On Forgiveness

"Love the creatures for the sake of God and not for themselves. You will never become angry or impatient if you love them for the sake of God. Humanity is not perfect. There are imperfections in every human being, and you will always become unhappy if you look toward the people themselves. But if you look toward God, you will love them and be kind to them, for the world of God is the world of perfection and complete mercy. Therefore, do not look at the shortcomings of anybody; see with the sight of forgiveness."
—`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace


I must begin by asking forgiveness.  I am an imperfect man, and as such, I have failed.  Midnight has come and gone with no new post on my blog.  I went a full 24 hour period without posting which means that I will not be able to post for 100 consecutive days.  On day seven, I have already disqualified myself from reaching my goals.  I could respond to this by making excuses about my day at work.  I could say that because I worked from 10:15 this morning to 11:56 tonight, I was not able to complete my post, but I would rather ask forgiveness.  I ask it from you, my readers, and from myself.  I will forgive myself, but first I must have your forgiveness.  Will you forgive me for my failure to do that which I have promised?


According to Wikipedia, forgiveness is defined as as "the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, and/or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offence or debt'."  Using that definition, if I am to fully forgive myself, I must give up my self-resentment for not posting within the time boundaries that I placed at the beginning of this endeavor.  My forgiveness of myself is crucial to the continuance of this blogging exercise, because if I do not release my resentment then I will begin to see this endeavor and its continuance as a failure.  If I begin to view this blog as a failure, then there is no reason for me to continue to invest and sacrifice the time that it takes to create these entries.  Basically if I don't learn to forgive myself then I carry a defeatist attitude that ultimately leads to defeat.


The funny thing about forgiveness is that, even if you forgive me for any wrong that I have committed against you, it does no good if I cannot except your forgiveness and use your forgiveness to forgive myself.  If I ask for forgiveness and you do not grant it, then the transgression that I committed to you still has an influence on both of us.  The unresolved problem can cause bitterness and anger and stress because it is not being dealt with.  If you forgive me, but I do not except it then the problem will continue to have an influence on me.  It can lead to me carrying attitudes of failure and defeat, which can wreak havoc on my current and future relationships.  However, If you forgive me and I choose to accept your forgiveness and forgive myself, I can move past the problem and learn from it and be a stronger and better and ultimately freer person because of it.


Learn to forgive others and forgive yourself.  I have a friend who, at one time, committed a rather grievous sin against me.  There was a period, during which, I thought I would be unable to forgive him, but thankfully God was able to do a big work in my heart and I was able to forgive him.  Through that forgiveness he and I have grown much closer and have a deeper relationship.  The fact that God allowed my heart to be softened to forgiveness also provided a frame of reference for a forgiveness trial that he has had to face in his own life.  The fact that I, through the grace of God, was able to forgive him, provided an example and precedent when he was face with a situation where he had to forgive.  Forgiveness changes people.  Both the forgiver and the forgiven are changed by the act of forgiveness and reconciliation. None of us deserve forgiveness, that is why it is always a gift.  Learn to except and value that gift and you will have a better, richer, and more fulfilling life


It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own.- JESSAMYN WEST 


I love you all,
Brooksie


P.S. Even though I was late submitting this blog, I will continue to post as if I had finished this before 12 o'clock, which means you should look for a blog tomorrow evening.  I woke up this morning and felt as if I had been beaten all night by 13 midgets with baseball bats.  Apparently waterball takes its toll on the body.  I'll be off now.  I have a new liquor to try.  It is called "The Kraken" and it is a dark spiced rum..... I know, it sounds delicious right?   






      

Day 6

I just got out of the waterball pool, and I barely have enough energy to move my fingers.  If I don't have a six-pack by the end of waterball season then I will never have one ever again.  Tonight I played with a guy whose given, Christian, name was Thor.  Yah, thats what I said.  Brookson, Destroyer of Worlds, and Thor, God of Lightning, joined forces tonight and decimated all who stood before them.  Seriously, my body is completely drained of ATP.  My eyes are drooping. It feels as if there is a lead weight strapped to my chest.

The forgiveness blog is coming I promise.  I'm just overwhelmed with responsibilities.

I attended a lecture today.  It was a guest speaker from SFAU who spoke on Folklore.  It was really interesting learning about some of Texas' oldest lore stories.  I would like to spend some time looking into it  some more.

Much love,
Brooksie Baby

This Post is Worthless

Tomorrow I hope to post a more serious discussion on forgiveness.  I have been forgiven more, in my life, than I care to admit, and I think that this topic requires more than a marginal effort on my part.  I want to be able to spend enough time to fully communicate the ways the forgiveness has worked in my life.  I am a bit rushed today, because I have one hundred billion things to do and only a few weeks/days to do it in.  I feel that I have failed this blog and you my readers.

Ok a few quick notes:

1. Orphan is a terrifying movie.  There is something about evil children that disturbs me to my core.  I would rather fight a demented serial killer than face the darkened face of an evil child.

2. Glee is a phenomenal show.  I sing along with the cast every episode and at the end I usually want to commit my life to song and dance.  Weird but true.

3. P90x is the bane of my existence, but I endure its unspeakable evils because it allows me to eat whatever I want without having to spend additional money to buy larger clothing.

I promise that my post tomorrow will make up for this useless excuse for a post.  Don't give up on me yet.  I did warn ya'll that not every post would be good, and this is proof.  I am know going to do some KenpoX then some homework then bed.  Stay posted for a better post tomorrow.

  

My Nordic Fury

Day 4

I have often mused to myself that I was born in the wrong era.  I like to think that I would have been much more at home roaming the land wielding my massive sword and hammer fighting alongside my Nordic brothers as we conquered all in the name of great Odin.  I'm pretty sure that my name would have been Brookson the Destroyer of Worlds.  I would be known throughout the land as the tallest, biggest, fiercest warrior to have ever worn a horned cap, but instead I was born in modern America and all I have ever learned to wield is a Xbox controller and a keyboard.  The true glory of battle has eluded me my whole life.  I soon turned to sports in hopes of finding a cure for my inherited bloodlust, longing to find something that would slake my thirst for combat, my desire to see the wide-eyed horror of mine enemies before I smote them with all my Nordic might, and to allow me to gorge myself on the feast of victory.  One by one each sport failed to provide the thrill and challenge I craved.  Football (too controlled), Basketball (too soft) and Baseball (seriously, this one should be obvious) all left me craving more.  Until the glorious day that I discovered the one sport that gave me glorious battle that I desired:


For those of you who are unfamiliar with this glorious sport, allow me to provide you with some reference material




This is truly the greatest sport ever created on God's green earth.  It is the closest to true battle of any game I have ever seen before it.  You push, pull, dunk, grapple, smash, or, in my case, beast your way to victory.  The strongest, fastest, and most vicious warriors are rewarded for their efforts.  There is no greater joy than fighting your way towards the goal with three grown men trying with all their might to halt your steady march to victory, nor is there any glory greater than being the immovable force which brings thine enemies' progress to a screeching halt.  

In waterball, I can live out my destiny.  My blood boils at the sound of the first whistle of the game and I am transformed into a different kind of beast.  I am Brookson, Destroyer of Worlds.

Come check out our next game on Thursday at 10 its going to be an epic clash

Brooksie Baby

PS.  Wow guys you are making me feel really special I now have 10 followers.  I might even have what some would call a small audience of readers.  I promise to keep diligently working on my craft if you promise to keep reading and leaving your comments and criticisms.  Thank you to Jorday Jorday, Lukey Dukey, and Jonesy for your comments on the last entry.  So please subscribe and read and if you like it..... tell a friend.

Apparently this journey has inspired my roommate to embark on a mission of his own.  Check it out at http://bkingya.blogspot.com/

Day Three of the Life of Me

Hello friends,

It is day three and I am still going strong. Is it sad that I am pleasantly surprised with myself because I was able to last three days? My readership has doubled (from 2 to 4, YAYZ), which is encouraging. I now no longer feel as if I'm writing to myself (Thanks for the follow Montana Jade). I still have very little direction for this grand experiment, so I will continue to just post at random about whatever subject/topic/person/place/issue/animal/phrase/movie has fallen into place at the forefront of my mind at the time. So just hold on. My thoughts often disorient me, so I can't imagine what they will do to you.

Ok first of all: Did you know that if you say "beer can" in a British accent you are saying "bacon" in a Jamaican accent.... go ahead and try..... I know it blew my mind as well. My world will never be same.

Second: Everybody has seen this I hope:

If you haven't seen this Don't Panic. Slowly walk away from the magic picture machine and go crawl back under the rock you have been living under for the past few years.

Today I saw these and decided that they had to be shared with those that I love.

Ok that is all that I have to write about right now, but I am about to go to work and I am sure that it will give me some form of inspiration but until then this is all that you get so deal with it.

BrooksiEnormous

Its Day 2 and I am already up against my deadline

Hello my faithful three readers :(,

Ok, it is day two and I have already come up against my first obstacle. Throughout my college career, I have been taught to take my "voice" out of the papers that I write. I have not had a creative writing class, and my "voice" is not welcome in all of my other academic writing. Those of you who will be accompanying me on this 100 days of literary genius (haha), you now have something to look for when you read my posts. You can help me identify and hone my "voice". Ok now that the boring preface is out of the way..... on to the fun stuff.

There is a phrase that has been thrown around quite a bit in my house as of late, "Only in Abilene." I mean no offense to anyone who was born or raised in Abilene (love you 'stiners), but seriously.... only in Abilene. The other night after work me, Kristina, Hoopsie, and BKing decide to hit up one of Abilene's local haunts, Linda's Lounge (at the bottom of the Whitten Inn (the number one locally owned motel in Abilene)). Linda's is the kind of bar that can make you feel like an all-star or a local yokel depending on the night. Tonight we were received like all-stars. As the door swung open to the dimly lit hole-in-the-wall bar a roar poured out into the chilly November night. The roar was emanating from our already completely intoxicated co-workers. One Chilihead (we will just call her "the Canuck") was particularly "stumbly". She ran over and promptly grabbed my woman by the back of the head and plunged 'Stiners cute little head between her Canadian bosi (the made up plural of bosom). I'm not gonna lie I think that Hoopsie and Brandon were a little upset that they did not receive the same greeting. After we received our enthusiastic greeting we grabbed our drinks from the bar and took a seat at the table.

A few minutes later I saw a girl sitting at another table, who had what looked a glitter covered mole on her temple. On further inspection I saw that it was actually a diamond (probably fake). I called her over and asked if it was a piercing or a stick-on. Her answer was lost in a slur of unintelligible words. I'm not sure if she was slurring because she was hammered drunk or if it was because its difficult to talk with two huge metal bolts going through your twice pierced tongue. She informed me that it was neither a piercing or a stick-on, but that it was an implant. An non-removable implant. An "I can never take this off.... ever" implant. An "I got this shiny glass chunk on my temple that looks like a glittery mole from across the room and I can never take it off ever unless through an expensive removal process by a doctor" implant. Yeah, she bragged about it for a few more minutes, during which she smashed at least one of her tongue piercings against her teeth no fewer than 15 times, before she stumbled back to her table. After our drinks were finished we decided it was time to go back to the house. On the way out we saw this

Yeah thats a Marine in full dress blues passed out drunk

"Only in Abilene"

See Ya,

Brooksie Wooksie

100 Days of Posting

Day 1

Dear Readers,

Welcome to my journey. I am about to embark on what will (hopefully) prove to be a fun, revealing, and trying quest, one hundred days and one hundred posts. Its sounds like an exercise in literary narcissism, I know, but, my aim is much higher than that, I assure you. My goal is to find relevant and universal themes in my life that will help me define and refine my life. Once these themes or patterns are identified I will strive to use them in such a way that others in my life will benefit. I hope to share truth that is revealed during this time of introspection. Not all posts will be long, not all posts will be good or deep and meaningful (or grammatically sound for that matter), but they will a part of this process of self-discovery and self-refinement. Of course one of the additional benefits of this process will be my growth as a writer as I get to practice my trade.

Lets start at the beginning: What inspired me to embark on this endeavor? To be honest that question can be answered using one name, David Sedaris. He is incredible, he can take some of the more ordinary aspects of life and manipulate them into sidesplitting tales that leave his readers smiling for hours. The greatest part of his essays is the fact that they always lead the reader to a universal truth that they can apply to their life. I want that. I want the ability to write things that entertain and interest an audience, but that will ultimately move them, by revealing an aspect of life that is relevant to them. I doubt my skills will ever compare to Senor Sedaris ( I don't know how to put a tilde above the N), but I can always dream.

I encourage all forms of feedback from anyone who reads this blog. I am here to grow and to learn, and then hopefully to share with those that will listen. All of you have something to teach me so don't hold back, because then you are only depriving me of the valuable things you have to say.

I want to apologize to all of the people in my life like Kristina (#1), Hoop C. Hoop, Jorday Jorday, Brandone, Cartier, The Spaniard, Don Juan, all my fellow Chiliheads, my family, and all others who will be included in this blog over this next 100 days and, I also want to let you know that all sensitive information will be safe from publication. Names will also be changed to protect the innocent if something even remotely sensitive makes it into my chronicling. All of that to say, you don't have to avoid me for the next 100 days to avoid being eviscerated in the blogosphere.

This will be fun I promise.

Subscribe and be part of the journey

ITS GOING DOWN LIKE THE CATALINA WINE MIXER!!!!

I Leave you with this

Brooksie Baby