I'm retiring. It has happened.
Whilst I have loved sharing my ramblings with the world here, I am leaving for bigger and better places.
So instead of the occasional essay on my thoughts and beliefs, feel free to join my daily adventures in the labyrinth of life on my new blog https://onefinemorningblog.wordpress.com/.
Together with my buddy Moy we are gonna share our loves and our non-loves on a range of different topics including fitness, food, music, films, news and more!
So farewell, it's been good.
To quote the god himself John Green:
“Thomas Edison's last words were 'It's very beautiful over there'. I don't know where there is,but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful."
-Kate
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Timshel
So it's been a while. That's an understatement, its been close to a year. Maybe not. Anyway it's been a period of time since I last posted. So to make up for it, im letting you in on my latest soul-searching pointless ramblings.
Mumford and Sons, let's discuss them. My friend once told me he didn't like them because they sounded like a shipping company. Upon reflection they do rather, but that doesn't make them any less admirable. I digress. They're my favourite band, by far and my favourite song by them goes by the name of Timshel. I'll be I've always loved this song, it's more than beautiful and seems applicable in every circumstance. After doing a bit of background reading I discovered the song was inspired by the John Steinback classic East of Eden (also a film with the one and only mr. james dean).
In the book the characters are discussing religion and various translations of the bible. The passage goes as follows:
“Don’t you see?” he cried. “The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’
And now it all makes sense. As a christian I've always struggled with the concept of free will and how that's played out. And it finally makes sense. J. K. Rowling once said that "It is our choices who show who we really are, far more than our abilities" and i agree so greatly. I'm so very thankful that I have the choice. The choice of icecream when i go to a cafe, the choice of lipstick colour when I go out. And beyond such topical things, the choice to do what's right. I can choose God at any moment, and similarly , I can choose sin.
A song that always makes me nostalgic for the days when I first read the Harry Potter series is called The Last Call by a band called Oliver Boy and the Rememberalls. In the second verse, highly reminiscent of rowling, the lyrics say:
"We have the power of choice. We have the power to define our own future.
We merely have to step up to the plate and take hold of what we care for,
Not letting go of our dreams and wishes just because people tell us this all has a life span."
Now yes, he may have been talking about the Harry Potter fandom at the time, but I think these words still ring true.
So, in conclusion, celebrate your choice, whatever it may be. Furthermore, be humbled with the realisation that you're not forced to do anything, you can choose to be a better person at any time. And with that, some final words from Steinback are definitely needed:
“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.”
-Kate
Mumford and Sons, let's discuss them. My friend once told me he didn't like them because they sounded like a shipping company. Upon reflection they do rather, but that doesn't make them any less admirable. I digress. They're my favourite band, by far and my favourite song by them goes by the name of Timshel. I'll be I've always loved this song, it's more than beautiful and seems applicable in every circumstance. After doing a bit of background reading I discovered the song was inspired by the John Steinback classic East of Eden (also a film with the one and only mr. james dean).
In the book the characters are discussing religion and various translations of the bible. The passage goes as follows:
“Don’t you see?” he cried. “The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’
And now it all makes sense. As a christian I've always struggled with the concept of free will and how that's played out. And it finally makes sense. J. K. Rowling once said that "It is our choices who show who we really are, far more than our abilities" and i agree so greatly. I'm so very thankful that I have the choice. The choice of icecream when i go to a cafe, the choice of lipstick colour when I go out. And beyond such topical things, the choice to do what's right. I can choose God at any moment, and similarly , I can choose sin.
A song that always makes me nostalgic for the days when I first read the Harry Potter series is called The Last Call by a band called Oliver Boy and the Rememberalls. In the second verse, highly reminiscent of rowling, the lyrics say:
"We have the power of choice. We have the power to define our own future.
We merely have to step up to the plate and take hold of what we care for,
Not letting go of our dreams and wishes just because people tell us this all has a life span."
Now yes, he may have been talking about the Harry Potter fandom at the time, but I think these words still ring true.
So, in conclusion, celebrate your choice, whatever it may be. Furthermore, be humbled with the realisation that you're not forced to do anything, you can choose to be a better person at any time. And with that, some final words from Steinback are definitely needed:
“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.”
-Kate
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The Fear
No, not as in the Lily Allen song (which is a great song, let's be honest). But fear in general. Marianne Williamson says that "Love is what we are born with, fear is what we learn". I couldn't agree more greatly.
The list of my fears is endless. From the somewhat normal fear of spiders, snakes and heights to the slightly more unusual fears of eating my yoghurt tub with the peel off lid completely removed (this may be just an obsessive habit, rather than a fear but oh well).
Then there are the more profound fears. The ones that keep us up at night. Fears about money, jobs, school, family, health, weight, appearance, romance, friendship, acceptance etc. etc. etc. We are completely bombarded by all of these fears, every single minute of the day and at times (ok, all the time) it can seem completely unbearable. But where do these fears come from? We're not born with them, we didn't come out of the womb scared shitless about which university course we would get into, or if we would be accepted by the people at our work. We learnt fear along the way. We're told what and who to fear by society. I definitely don't think it's deliberate but rather we subconsciously are influenced by the pressure of everyone and everything around us. At the same time I think we also subconsciously contribute to the fears of others.
If no one ever told us we couldn't fly, would we still be afraid of falling? What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail?
And seeing as though these thoughtless ramblings are not really reaching an end point I'll finish it up neatly with another great quote. Williamson perfectly sums the whole fear thing up in this killer quote from her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"
The list of my fears is endless. From the somewhat normal fear of spiders, snakes and heights to the slightly more unusual fears of eating my yoghurt tub with the peel off lid completely removed (this may be just an obsessive habit, rather than a fear but oh well).
Then there are the more profound fears. The ones that keep us up at night. Fears about money, jobs, school, family, health, weight, appearance, romance, friendship, acceptance etc. etc. etc. We are completely bombarded by all of these fears, every single minute of the day and at times (ok, all the time) it can seem completely unbearable. But where do these fears come from? We're not born with them, we didn't come out of the womb scared shitless about which university course we would get into, or if we would be accepted by the people at our work. We learnt fear along the way. We're told what and who to fear by society. I definitely don't think it's deliberate but rather we subconsciously are influenced by the pressure of everyone and everything around us. At the same time I think we also subconsciously contribute to the fears of others.
If no one ever told us we couldn't fly, would we still be afraid of falling? What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail?
And seeing as though these thoughtless ramblings are not really reaching an end point I'll finish it up neatly with another great quote. Williamson perfectly sums the whole fear thing up in this killer quote from her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"
"“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
- Kate
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