My mind has been exercised today by nebulous concepts that mean different things to different people. I heard a news report on the radio about how some of the families of the passengers on the missing Malaysian Airlines plane accused the authorities of secretly negotiating with terrorists for the release of their loved ones. That made me think about ‘hope’ as a concept. The things we wish for and the possibilities that we stubbornly keep hold of in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. If, as a species, we didn’t have hope, we wouldn’t have explored new worlds.
Faith is a concept that I, as a Christian, think about often. The Bible describes it as a belief in things not seen. I know to many scientific, fact-based brains it is a ludicrous idea. Personally, I’ve never had a problem with it and I wonder if that is because I have a creative spirit and a writer’s imagination, so believing in something, or someone, that I can neither see nor prove is not a problem. I’ve always thought it was arrogant of us to assume that we were the only life forms in the entire universe and that doesn’t affect my faith either. I believe because I choose to believe.
Trust is another one, a decision I make. I trust you until you give me reason not to. Sometimes people don’t behave the way you expect them to, the way you would, but that’s part of accepting that everyone is different, it doesn’t mean they are, necessarily, untrustworthy.
On a more concrete note we had aqua-aerobics this morning. The pool is cooler when you first get in but is refreshing and lovely to exercise in. We have two jokers in our class and they passed on two jokes this morning that amused me.
Fred worked at the freezing works and at the end of his shift he would wheel a wheelbarrow full of sawdust out the main gate. Every evening the guard would check it, and him, thoroughly, but he never found any stolen meat. Finally one of Fred’s mates could stand it no longer and he asked him, “where are you hiding the meat?” Fred shrugged. “I don’t do meat, but I have a nice line in new wheelbarrows.”
Our instructor told us about visiting the gym when a striking young blonde walked in. He asked his trainer which machine he should get on to impress her. The trainer looked at him and then at her and then said, “If I was you, I’d try the ATM machine by the front door.” Hope Springs Eternal.
thomasbrowne 