My Own Worst Enemy

Captains log 7: 26.2.11

As I wander through this life, I become increasingly aware of a few universal conditions that are common among all men must overcome in order to obtain even a fraction of their potential. One condition in particular seems to be an umbrella for all others. This condition is man.

Man creates his own stumbling blocks, through fear and doubt.

Man stunts his growth through his own self-centeredness, self-interests, and self-contentment (pride).

Man is his own worst enemy.

Fortunately an imperfect nature happens to be what qualifies man the potential for perfection or in other words achieving his full potential. As illustrated by the law of the harvest, anything of true value must be worked for with efforts equal to its worth. Nothing is free. In other words: You always pay for everything  you get. 

Some may disagree but they fail to recognize the non-monetary price. The payment required by such supposedly "free" but ultimately worthless items include precious moments of time from our earthly life. These moments once lost, never can be recovered. Never.

Perfection or full potential most certainly is not free, in fact it is the exact opposite; Its price is infinite.

And we must work and sacrifice everything we have for it. 

If God is infinite in this universe and if we are gods in embryo––as our doctrine would have us believe––then man's potential is also infinite. Here in lies the problem.  If man 's potential is infinite, including his potential for perfection, how can man ever follow the Lord's admonition to "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Mat 5:48)." Many argue that you cannot.

Your view on the matter depends upon how you define perfection.

No, man being an imperfect being living in an imperfect world cannot per se become perfect in any physical way. If you believe as I do that God does not give any "commandment(s) unto the children of men, save that he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which he commandeth them (1 Ne 3:7)." Then an uncomfortable conflict in God's character arises.

Perfection thankfully is just like any other eternal principle: flexible.  

When I say flexible I mean this; What is perfect varies. Perfection changes with every situation and with every variable. Therefore each moment's perfect outcome varies with the factors involved, meaning there are––literally––degrees of perfection.

Man is one such variable. 

Being a variable gives man a power. The power to become perfect. 

If man does his best to achieve each moment's or situation's outcome then he CAN become or perform perfectly through his actions while on Earth.  

And here is where man's nature fails him. 

The three parts of man's nature that are the primary perpetrators keeping man from his full potential are Selfishness, Fear, and Pride.

Collaboratively, these three human inclinations create, for many, insurmountable barriers to perfection or full potentiality. How is man capable of acting in a perfect way in every situation if his own nature prevents him from performing so?  The answer to this question is simple; Man is not capable.

At least, man is not capable of this on his own. He can go a long way by himself but without help failure will always result. Man must seek the guidance or tutelage of a more perfect being: God. 

 Most of know the price for the remission of our sins and the Holy Ghost: a contrite heart and a broken spirit. However, perfection or full potentiality is more than merely being sorry for one's sins. Reaching one's full potential or being perfect in essence is to qualify for godhood. Such tutelage requires a much greater price. The Lord, in order to prevent those who are not ready from damning themselves,  requires a much more telling sacrifice as proof of one's commitment. The price the Lord asks of man for entering  his apprenticeship of godhood is the same he asked of Jesus: his will. 

Therefore the ultimate price man must pay for his full or ultimate potential of godhood or perfection is the one possession that is truly his own. The only item of equal value to the condition he is seeking.

So what then is stopping man from becoming perfect? It all cycles back to the nature of man.

Selfishness, Fear, and Pride. 

Man is equally selfish of his will as he is prideful of it.  He takes pride in the fact that he can do whatever he wants as long as he is willing to pay the consequences. He takes pride that no one can forcefully take his will from him, some to the point of flaunting it. He feeds this pride by selfishly disregarding others in order to assert his own will and achieve his wants.

Since God is charity and justice. The price of man's will then is the perfect sacrifice to ask. 

The Lord asks man to prove he is ready to become a God to others by making him willingly give up the one and final item that prevents him from being god-like.  

Once man has determined he can do this the final test occurs. The test of faith, with the last trait of fear to overcome. 

The fear of losing one's individuality. The fear of losing control of one's self and one's fate.The final question then becomes whether or not you believe God would take away the essential parts of what makes you you. Whether you can believe a god who has created and knows each person individually as his children, a god who knows you better than yourself, would change you into someone  you were not meant to be?

Another more subtle fear prevents man from his potential as well. The fear of power. I think Marriane Williamson states this fear best with her renowned quote. "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, which frightens us."

  

The leap of faith is man's to take.  

Whether or not I will take it remains to be seen, but I am working on it. I guess we will see. 

Maybe, if life continues.

Floyd, out.

"No, You can have a coke."

Captains log 6: 13.2.11

 I bought a stranger a coke this past Wednesday as an assignment for my MCOM 320 class. My professor hinted that we might get some strange and or funny reactions out of people when we do this, and he was not mistaken. Here are the guidelines and criteria I used to select the person, place, and time of my assignment.
 I chose the bottom floor vending machines of the RB, on a Wednesday at 6:45-50 PM. I felt this location was most opportunistic for several reasons.

Reason 1: I was already at the RB for a folk dance talent show.

Reason 2: I would feel less awkward buying a complete stranger a coke if we are nearly the only ones there. AKA I did not want the vending machines to be crowded, because it might seem ungenerous of me to buy this person a coke and not everyone else.

Reason 3: The RB is more likely to have traffic at the vending machines for drinks. This reasoning  was formed by the higher probability of genuinely thirsty/tired people in the RB because of exercise  and strenuous classes.

Then I chose my person. He was a member of the opposite sex dressed in all black named John. Likewise his selection was not randomn.

Reason 1: He was a relatively handsome guy. If I am going to buy a coke for somebody I might as well do what Shayne suggested and  "use it as an excuse to flirt with someone."

Reason 2: He was wearing all black. This alerted me to the fact that he was probably a folk dancer headed to the same event as I. Or that he was at least a dancer of some sort. Either way, we would have something further to talk about in the event that he was not totally creeped out by this girl randomnly buying him a coke.

The assignment implementation went rather well. I sat near the machines and waited for a potential candidate to approach the vending machines.  I casually approached them as well. John seeing me there indicated I should go in front of him. I  acted as if I were still choosing and dropped the query of which one he was going to get.  He told me a Barq's root beer. I swiped my card and got a Barq's. Then handed it to him.
One would think I had either handed him a live bomb or saved his firstborn child from his mixed reaction. At first, his confusion and surprise on his face were priceless. Then he tried repeatedly to make me take it. After I insisted multiple times, he then became so grateful to me, it was rather embarrassing. However, the experience was worth the embarrassment and awkwardness in the long run because he turned out to be a folk dancer. We watched the talent show sitting next to each other, and even danced a couple of dances together at the end. I'll probably never talk to him again but that night was definitely more enjoyable because of it.

Perhaps I'll try it again. Maybe, if life continues.

Floyd, out.

Filling the Emptiness

Captains log 5: 7.2.11

It seems as though time is flying by. A month has already come and gone in what seems one big blur. However, I am not complaining. For some reason--probably because of my computer-less start--getting settled into the school routine this particular semester has been extra hard. Despite my anti-social tendencies, other activities I would much rather be doing instead of schoolwork pop up everywhere; e.g., ice-skating, dollar theatre, rock climbing, hiking, reading, writing, singing, hanging out with friends, dancing, etc....

I blame my unsettled-ness for the incident that occurred this past week's Friday. I still am not sure what happened or why I was completely convinced that my Friday dance class started at 10 AM. My dance class in fact starts at 9 AM and last Friday was our first practical dance test. I woke up, got ready before 9:00, could have gotten to class on time, but specifically waited until 9:20 to start walking to school. I realized my fatal error three-fourths of the way there. Luckily, my dance teacher not only thought my mishap was hilarious but also understands that however crazy these things do happen. Of course, it would happen to me on a dance test day but still, I am lucky. So now this whole week I have to come to class early and do a couple of dances early to make up for it. I would have preferred to have just gotten all of the dances over with along with everyone else. Now, she can pay special attention to me and my fumbling footwork. Yikes!

Can I say as an aside how much I loath the ringtones who say what is happening. For example, "Ringing", or "Message", for some reason they irk me.

To close here is an excerpt from my mind and its circuitous thoughts:

Sometimes I feel as if I do not really need to go to college to succeed in this world and that I am wasting my parent's, mine, and the government's money. However, every time I think this I remember how much I love learning. Then I think about how I could really learn everything I wanted to learn from books in the library or practical practice. Just as I think this, I remember that to become "qualified" for most professions I would not be taken seriously without a degree, even if that degree had nothing to do with what I was applying for. This makes me This makes me feel mutinous feelings for such a ridiculous system that requires people to waste money in order to obtain a degree proving they learned something. It would be much simpler and economical, if one had the knowledge, to simply pay to take a test for a particular degree. I know the educational system will never be this simple, but it would be a nice option instead of wasting precious time and money. 

End of circuitous thought excerpt. Sorry this entry was rather randomn since I did not have any particular battles. Perhaps something will happen today. 

 Maybe, if life continues.

Floyd, out.