Kristi Sweeney’s Weblog

On the long running sitcom Seinfeld, there is a character named George Costanza.  Among the many features of George are a strange relationship with a set of odd parents.  In one episode, we learn that George’s father, Frank Costanza, has invented a holiday which he calls Festivus.  Festivus is apparently for “the rest of us,” whoever those people might be.  There are many features to Festivus, which include, but are not limited to, the Airing of Grievances and Feats of Strength.

I was all set to make a blogpost about my own personal, often lengthy, list of pet peeves.  I have quite a few and most of them are things that of course (except not really) things that I would never dream of doing myself.  I felt as though I was in a perfect position to do it too, as this has been a long week, filled with the making of some difficult decisions, an ear infection that I cannot afford to get treated, some other medical problems that might offend the sensibilities of some and so will not be posted here, several tests in my summer classes, and a whole litany of other things that have made this a difficult week.  However, despite my huge desire to Air Grievances, it doesn’t seem fruitful.  Sure, I could rail on and on about the lack of the use of turn signals, or people who think that it’s totally OK to stop in Wal-Mart, take up the entire aisle and talk and talk to your friend as though the rest of us don’t want to actually do our grocery shopping.  And, as is apparent, I cannot resist doing that just a little.

But it’s not prudent.  More than not prudent, it’s not righteous.  And along the same lines as not righteous, it’s not beneficial.  In Phillipians 4, the apostle Paul writes of speaking only of those things that are “true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.”  There’s significant merit to this.  Yes, there are things that are more than pet peeves in my life.  Yes, there are things that are simply annoyances, but seemingly ever present annoyances.  I’m learning (and if you know me in real life you know that this is a painfully slow process) that it doesn’t help to air your grievances.  Talk about your problems with a close friend?  Absolutely.  Whine about slow drivers and late professors?  Not helpful.

No post of mine would be complete without some science.  According to the Mayo Clinic, having a positive outlook has such fantastic health benefits as longer life span, decreased increase of cardiovascular disease and greater resistance to the common cold.  Read article here http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/positive-thinking/SR00009

Because of these benefits, I believe that I’m done with the airing of grievances, to the best of my ability, at least.

I read a lot.  I read fiction and non-fiction.  I read the news, I read science journals and articles, I read cookbooks and I read fluff magazines.  Most often, my favorite things to read are works that do one of two things: teach me something I didn’t already know that is useful to me and my life, or the people in my life or make me feel good.  I don’t like to read things that are upsetting as a general rule.  It genuinely bothers me that there are still  people out there that don’t agree with me.  After all, I’m completely right all the time and it makes total sense that everyone should see things my way.  (For those of you who cannont manage to assume sarcasm on this blog, which I might add bewilders me, here’s  a hint: That last statement was facetious.)

It has occured to me that the reason for selecting to read the things I read is simply a matter of perspective.  Generally speaking, I do not have a hard life, nor have I ever had a hard life.  Some awful things have happened to me, but they were largely short-lived and solvable.  I like to read things that reiterate this fact. I do not like things to be hard.  By that same token, I don’t like to read political pieces, as a general rule, that disagree with me.  I like knowing that there are other people that feel the way I do and have taken the time to articulate their (read: my) points of view.

Because of enjoying the sensation of feeling good about myself and my views, I tend to shy away from opposing viewpoints.  So much of this is because when people have an opposing point of view, and this is from both sides, their general argument is to make some statement about how “So and so doesn’t know what they are talking about because they are young, poor, rich, spoiled, etc .”  (There are other adjectives you could use.  Please fill them in if you wish.)  This is not conducive to the exchange of ideas and the intellectual growth of individuals.

So what to do?  So often I simply shy away from discussions with people who see things differently than I do because I’ve been burned so many times.  It’s possible, and perhaps even probable that you will not call me names or fail to listen to my point of view.  It’s even possible that instead of asking me questions and failing to give me the chance to answer them, that you will listen and even if you don’t agree, engage in intelligent, logical discourse with me.  It’s not something that I have seen happen particularly often though, so it’s hard to find the energy to attempt the conversations.

However, I like understanding people.  I like knowing why they feel the way they feel about things and I like knowing the reasons they have for believing as they do.  I don’t think it’s wise to only surround yourself and read things written by those who you already know agree with you.  However, I also don’t think it prudent to engage in heated arguments, name calling and false discourse with people who, and I have been guilty of this too, are simply throwing insults, engaging in name calling and flinging stereotypes like they were found in 3/$1 bin at the Dollar Tree.  How do we resolve this?  Ideally, we learn that we are to be people first, people who are kind to others, who realize that we simply cannot exist without others on this planet and politicians second.  In my case, I am to be a Christian first and all other things after that.  In the case of many people who read my blog, you are to be Christians first and all other things second.  Short of that, do we elect to never engage in arguments with people?  Do we set ground rules and then end the conversation if those rules aren’t followed?  Do we simply surround ourselves with like-minded people and ideas?  Do we engage in arguments and forcefully try to impress our ideas on other people?  Do we publish blog posts that are vitriolic and poorly supported?  I’m asking because I want some answers.  I love learning things.  In the rare instances that I have had conversations about politcs and religion with people who were kind when we discussed them, I have learned things.  I have even changed my beliefs on some things.  But I’m just as guilty of being the name caller and the over-talker as anyone else.  So, how do we resolve things?

In the interest of being a bit transparent about weight loss and fitness, I’ve started another blog, that, in all probability will get updated more than this.  It will not, however, be as interesting.  The URL is kristisweightloss.wordpress.com

Jersey Sleeping

That is Jersey.  She’s tiny and cute and a great deal of fun.  And I love her because she is my cat and she chose me.

Couch damage

That is what tiny, cute, fun Jersey has done to my couch.  How do I fix it?  And how do I stop the cat from clawing the couch?  This is, of course, insuring that no harm comes to my cat.

I get up at 630 four days a week to squeeze in trips to the gym before class and work.  I spend a great deal of time bitching about, particularly when my alarm goes off at 630 on those mornings.  I moan about being sore and I whine about the numbers on the scale not moving downward quickly enough for my taste.  I spend time on the elliptical before attack the Nautilus weight machines.  More often than not, I hate it both before and during.  Muscles burn.  I’m out of breath.  I’m sweaty and my hair is all over the place.

And then it happens.  Every morning, without fail, an older man wheels himself across the floor of my gym.  He’s an older man with a prosthetic leg, a man who has to wear compression stockings on his other leg, which does not work significantly better than his prosthetic.  He uses his arm strength to heave himself onto a recumbent bicycle, refusing any help and smiling all the while.  After pedaling for longer than I would be able to, he uses his arm strength to heave himself back into his wheelchair, wheel over to the wipe dispenser and then wheels back over, making sure to take the time to wipe down his bicyle.  After he is done with his cardio workout, he proceeds to the free weights area to lift and make sure that his arms stay strong and his metabolism stays as high as possible.  The whole time he is smiling and jovial with the staff and the other gym patrons.

I am 25 years old.  That’s not old by any stretch of the imagination and yet, despite my good overall health, I whine about getting up in the morning.  I whine about not having lost enough weight yet.  I whine that going to the gym is just one more thing I have to fit into my already overfull day.  And then I get to see this complete stranger and his work ethic, his smiling face and his commitment to whatever modicum of health he can maintain despite his obvious injuries and physical ailments and I am reminded that my body is ultimately not my own, it is a gift from my God and I have no business whining about taking care of it.  So tomorrow, when I get up to go to the gym, I’m going to do my best to remember this lesson before he shows up.  To remember it when I don’t want to spend even one more second on the elliptical or do one more rep on the biceps curl.  To remember that I have been blessed with health and that it could be taken away in an instant.

Happy workouts everyone!

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.

This is my new iPod Classic.  I have finally joined the 21st century.  He’s black and I have named him Obama.  Now I can have whatever music I want when running or driving.

The image just above you is a pair of big girl panties.  Put them on and buck up.

There will be a more meaningful post later this week.  However, I have hurt my back and am feeling remarkably cranky at people.  Put on your big girl underwear and do your best to be adults.  I’m locking comments on this post on account of the fact that once my muscle relaxers kick in, I’m likely to rethink  my harshness and delete it.

I’m proud.  It is not the first time I’ve been truly proud to be an American, but it is definitely the first time in many years.  I know that for many many people this election was about race, but I can honestly say that it was not for me.  This election was about getting to vote FOR someone who I believe in.  It doesn’t help though that this is a huge boon for civil rights, for poor black kids in the inner city and for every person of color that has been mistreated simply because of the color of their skin.  It’s a beautiful day and I am proud.  Aren’t they a beautiful family?  If only they would become cat people…

Before I get concerned emails and comments from the Christans who read my blog, I’d like to say that this is not an announcement that I will be departing from my Christian faith.  This post, and perhaps subsequent serials, is simply designed to promote discussion, thinking, and reading about a topic near to my heart.  This post deals with one problem; subsequent ones will deal with other problems.

I believe that there are multiple reasons for leaving the Church.  Today we’ll focus on one that I have noticed rather evidently in my life.  I grew up in a family that was at our place of worship every time the doors opened.  Sunday school, Worship, Sunday night service, Wednesday night and any and all things in between.  As a teen I went to all of the youth events, attended a Christian camp until I was old enough to work at said camp and then worked there for four summers in college.  The summers that I did not work at camp I spent in foreign missions.  I don’t say any of this to brag, because I believe that all of those things can be extremely problematic and in fact have been problematic in my adult life.    That problem is Obligation.

Part of attending everything available to you is developing the sense that you have to be there.  It’s not so much that you think that nothing can go on without you and that everyone will be lost if you are not present.  It’s more that you believe that God wants you at events and at church activities and you begin to define your life around church functions.  Eventually though, this is not enough.  At some point you wake up, realize that you have no relationships to speak of, and instead are simply a good church person.  While it is not bad to be a good church person, it is a horrible way to live life.  Once you realize this, there are two options: fix the problem by waking up to relationship with Christ and hopefully other people or freak out and leave the Church because you have not found fulfillment in activities and obligation.

I’ve rarely considered really leaving the Church, but the few times I have, one of the reasons has been lack of relationship and a huge sense of obligation.  I’m not attempting to solve problems here because I don’t really have a good way to do that.  I’m simply posing an issue and hoping to create discussion.