To Learn from the Trees

One of the most terrifying realizations a person can have is that time passes.  Whether you are doing something or not, time continues to progress, seconds turning into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into weeks, weeks into years, until certain moments are no longer distinguishable.  People are born, and from the minute they take their first breath, they begin to die.  We are all dying.  Seasons change and nature progresses through its cycle - birth, death, new life - continuously.  Humans are not as aware of it as we should be.  Every second of every day, the trees and the birds live and breathe around us in perfect harmony with one another.  Perhaps we should take note of it.  Through storms and brutal winters, the keep on living.  They are survivors.  Regardless of their circumstances, they continue to live.  And when their time has come to leave this world, they have passed on their seeds to sprout new life so the world can continue its perfect harmony.  In the end, we all fall victim to time and its passage.  It's a beautiful tragedy.

The reassuring reality of it is we all play a part in the tragedy, whether we choose to or not.  We are surrounded by living organisms, characters in the circle of life, for however brief of time.  Through this passage, we should learn from the trees.  Eventually, they will die - just like us.  But through the seasons, they thrive.  They grow and bud, then prepare themselves for winter, year after year.  Biologically, death is imminent.  That does not give them reason to stop living, though.  Creatures depend on them, so they live and thrive.  We should do the same.

Seasons will change.  Time will pass.  You will live.  And you will die.  While we are here, we should thrive.  Beneath the vast cosmos, we need to become active participants in this great tragedy, contributing our voice to the harmony of life.

Faith and Science

Okay, so can we can just talk about how amazing God is for a second?  I am a biochemistry major, and I've really only been studying the sciences really in depth for a couple months, but I have learned so many amazing things about how life works.  Every time I open my textbook, I see God.  In today's society, that sounds really strange, especially with all the evolution talks.  But even in the first chapter of biology, where all it speaks of is the biosphere and such, the complexity of the world is brought to light.  The deeper I go, the more I realize that we are not here by accident.  The systems and reactions and cells in the body, or even the microscopic bacteria, are far too complex to simply have happened.

Do you realize the amount of steps and processes that occur just in the mitochondria of a cell to provide our bodies with energy?  It's amazing, quite simply (and also completely overwhelming).  Atoms, the smallest unit of matter, can react with other atoms in an almost infinite number of ways, yet our bodies know the codes to arrange them in a way to specifically suit our needs. The neurons that connect in your brain to form memories, or even that cause your hand to move as you are scrolling, are incredibly complex, yet specific to a function.  Our body can be scratched, bruised, and broken, yet still manage to heal itself.  If that doesn't point to God, I don't know what does.

I could probably get some criticism for this post, but I don't mind.  Everything I am seeing and learning is reflecting God.  We are not here by accident.  Random particles did not come together to form systems as complex and as perfectly organized as the ones on this Earth.  Humans are flawed by sin, but I believe our bodies, the ecosystem, and the stars are all still intact, the way God created them to be.  The mitochondria in our cells are making energy so we can praise God, yet so often we use it for something pointless.  We need to take a look inside ourselves, not just our souls, but the bodies that house them, and examine how we are the artwork of a magnificent, beautiful, and perfect God.  

Hello Again

Wow, I didn't realize how long it has been since I last wrote.  Since my last post, I have traveled to Europe, graduated high school, and started college.  These are all huge milestones that haven't fully sunk in for me yet.

I have learned quite a bit though.

First and foremost, I loved Europe an inexplicable amount.  Most of you probably know that I've been dying to travel to London for a long time.  It was everything I'd dreamt it would be. In just ten days in Europe, I tried more things than I have in my entire life.  There was my first experience riding the tube - basically picture a can of sardines.  I ate snails, which was great with all the garlic and butter.  I rode on a night train; contrary to popular belief, it was NOTHING like the Hogwarts Express.  I learned and spoke and heard a cacophony of different languages, which was fun until I didn't know how to order a cheeseburger and people yelled at me.  I was cleansed by a hippie at Stonehenge.  I spent Easter morning on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  Through all of this, I saw an inkling of how diverse and beautiful the world is.  Even in London, where we spoke the same language, the people were so different than they are here - I am not saying they were better or worse, just different.  In France and Spain, it was so strange to hear people speak and not know what they were saying.  It was beautiful and terrifying and eye-opening.  The new experience, different cultures, and foreign languages made me feel alive, like I'm not the most important thing in the world. Everyone has stories to tell; my brief ten days in Europe taught me I want to listen to them for the rest of my life.

I read Paper Towns right before gradation, which was fitting.  The main character, Q, makes the point that leaving somewhere is exhilarating and sad and terrifying only if that place mattered.  High school was difficult, and part of me was completely ecstatic to be leaving it behind...but another part of me knew that things would be different from then on.  Leaving high school meant that I would no longer be surrounded by faces and thoughts very similar to mine; much like Europe, going to college bombarded me with new ideas and perspectives on the world.  High school was a cocoon of safety (mostly) - I was a big fish in a small pond.  With adulthood lingering above me and college surrounding me, I realize that I am a very very small fish in a massive pond.  There is nothing wrong with that; it is very exhilarating...but also completely terrifying.  Leaving high school mattered - it meant leaving a part of my childhood and comfort zone behind.  But if I didn't have the childhood and experiences I did, I wouldn't have the capacity or the will to accept things different than myself.  I am thankful that I was raised to be respectful and open-minded, but also to stay true to myself and my beliefs.

I don't really know the purpose for writing this blog, other than to tell you that just in the past six months, I have learned and grown more than I ever have.  I learned that the only constant in life is change, which is beautiful and exhilarating and terrifying and sad.  But how boring life would be without all of those emotions.