Entries Tagged 'monday morning wave' ↓

After today’s vote in the House, there was an immediate reaction on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial down nearly 7 percent, about a 780-point decline which was the largest one-day point drop ever for the index.

Wow… oh, how we are a tumbleweed in the wind, blown to and fro as the winds of change flow down through the valley below.

To be honest, I was completely surprised to see the Republicans so starkly oppose the bail-out plan presented by their commander-in-chief’s administration. I am wondering… are they against the bail-out plan altogether or are they being stalwarts, trying to get back to the original bail-out plan proposed by Mr. Paulson. The copy I am reading suggests that reasons lean toward a refusal to vote for a mud-sandwich of a proposal, as many that supported the bill did so with disdain.

Personally, I am hoping that the market will be left to balance itself… that the new administration would enact regulations that ensure something like this does not happen again. And I am hoping that America, with it’s lavish lifestyle based on consumerism and spending will see the evils of corporate greed and individual (un)accountability. Either way, this is going to hurt the ol’ pocketbook, as some have already lost a big portion of their retirement investments.

Remember: Getting back to equilibrium entails a “righting of the ship” in which excess is thrown overboard and the necessities are rearranged to ensure proper balance and safety in the turmoil.

funny note: McCain takes credit for bill before it loses… ha!

For those of you in America still sleeping… Friday is going to be a beautiful day!!  The sun is up the sky’s are clear and the waves are pulsing.  It is a rather odd thing to blog on a computer (not my computer) in a third world country, where the cost of this machine is more than an average villager makes in a year.  Here, the average daily income fluctuates around $4-$5 a day… which seems upsurd but is enough for the average family to live on… though not luxuriously as we American’s are accustomed to.  It is a sobering place, a place that continues to drive me to the scriptures and to the words in red.  A place that causes my mind to wrestle with spiritual, economical, and social issues and a place that causes my selfish habits to cry out in want (A/C anyone?).  It is a place I wish many could see, so that they too may have their ‘comfort’ paradigm shifted and their ’Western’ perspective challenged.

This island view is beautifully sobering.

Here is something for you to ponder (I’m already pondering it…).

What is truth? It is a question that has spanned the centuries and circumnavigated the globe. It is a question everyone has asked and many have tried to answer. It has spurred countless expositions and propositions from religious behemoths, philosophers, and psychologists.

A recent Barna Research Group survey on what Americans believe asked the question, “Is there absolute Truth?” Sixty-six percent of adults responded that they believe that “there is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.” Seventy-two percent of those aged 18 to 25 expressed this belief.

One side argues that there is no such thing as truth and the other side screams, “This is Truth!” This dissonance spurs me to look at Jesus’ words and his reaction to the question, “What is Truth?”

Looking at the Gospels I want focus on Jesus’ interaction with Pilate before the crucifixion (Matthew 27:11-26; Mark 15:1-15; Luke 23:1-40; John 18:28-40). Rewind 2000 years. Jesus has come to the end of his 3-year ministry, He stands before Pilate (a governor, three levels below Caesar of Rome, ruler of the most expansive and powerful empire in the world). We will look at John’s account of the dialogue below, with my paraphrase in italics:

Pilate: Are you the King of the Jews?

Are you asserting yourself as King, in effect challenging the Empire above you?

Jesus: Are you asking of your own accord or did others say it to you about me?

Do you really want to know?

Pilate: Am I a Jew? Your own nation and chief priests has delivered you over to me… What have you done?

You’ve really ticked people off… What exactly have you done?

Jesus: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this world.

Pilate: So you are a King?

Jesus: You say that I am a King. For this purpose I have come into this world - to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

Pilate: What is truth?
Jesus: [nothing... silence]

The story does not report any further dialogue between Pilate and Jesus, just that Pilate announced that he found no guilt in Jesus, at which point the Jews ask for Barabbas to be released and Jesus to be crucified. This silence made me curious, so I looked at the other Gospels account of this event… and they were silent as well. In fact the other accounts just recorded a small portion of this discussion… mostly that Pilate asked if Jesus was King, and Jesus either responding, “You have said so.” or being silent.

So what does Jesus define as Truth? While he did not answer Pilate’s question directly, we can see in his previous comment a reflection of Truth. Though Jesus’ definition is not what Pilate or most of us Westernized Christians want to hear.

You have probably heard from the pulpit a definition of truth, some of these definitions may have sounded like this:

Truth has set you free! Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and if you believe in Him you will have everlasting life!!

Truth is the word of God, the Gospels and the Epistles, and one must believe in them to have eternal life.

Jesus is the Son of God, and only through accepting Him as your personal Saviour and Lord can you be promised eternal life in Paradise. This is Truth!

While most of these statements are true (pun intended)… they lack integrity.

Pilate was looking for a definition to absolute truth, a truth he could understand and turn to for comfort and peace…. truth as he knew it to be is the unquenchable power of the Roman Empire. His definition of truth is elastic, the authority of truth was given to the man with the most power, the man who could elicit the most fear, and the man who could control his destiny, namely Caesar.

In these two definitions we have identified the inefficiency of the church and the fallacy of Caesar’s “Truth is Power.” mindset. The church and Caesar have used the banner of truth to wage wars, to force doctrines, beliefs and practices on the savages, the natives, the barbarians and the marginalized. This is a truth wrought with fear and delivered in condemnation and judgement.

This is not the Truth of Jesus. His is a more radical definition than the authoritative and power-filled propositions of yesterday and today. His Truth embodies another way that is not of this world. A definition that is much more subversive, counter cultural and permanent. A kingdom of servants who listen to and follow The Way of their King, not because they have to, but because they want to. His Truth is a God who was made man, who loved the marginalized and scattered the rich and the self-righteous. A Truth that made a way for the poor, the prostitute, the widow, the gentile, the jew, the marginalized and the rich.

Truth then died on a cross, Truth was raised from death, Truth bore witness for 40 days, and Truth then ascended into the heavens. Truth left behind a witness, a perpetrator of Truth that resides in the hearts of His followers. Truth lived, lives, and leads. Truth is Jesus. Absolutely.

Photo: Al Mackinnon

Monday morning! So much hope for the new week. The table is cleared for great projects, relationships to refresh, and surf. My favorite morning.
- John Severson (surfer, artist, founder of Surfer magazine)

Photo: Jason Murray

I heard someone once say that a smooth sea never made a skilful mariner, neither do uninterrupted prosperity and success qualify men for usefulness and happiness. Peaks and troughs, ebb and flow.
- Dave Rastovich (surfer, lifestyle role model, free thinker and free surfer)

Andrew Marr mountaineering at Dungeons.
Photo: Al Mackinnon

If you want to surf better, think of it like a job … with really good pay.
- Herb Torrens (surfer, author of The Paraffin Chronicles, corporate communicator)

Photo: Chris Burkard

Monday, car engines, horns honking, garbage cans and trucks, radios, music, news talk, signs, lights, voices, decisions, more noise. Took a drive to the ocean, went under the water today, and for the first time in a long while, I heard nothing. I feel salty. I feel baptised. I look foward to my options, the ocean calls.
- Billy Yeager (surfer, musician, filmmaker, one-time love child of Jimi Hendrix)

Marocco - Photo: Jason Murray

Surfing produces adrenalin, the elixir of stoke.
- DC Green (surf journalist, children’s book author, 41-year-old grommet)

Dean Brady, Victoria, Australia. Photo: Miagunya

Surfing: physical workout, mental cleanser, spiritual journey, social network, international brother and sisterhood, path to environmental awareness, communion with higher powers, cosmic teacher, anti-authoritarianism, rugged individualism, egocentric folly and … damned fun!
- DC Green (surf journalist, children’s book author, 41 year-old grommet)

Thoughts manifest into your reality. So, ‘Be the creator of your own existence.’
- Jesse Faen (surfer, former media voice of the WCT, CEO Insight USA)

Gonna hafta comment on this quote. Every Monday I receive a email from the Surfer’s Path Magazine containing a quote and a picture…. Most times the quotes are entertaining and pretty harmless, but this one is one I have to respond to. This is a prety dominant mindset of the day, and one that has dire consequences if followed to the “T”. If my thoughts “manifest [my] reality,” and I can “Be the creator of [my] own existence” then I am my own God. While it is true that we have an influence on our thoughts, attitudes, and actions we cannot create a reality. Reality is a harsh environment with many external pressures and influences, we cannot overlook these and just live in our own existence. In living this way we ignore the many injustices in the world. I can think positively about curing AIDS, Feeding the Hungry and Healing the Environment but this does not change the many problems that are endemic in the world. More on this is fluttering around in my mind but the lack of sleep is effecting my thoughts to paper processes. more later.