Archive for the Purpose Category

Kathleen found The Tale of the Unknown Island by José Saramago (translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa; illustrated by Peter Sis) at the library and blazed through it. “You’ve got to read this,” she said. And I did. At 51 very small pages, it was a quick read. But it’s one of those stories that could take a lifetime to fully appreciate.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is quoted as saying “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” This is as true in life as it is in writing. And so it is with Saramago’s tale. What I appreciate most about the telling of the story is that Saramago seems to have crafted each sentence to say no more or less than it should, and all of it in an engaging, run-on prose style that pushes the story forward, a style that is both humorous and sensible at the same time, and he marries that with a story about a protagonist who is on a simple, yet profound, quest.

You, sir, are only interested in islands that are known, And unknown ones too, once they’re known, Perhaps this one won’t let itself be known, Then I won’t give you the boat, Yes, you will. When they heard these words, uttered with such calm confidence, the would-be supplicants at the door for favors, whose impatience had been growing steadily since this conversation had begun, decided to intervene in the man’s favor, more out of a desire to get rid of him than out of any sense of solidarity, and so they started shouting, Give him the boat, give him the boat.

I feel like this sometimes.

I despise New Year’s resolutions and I never write mine down which means I will probably write at length about them here and change my mind several times about which ones are most important and which ones I can actually do. When is it too late to change your mind about a resolution? Officially, that is.

On second thought, forget what I just said. How wimpy is it to try to accomplish only what you know you can do? The answer is “very wimpy.”

I, Harry, hereby resolve (probably) (okay, no, really) to do the following in 2006 because they sound like good ideas and they’re all cool and introspective and stuff and I’m 32 and life just keeps passing me by, man:

1. To the best of my ability I will make informed decisions and choices that improve the quality of life for all involved, including what I buy, wear, support, say, eat, and in general, do;
2. I will get that business launched, people!
3. I will take my wife out on more dates because she’s awesome, she’s so Kath-a-leen;
4. I will eat and exercise and be a good steward of my body because it’s the right thing to do, not because of what people might start saying about my butt, which would be something like, “Wow, that’s primo booty, my friend,” which is a nice compliment but hardly a long-term motivator;
5. I will bike from Seattle to Portland in a 2-day event;
6. I will try not to be so inverted, or introverted, either one;
7. I will spend more time reading than watching;
8. I will spend more time listening than speaking;
9. I will spend more time doing than talking about it;
10. I will learn to play that Phil Keaggy song at full speed; same goes for that Eric Johnson song;
11. I will live in the light;
12. When I fail I will remember that I am human, imperfect, forgiven, and loved, and that I should get up and do it again;
13. I will remember to give that same grace to others;
14. I will have at least 10 goals. (Check that one off.)

Dawkins:

“If it’s true that it causes people to feel despair, that’s tough. It’s still the truth. [blank] doesn’t owe us condolence or consolation; [blank] doesn’t owe us a nice warm feeling inside. If it’s true, it’s true, and you’d better live with it.”

[via Kottke]

Now, for 10 points, is he talking about the existence of God or the non-existence of God?

I happen to agree with Donald Miller’s take on the issue of arguing over the existence of God. In Blue Like Jazz, he says:

“My most recent faith struggle is not one of intellect. I don’t really do that anymore. Sooner or later you just figure out there are some guys who don’t believe in God and they can prove He doesn’t exist, and some other guys who do believe in God and they can prove He does exist, and the argument stopped being about God a long time ago and now it’s about who is smarter, and honestly I don’t care.”

Go ahead, Rosa.

This place needs a design and it needs a purpose. There’s nothing worse than a purposeless activity, except one that has a superficial purpose, one that we’ve bought into to make us feel purposeful. Such is the way of many web sites—and for that matter, many of life’s activities. A life of wasted time doesn’t sound like fun to me, and I suspect it doesn’t to you, either. Making a web site is easy but I don’t intend to keep it going if it has no purpose.

So, Kathleen, I’d like to make this place meaningful and I think you would, too. If we cannot, let’s close it now before it takes on the appearance of purpose.

And now some definitions:

• meaningful: having a meaning or purpose (boy, that’s useful, ain’t it?)
• meaning: inner significance
• purpose: the object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal
• significant: having or likely to have a major effect; important;
• important: of great value

Here’s how I’d like to proceed. Please let me know your thoughts. First, I like the idea of working this out publicly as I am doing right now, almost as if this was an open letter to you (funny since we live together). I presume that we aren’t the only two people on earth who struggle with purpose—in life or web sites—so I think it would be useful to keep this dialogue public and open to scrutiny. Having it public also provides a small layer of accountability. That is, if it were not public I don’t know if I would do it at all. One more push over the cliff.

Also, I want to live openly from here on out. I have too many scars in my past to live the rest of my life as a secret. Let’s be smart about it, sure, but let’s be vulnerable. What is the value of being vulnerable and open?

Vulnerability requires courage. It says to the world, “I am not afraid of what you think or say about me because I know who I am and I know where my value lies.”

Vulnerability requires strength. Not inner strength because we both know that’s a lie. But strength that comes from the one who loves us. That need for strength means we must abide.

Vulnerability requires honesty. If I want to speak the truth to others I must be willing to speak the truth about who I am. Not so others can dangle my flaws in front of my face (because my past is dead) but in order to be trusted as one who speaks the truth.

Vulnerability requires humility. I must be willing to say I don’t have all the answers and I’m not always right. I must be willing to own mistakes. I must put the needs of others above my own.

Vulnerability requires love. True love is willing to risk ridicule and persecution.

And so, what is the fruit of strength, honesty, humility, and love? I believe it’s the type of integrity of character that breeds maturity, wisdom, and faith.

To get back to my earlier point, the second thing I’d like to do is define the most important thing. What is our goal? And if this site cannot be used to help us achieve that goal, we should close it and do something of value. Do you agree?

Third, I’m not convinced that a blog (a list of chronological posts and links) is the right frame for this house. If we decide to keep the site, I’d like to brainstorm ideas with you about making the site fit our purpose. And only then create a style to cover the house. Yes, I believe form follows function.

I also believe we should do something that allows us to be absorbed in it. It can be both fun and serious, but if it becomes a chore we won’t sustain it. If we are convinced of its value we should create something sustainable and we should use it.

That’s all I’ve got right now but I think these are important questions to answer before we begin. I’m tired of believing the world’s wisdom, that a few mindless activities won’t kill us. Sure, one or two. It’s okay to be entertained. But not kept in check we become consumed with mindless activities, buying mindless, purposeless crap, reading, listening, watching, doing purposeless things. And then we’re on our death bed wondering where all the time went.

Today I remember Brother Roger, founder of the Taize community, who was murdered several days ago at 90-years old during a worship service. I was blessed with a week at Taize, one of the richest experiences of my teenage life because my soul was rejuvenated after a year of spiritual isolation. On top of an amazing week of restoration through song and prayer, laughter, and fellowship, I celebrated my 19th birthday there. It was likely the most cross-cultural birthday I’ll ever experience, complete with an Italian woman baking a cake for me, Dutch friends singing for me (”O, is er een jarig hoera! hoera!”) and smothering me with thoughtful gifts, and people from literally all over the world wishing me blessings. I am thankful for Brother Roger’s vision and believe Taize will continue to draw people together of different cultures, languages, and lands in a way few places can.