” – the line of conformity by any means. However, there is so much more to this show and I see why it was such a great series. For it is all about:
……..breaking free from authority, declaring your independence and individuality
……… learning to stand on your two feet
………discovering who you are, what you are good at and dreaming about who you want to become
…………making mistakes and learning they are really just learning lessons
……….putting yourself out there – being real with others and asking them to do the same with you in return
…………….in short – coming of age……………….
All-in-all, while it is a drama series on TV – it really does a good job of getting into the “messiness” of the world of relationships at this time in life – showcasing the highs and lows as one tries to find herself in this world. I think it is hitting home more for me now as I have found that I feel less like the 13 year old girl I was stuck in for decades and more like a 20 something in my own “coming of age” story. Maybe by this time next year I will actually be my real age – both physically and emotionally. At least it is better late than never – right?
(Insert a big hearty laugh and smiley face here as I feel really good about my growth!)
