Clutter
Theoretically, my room should be sorted out by now, a year and a half having elapsed since I moved in. Alas, I fear it is getting messier. I even have a box that has yet to be fully unpacked since moving. I think it contains clothes that I am unlikely to ever wear again, since it seems I have not needed anything from that box in a long time.
And since now I have a backlog of admin to do for the business, the chances of sorting out this mess are even more greatly diminished. My housemates probably owe me more than $1,000 in bills, but haven't taken time to figure out how much they owe me.
Somewhat ironically, I'm far more productive now than I have ever been. It's just that I have more to do than my increased productivity can cover.
Anyway, the state of my room is neither here nor there. I just wanted to post something, and since I'm starting to doze of I had better end here and write something more meaningful some other time. Adios folks.
Easter
On Monday the girl working for me mentioned how another place she had worked would put easter eggs in some of the flower arrangements. I thought this was a neat idea and today - after buying some chocolate eggs, chocolate rabbits, and these cute little baskets with a little plush bunny in them - there was a few Easter items giving the place a small amount of 'Easter feel'. (The little baskets with plush bunnies now have a single flower in the basket as well, and there are a couple of hamper sized baskets with flowers and Easter chocolates too.)
It occurred to me though that there was something not quite right with this. Why is the 'Easter feel' these days seem to be all about chocolate eggs, rabbits and hot cross buns? At least the hot cross buns have some reflection of the message of the cross in them (though I doubt many people realise what they're purporting to represent), but what does chocolate, eggs and rabbits have to do with Jesus' death at the cross and subsequent resurrection? I would think NOTHING. Now, I guess I'd better check the origin of easter eggs and bunnies... hmmm.... a quick google search reveals
this rather jumbled attempt to explain the origins of easter traditions. Ok, it says that Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but really, these days, is this really the excuse we have for easter eggs?
I don't actually think there's anything wrong with eating chocolate. And as a bit of fun the chocolate, eggs and bunnies seem innocuous enough. What troubles me is how pervasive the commercial aspect of Easter has penetrated our minds. Now, as a thought exercise, try and empty your mind, and then think of Easter. What pops into your head? The cross? Or Easter eggs?
To be honest, when I think of Easter, I think of chocolate, eggs and bunnies. It's ingrained from my childhood. My parents didn't instill it in me (being Chinese), but somehow it became the norm that when Easter came around I would expect chocolate of some sort. I used to love getting all the different types of eggs. These days I don't really think of Easter much, and it was only about a week ago that it occurred to me that Easter was coming up, and it's popped up before I really expected it, hence the last minute preparations for the shop.
Now, as I said, there's something not quite right here, and it's this - the commercial, fuzzy wuzzy image of Easter is obscuring the true meaning of Easter, just as has happened with Christmas. I'm sure this is not a new thought for Christians, but it doesn't make it less important. Do we remember Easter as a chocolate celebration with token nod to the cross when we eat a hot cross bun? Or do we grasp hold of the message of the cross first and relegate the eggs and bunnies to their rightful place?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" - John 3:16
p.s. I came up with an idea to make little flower pots with a single flower, a cross using reed and a bible verse, probably John 3:16. I wonder how they will be received...
A new reality
It's 1am and for some reason I am still awake, though I have no good reason to be up - I haven't been doing anything productive for the last half hour or so.
Perhaps it is because I am in a reflective mood. Tonight, at Foundations (a course designed to help equip people for christian service), one session was called "participating in the process of redemption". We explored what happens in groups - specifically, why people's self-concepts tend to be reinforced in group settings. For example, why is that a person who feels, isolated tend to be isolated in group settings? Or, why is it that a person who most needs to be listened to tend to not be listened too? One key point is that we judge others based on their behaviour, as this is what we can see. We don't tend to take the effort to see behind the behaviour.
The course has been an excellent chance to reflect on things that have a real impact on people - relationships with God, with others, and with ourselves. And even though I have been exhausted the last couple of months and haven't committed enough time to further reflection, the sessions have still been worthwhile. At the moment I think the biggest challenge for me is to really look beyond myself and seek out the needs of those around me.
As for other parts of my life at the moment? Well, let's put it this way, in the last several weeks I think I've lost 3kg. This is still within normal fluctuations, but I'm not surprised that it's happened. I can truly say that I've never before worked as much for such a prolonged period of time as I have in the last couple of months.
This may shock people (or perhaps not, depending on what you know of me), but when doing my university entrance exams in NZ I would only really study for a couple of days per subject. Seriously, I don't remember being locked in my room all night for a month. This would probably explain my less than spectacular results.
My point is that I think I am making up for lost time, since I've been seriously underproductive for more than the last decade. Unfortunately, instead of getting things done quicker as I become more experienced, I've been getting slower through plain tiredness. You know that you're approaching limits when you can feel muscles in your body telling you to rest.
Anyway, my mind's really starting to shut down, so, again, I must say adieu for now.
