I think. Now what?
I remember sitting in the car at around age two or three and hearing my older brother, Landon, tell Mom, “I have a question: …” I promptly ask, “What’s a question?” “What you just ask,” someone replied. I don’t remember the rest of the explanation; it didn’t make much sense to me, but wanting to be as intelligent as Landon, I said, “I have a question.” I followed this assertion with another statement, which I was informed was not a question.
Even before we know what questions are, we begin to ask them. Sometimes I wonder, though. What is the point of thinking? I don’t mean “simple” thinking such as basic cognitive function, thinking about activities and people, or planning the day’s events. I mean deep thinking. Asking about the nature of existence, knowledge, and morality, and reason. The yawning chasm of an utter lack of understanding sometimes seems more frightening than inspiring.
Today, I read Philippians 4:8:
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
The verse puzzles me to some extent. Words like “lovely” or “of good repute” have so many different meanings that it seems hard to apply. I went through the verse with a Strong’s Concordance, looking at the Greek words and cross referencing them, which did clear up a lot of the ambiguity. The most surprising discovery, for me though, came when I looked up, “dwell.”
Logizomai: “To consider, take into account, weigh, meditate on…This word deals with reality. If I “logizomai” or reckon that my bank book has $25 in it, it has $25 in it. Otherwise I am deceiving myself. This word refers to facts not suppositions.”
We aren’t instructed to “dwell” esoterically on ideas that we cannot relate back to the real world. Instead, the answer to, “why think?” comes in verse 9,
“The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
We think so that we will act as God wants us to act. We think to seek the truth about the nature of existence, knowledge, and morality, and reason, not so that we can give ourselves philosophical high-fives, but so that we can determine a real course of action.
What is a question? An opportunity to pursue truth and act on it.
Ode to a Proboscis: a photo essay on noses
The nose is often overlooked, but I think that ought to change. The nose is a most charming feature that adds character to the face. No one’s nose (or scent, interestingly enough) is just like anyone else’s. Upon some research, I found that:
The average human being is able to recognize approximately 10,000 different odors.
Your sense of smell is stronger in the evening than in the morning.
People recall smells with a 65% accuracy after a year, while the visual recall of photos sinks to about 50% after only three months.
Slugs have four noses.
The nose is such a wonderful organ that many countries have dedicated proverbs to the nose. The English advise,
“Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”
I was confused when the Thai instructed, “Don’t borrow another’s nose to breathe with,”
until the Vietnamese clarified, “You cannot breathe through another man’s nose.”
The Russian generously says, “Let everyone pick his own nose.” (These quotes have nothing to do with the persons picture they are under...just fyi)
One of my favorites, however comes from Tibet:
“Don’t notice the tiny flea in the other person’s hair and overlook the lumbering yak on your own nose.”
Several countries cite ways of testing your luck with your nose.
In Israel: “An unlucky man falls on straw, but splits his nose from a hidden stone.”
In Germany: “He who is born to misfortune stumbles as he goes, and though he falls on his back will fracture his nose.”
In Poland: The real unlucky one will sprain his thumb when he blows his nose.
The average human being is able to recognize approximately 10,000 different odors.
Your sense of smell is stronger in the evening than in the morning.
People recall smells with a 65% accuracy after a year, while the visual recall of photos sinks to about 50% after only three months.
Slugs have four noses.
The nose is such a wonderful organ that many countries have dedicated proverbs to the nose. The English advise,
“Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”
I was confused when the Thai instructed, “Don’t borrow another’s nose to breathe with,”
until the Vietnamese clarified, “You cannot breathe through another man’s nose.”
The Russian generously says, “Let everyone pick his own nose.” (These quotes have nothing to do with the persons picture they are under...just fyi)
One of my favorites, however comes from Tibet:
“Don’t notice the tiny flea in the other person’s hair and overlook the lumbering yak on your own nose.”
Several countries cite ways of testing your luck with your nose.
In Israel: “An unlucky man falls on straw, but splits his nose from a hidden stone.”
In Germany: “He who is born to misfortune stumbles as he goes, and though he falls on his back will fracture his nose.”
In Poland: The real unlucky one will sprain his thumb when he blows his nose.
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o
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“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” ~Psalm 139:14
I Spy [Airport Edition]
Found:
Need to Find
- A long line to get through security
- Friends! [We found the Macdonalds waiting for their flight at the gate next to ours.]
- A one hour flight delay [We won't have as long a layover in Dallas... ]
- A cute, old lady with "Texas hair"
- A litte boy wearing a cowboy hat, red cowboy boots, and... an "I *clover* NY" T-shirt?
- A man in bellbottoms carrying a red patent leather bag...
- A girl who's back must be sore, since she's been bent at a 45 degree angle, leaning on her boyfriend's arm for about 2 hours
- Another hour and a half flight delay [So much for our connecting flight in Dallas...]
- A girl in a neon yellow shirt and neon pink capris
- A cool brother
- Another half hour delay
Need to Find
- An airplane