Copy Cat

http://godlovesleila.blogspot.com/2013/08/life-stinks-by-nicole.html

Dang right I'm being a copy cat. Since I wrote it I can re-post it. But for those of you who already have seen this, which is most of you, an extra nugget.

A quote for digestion, told to Roy Hobbs in The Natural. “I believe we live two lives. The one we learn with and the one we live with after that.” 

My Blog is Making Me Face Palm

I hate to say this, and they will probably hate me if they ever find out, but some of my brethren are anime freaks. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Despite what some of them try to claim in ridiculous fashion that, “they’ve seen the least, and they don’t know what you’re talking about…”

The bug apparently bit in college, I’m not sure what started it, but it became very infections. When I found out I said “WHAT?!?” I’ve never desired to watch it; the drawings themselves made me dislike it and the few random episodes I watched with a friend I didn’t really appreciate. I mean it was ok, but not really my cup of tea.

But as time went my siblings started nagging me to watch it, I didn’t want to, but they were inviting me in so, in solidarity, decided to give it a try. I wouldn’t call myself a “fan”, (of course some may say I’m simply in denial), but true confession, I’ve actually found myself enjoying it some. (Insert face palm here). 

I have now seen enough episodes that I understand why people like it. It’s because if you can get past the drawings and silliness, anime has a lot of depth to at least the ones I’ve seen. (Unfortunately some of the series are very long. Very, very long, unending as it were, like the Wheel of Time, but it does allow for a lot of character development).

Most of the characters have pain somewhere in their back story. You may not know it at first, they may be the “privileged” or “lucky” one when first introduced; an “antagonist” to the main character who’s trying to overcome the crazy odds, (the main character always has something tragic in their story). But as the tale unfolds, you learn most characters have pain. The stories are generally along these lines: No family, a loved one has died, they are ostracized in fear, they never felt loved, they’ve failed to live up to expectations, they’ve become cynical and jaded, they are rejected, want revenge for the hurt, they have no talent and just aren’t quite good enough.  

They are trying to find somewhere they fit in, to be accepted, and that’s the other half of the show. Someone reaching out to them, making them feel valued. Whether it’s a bad guy who twists that affection and warps the person (usually as a child) or the hero reaching out and “rescuing” people from the darkness and solitude.

In essence, anime depicts living in community with people who care about you despite your quirks, (and some of characters have some really, really annoying, borderline disturbing quirks), who you might fight with, but when push comes to shove they’ve got your back, who challenge you to excellence and encourage you to go beyond your breaking point to get stronger.  

It’s a reminder of people’s stories may not be what you think. Everyone has baggage they carry with them, some is just darker than others. People crave community; everyone wants to be accepted. In short, it’s a picture of “the Church”. 

Don't believe me, I can't blame you. But I can challenge you, watch a few episodes and see. You might be surprised at what you discover. 

Oh and for the record, if you do try it and don't like it it's ok, really. In this I will support you fully.

Sun Baked

Ah, the things that eventually click.

As I drove Domi home a couple of days ago we started analyzing the sweet potato fields we were passing. Catching glimpses and instantly saying, "That's a nice looking filed", or "I'm sooo glad I don't have to weed that." In the midst of our critique Domi basically said, " You know, most people wouldn't be able to do what we're doing. We can look at a field and from a distance know how bad it would be, but most people wouldn't be able to do that."

I realized (almost a week later) what an oddly profound observation this is. It's true, through years of work we've learned to identify a weed from a sweet potato plant. (It was that or Dad stopping the truck and making you get out and get the solitary survivor sticking up on your way home. And as a kid, after 5 hours in the field in the summer, the cool floor of home was heaven). Over time we even learned names to identify what we were pulling.

But even with this experience and knowledge a field can be deceptive and lull you to sleep until you wade into it.  No matter how clean or weedy a field looks, it doesn't always tell you what's lurking under the plants. The little one's you can't see 'til you're up close. Sometimes the worst looking fields are the easier ones. Sometimes what you think from a distance is a weed turns out to be an extra bushy potato plant. People (and situations) are a lot like the field.

A day or two after this discussion we were chatting while weeding, and started talking about psychology. Domi made this statement, "When we see a stranger do something rude, or wrong, we instantly blame it on some internal character flaw. But when we're rude or wrong we blame it on external circumstances."

Here's the example he gave. "You see someone cut off an old lady on their way out the door, you instantly think, 'what a jerk' or 'someone never learned manners'. But if you did that you would justify it with something like 'I"m in a hurry because my wife's having a baby'".

You can't see the inside of a person until you get to know them. (Or often in a situation's case until you're in the midst of it).

The other thing about the field is, it can look pretty, but you never know what the crop will look like 'til you harvest.

Oh and for the record, that's not my hula-hoe. Mine is definitely much more battle worn. And if you think we can't tell who's is who's, think again. Someone else's hula-hoe just doesn't feel right.