The Paradigm of the Cross of Jesus

Evil, hatred, anger, malice - all these things require people to propagate them. When someone hurts you, attacks you, you have two choices. First, you can lash back. You can continue the chain--whether it is a closed loop of two people, or an open chain of a whole nation--by returning hatred, anger, and harshness upon another. The second choice is to stop it. You can stop the chain dead in it's tracks.

You must take the momentum of the hatred, of the anger, and absorb it upon yourself. It is an odd metaphor, I know, but it is true. You have to take it upon yourself to let all the momentum land upon you, and choose not to reflect it onto another person.

This is how I see the paradigm of the Cross of Jesus: he let evil stop at him. He didn't retort, he didn't strike back, he didn't organize a rebellion. He let it stop at him. He gave us a paradigm, an example of how to live righteously. An example of how to stop hate, and hurt, and pain. It is a paradigm for those who follow in the way of Jesus, who seek to live in the wisdom that this teacher gave us in his life and teachings.

Maybe it's the whole 'turn the other cheek' bit?

I don't know. But I do know that it is a nugget of pure gold - a godsend of wisdom upon my life. When I try to win, or try to get the upper hand, everything fucks up. When I stop trying to win, and stop the heated momentum, everything calms down.

Curiously, I see this paradigm elsewhere:

In the Matrix movies, Neo tries to fight Agent Smith over and over again. It never works, Smith only keeps getting stronger and stronger (as does Neo). But when Neo finally allows Smith to 'kill' him, only then does he finally attain victory over Smith. He absorbs it upon himself, stops it in its tracks, and is truly victorious.

I close with a U2 Lyric:

You don't have to put up a fight,
You don't have to always be right,
Let me take some of the punches
for you tonight.
(Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own)

Random Stream of Consciousness

My one week of relaxation is over. Summer session begins on Monday. I have 23 hrs of school a week (17hrs of lecture, 6 hrs of lab). It lasts for 8 weeks. I'm going to be very, very glad when it's over.

* * * *

All my marks are out, finally. I will only say this - wow! It's a sad day when the highest mark you ever get in university is from Physical Chemistry. It's even more sad when it's from the course I never attended and thought would definitely fail. Oh well. University is weird like that.

* * * *

I am officially addicted to 24. This tension is killing me. Aie ya! So many hours left, I wonder oh I wonder!

Oh, and I'm interested in CSI now.

Either way. I will only go DVD seasons. I can't stand television: I want uninterrupted, commercial-free, entertainment when I want it.

* * * *

I've managed to finish another game of Civ IV. Nothing spectacular, I'm just an amateur. Noble domination win, large balanced map, a good 7 or 8 civs. I think I just beat out Hatty's spaceship. Very close call.

* * * *

I'm very relieved. My marks now are pretty much set for med-school applications. Some schools are gonna include my summer courses from this semester, some aren't. But 10 credits aren't gonna change very much. And I hope to do well...semi-well...maybe?

* * * *

I really like this rollerhockey league. Though we've gotten our arse handed to us lately, it's fun to get out and play some hockey with a few friends. Good sport, good exercise. Although, I have a feeling we'd have a much better time if we went down a tier or two. That will be decided after our game this Sunday.

The eel in the cave

For all you doubters, here are some screen caps with subtitles. I told you, she was talking about her 'cave'.

Trust me, my friends, I didn't grow up watching movies on subtitles - I actually listen.