Tag Archives: life

The Right to Life

Posted by Tim on

Let’s make some waves…

For a number of years we were in the political climate that pushed social issues to the backseat. We had loads of new hybrid ideologies. So called “fiscal conservatives” and “moderates” began to come out of the woodwork. Social issues like immigration and gay marriage were looked over. The important thing was our economy. Well, all that changed recently. Abortion, the Catholic church, and the federal government are all tangled up in a web of confusion.

My take on virtually everything is simplicity. Don’t make issues more complicated than they are. But abortion is an issue that seems to make everything more complicated. It gets people’s emotions going. Women’s “rights” protestors, pro “choice” advocates, and femi-nazis all make a lot of noise over the issue of abortion. To me it’s real simple though. Here’s a way I explain the issue to someone who is undecided.

Imagine for a moment, if you will, that you are married, and that both you and your spouse have decent jobs. You decide the time is right and you want to start a family. You plan everything out, get your budget in order, and read a few parenting books. Your wife is pregnant, and you’re super excited to be a dad. One night while your wife is walking to her car after a late night at work someone pushes her down, and attempts to steal her purse. While she’s on the ground, she attempts to stop him, and he in turn kicks her in the stomach. He actually kicks her so hard that he kills her unborn baby.

Now, what will happen to this man? Does he go to jail for assault and robbery, or assault, robbery AND murder? I imagine most moms would say murder had taken place. Her baby, though unborn, was still a life that he ended. I agree with moms who would take such a position. That man deserves to be charged with murder.

The other end of the spectrum is someone who doesn’t want their baby. This woman is single, still in school, and unemployed. She had a rough week, went out and drank too much, and wound up making a huge mistake. She slept with someone she doesn’t know, and is pregnant. She’s scared, and just wants an abortion so she can move on with her life and forget about her mistake. She goes to a doctor, and he uses some fancy vacuum cleaner to suck her baby out of her – ending the child’s life.

In both cases a child was killed, a life was lost. But only one was called murder, the other was called abortion. Sounds like a twisted double standard, right? What we are in turn saying is that a life is only a life if we say it is. We’re saying that one person can determine another person’s worth. A baby is only a baby only if it’s mother wants it.

Carry this kind of thinking to adults and we’re saying that one person should be allowed to kill another, if they think it’s right. Is that how justice works? No. The circumstances do not determine whether a life has value, whether a child has a soul, or whether God has a plan for a child. We are all God’s children, and to use our own standards to decide whether an innocent life is worth keeping is not only stepping out of bounds, it’s making decisions that only God can make.

You see, humans have certain unalienable rights, and among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Notice which one came first – life. And the reason we have the right to life is not because some person gave us that right, or because our government grants us that right. It’s a right that comes from God. If God knew us before we were in the womb, doesn’t it make sense that we were given the right to life before we were born? Yes. And to take away that right, the right to life, is without a doubt wrong.

Not a lot of people will come out and say that. It’s not always easy to say what you believe. Sometimes its not easy to know what you believe. But people talk, people ask questions, and people want to know. I’m a fiscal conservative, but where do I stand on abortion?  There you have it. You know where I stand, and more importantly I know where I stand. Where do you stand? Think about it.

Thinking. A Dying Breed

Posted by Tim on

I was out with an old friend tonight. We’d been okay friends in high school, never super close, but we got along well, and hung out a bit outside of class. I haven’t spent a lot of time with him since we graduated. We’re both busy with our jobs, friends, and family, and we just fell out a bit. Luckily, our schedules fell in place tonight, and when I randomly shot him a text, he responded and we got together for the first time in years.

It’s interesting how the people you don’t think you’ll know after school are the ones that stick around, and other people who you think are your best friends kind of disappear. Not all the time – I still have a good number of the same friends I had in school – but things just work out funny sometimes.

Turns out that while we weren’t hanging out with each other, we were growing more alike. Even though we were taking different paths, it seems we’ve been coming to a common destination. It’s the art of thinking. Most people don’t do it. Most people do not think. They don’t think about greater problems in the world. They don’t think about different perspectives. They don’t see all the parallels in life, how everything is related and relative.

It seems that thinking is becoming less and less common, and that’s a shame. The good thing is that I feel I’m bringing more people into my life who DO think. As the so-called “Law of Attraction” says, what you put out into the universe, you get back. If you are a genuinely good person, other good people will gravitate towards you. Sometimes people grow apart, but as their own thoughts change and become more alike, we move back together.

Life is interesting that way. Everything happens for a reason. A lot of times we don’t know why, and it’s not always important for us to know. God has a plan. Everyone in your life is put there for a reason. Big or small, we’re all play a role in this seemingly hectic calamity we call “life”.

A Good Day

Posted by Tim on

Well, that was a good day. It’s 3:00 AM, and after spending my day working, going to church, opening up for a buddy’s band, and meeting some new friends, I’m just yearning for a little blogging.

Work is great. I get to spend time with great people, some of whom I consider good friends. 99% of us get along, and we all share a common interest – music. After being with the same company for almost 6 years it’s really rewarding to see the relationships I’ve built. There isn’t a more diverse group of people to be around on a day to day basis than musicians. Every religion, every political belief, every musical taste. It’s like a great big melting pot. (Kind of like what America used to be like.) I love my job, I love my coworkers, and a pay increase wouldn’t make me switch jobs. Well, unless it was a MASSIVE pay increase. But you get the point.

Getting back into the church routine has been awesome too. It’s cool going to church with friends instead of family, especially when they’re friends that are awesome. Religion had nothing to do with our friendship, but it’s helping us grow together. Since I’ve started going again I’ve also started running into familiar faces. Jeez – my church has a bunch of people I know going there, and I didn’t realize it until recently. We’re building a new family of church-going friends, without even planning it. I’m sure I’ll talk to some of these people later in the week about the sermon, the dancing, the music. That’s super cool.

And then there’s the music part of my life. Gigging is a ton of fun. Making music, and having an audience that appreciates it – nothing like it. Tonight wasn’t a regular gig though. It was a group put together a week in advance – a singer/guitarist, a bass player (me), and a violinist. We practices once beforehand for about 20 minutes, and that was it. Virtually no preparation, but we pulled it off, and the crowd loved us. Haha – there’s something cool about music being so spontaneous like that. Maybe it’s the goofy songs we played, or maybe it’s that I wasn’t playing with my normal group – I was playing with an old guy and a gay guy. Life’s interesting, huh?

And then I got to meet a few new friends. I buddy of mine brought his new girlfriend out to the show, and she brought one of her friends. All around pretty cool people. We left the bar we were at and sat down and just talked about random stuff for a couple hours. I had a few drinks in me by this point, so I was probably the most talkative one in the group, but I feel like I made a good first impression. I’m a fun guy, a good guy, and sometimes not a very politically correct guy. Good times, good times.

All in all, today was awesome. It’s days like this that I feel truly blessed. I’m surrounded with so many amazing people. I’m not the richest by any means, but I feel very rich when nights like tonight are over.

Get By (With a Little Help From My Friends)

Posted by Tim on

Remember the Beatles song, “With A Little Help From My Friends”. Man, that song sounds good right now. Sometimes we just need a little help from our friends. I don’t really need “help” per se, but I’m just missing a few friends. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve got plenty of great people around me as it is, but being around the same people all the time sometimes just gets boring. I love talking about politics, news, and all that, but sometimes I need a little variety to make my life go a little better.

It’s strange feeling this way. I’m usually pretty relaxed with how things are going, but recently I’ve just had a yearning for a couple people to be back in my neck of the woods. Just good friends that I seriously miss. Three of em – all of whom will probably read this eventually.

But on the bright side, two of them will be back soon enough. One friend has been gone for a few years off in the Navy. We knew each other all throughout high school, and bonded over common musical interests. He’s been the person who pushed me towards Apple, Punk Goes Pop, and Chuck Taylors. Over the years we’ve also been able to mature together, and when he’s back in town from Japan we’ll hang out a lot, talk politics, life, and just laugh a lot.

Another friend isn’t far – he’s just off to college an hour away. He’s back in town every once in a while, and when we get together we usually share some pretty meaningful conversations. I knew him in elementary school, but we didn’t become good friends until the last couple years or so. At the time he was still living here in town, but he’s usually gone now. Bettering his future, for sure – I just wish he was a little closer.

And the final friend, well he’s down in Florida right now. He’s busy taking care of some business, tying some loose ends up, and will hopefully be moving back soon. We hung out a little bit in high school, and he moved to Florida a few years back. Recently he was visiting family up here and I made it my mission to convince him to move back permanently. I hope I did that, because I could really go for a ponza when he gets back.

A coworker was once talking to a customer – a little kid – at the store. The kid asked him, “Are you rich?”. My coworker responded, “Not in money, but I’m rich in friends.” That’s been an insiring moment for me because I realized that being rich doesn’t have to do with the things you surround yourself with – it has to do with the friends you surround yourself with.

Hope to see you all soon. – Tim

Are Our Lives Complicated?

Posted by Tim on

Before I get started, I want to say a pet peeve of mine is people who don’t know the difference between “are” and “our”. The same goes for “there”, “they’re”, and “their”, or “were” and “we’re”. Does this bother other people too?

I had a conversation with someone today about how life gets more complicated as we get older. It seems that things that used to seem so simple, so black and white, are now different. The things we used to hate, now seem ok. The choices we make in life aren’t always as easy as right and wrong. That’s what I hear. But it’s not what I believe.

I’m not middle aged. I’m in my early twenties, so really – what do I know about life? I’ll admit it. I’m not in a serious relationship, and I don’t plan on getting married any time soon. I have a job, and some additional income coming from a few gigs each month. I have a small family, a good bunch of coworkers, and a lot of awesome friends. Life for me seems pretty simple. So, while I disagree with the notion that our lives will get more complicated as we age solely based on aging or maturing, I also understand that I’m only seeing things from my perspective.

My main hangup with the idea that “life is complicated” is that most people who complain about their lives being complicated really have it pretty good. Your life is complicated because you can’t lose that 10 lbs of baby fat? Get over yourself! Your life is complicated because your getting married and can’t decide who your maid of honor will be? If that’s your biggest concern, your life isn’t that complicated.

My second problem with “life getting more complicated as you get older” is that most of the complications in life we chose to have. Life can be very simple if we focus on what is truly important. Life is complicated if all you think about is money and how to spend it. But if you forget the superficial, worldly, garbage that’s “complicating” your life, life is a lot easier and simpler. And I bet it’s a lot happier and meaningful. Your relationships will be better, your job will be better, your faith will be better.

How simple or complicated your life is is your choice. Oh, and happiness is a choice too.