jesus – Observations and Misunderstandings

Yesterdays piece is apparently the one hundredth on this blog which understandably I’m reasonable pleased with. There’s a good chance you’ll struggle to find many things I’ve stuck to for three months, especially as, or maybe it’s because, it has been a daily exercise. It seems only fitting then to go with the suggestion I made yesterday and discuss the concept of good and bad with this being piece 101, fitting indeed if you ask Winston in 1984. I’ll not be discussing rats in cages fixed to your face but more so the fact that although I clearly described something as good and bad yesterday I am generally loathed to do so.

It is an easy thing to do to describe something as either good or bad. It immediately gives the recipient of this information a general understanding of what we mean. If you call someone a bad man it is pretty clear that you are suggesting in someway they are responsible for something or have a character that could be described as negative. We have been conditioned by society through our education, our parents, movies, television, religion to have a general understanding of this notion. Typically in all these examples, in particular movies, although arguable they’re just the outcome of centuries of religious influence, we see the battle of good versus evil, with good usually overcoming some odds stacked against them to be victorious. In films it can be portrayed as the action hero overcoming a larger force of bad guys, usually represented by whoever is the political enemy of the time, think communists to Islamists to probably Chinese very soon. I haven’t read the Bible but have been brought up in a Christian country and therefore am aware of the general attempt to portray this good versus evil battle throughout the whole text. The absolutist necessity to portray Jesus as a righteous saviour over all the evil in the world, but he can only save you if you join him. It all comes back to power and contemporary politics too is riddled with this. Join us, we are the good guys who are fighting those other guys. They’re bad, it’s okay to kill them…and so on.

While all that seems pretty obvious it is still remarkable how successful it can be at manipulating people. We are so triggered by this concept of good versus evil that we fall for it in such an easy way. It is why despite the fact I dislike it I still used it in yesterdays piece as it was an easy way to get my point across. The issue though lies more with what is good and what is evil. People will always use the concept to manipulate people but we seem oblivious in these moments to step back and actually question what is bad and why that is a bad thing. Not only that but clearly one person’s good can be different to another’s, who are we really to say what is right and wrong about someone when it is clearly such a subjective thing. I am aware it would be better to discuss this after spending a few hours reading some essays on morality and ethics but like each piece I just start writing, wing it and see what happens. There may be a lack of depth to my point but ultimately with the knowledge that one thing can be credibly both good and bad to different people, as well as everything in between, how can we legitimately label something so without giving it real thought. It is such a simplified take on the world and that makes it easy to manipulate of course, but for this reason we must be so careful about throwing these two words around. Really who am I to say somethings bad; I’m no god, I barely even understand ethics and like everyone am prone to bouts of hypocrisy. To know ones fallible yet proceed with authority anyway, oh to be human, oh to misunderstand balance.

Today has provided me with an interesting lesson. It all began with me deciding to construct myself a bed. I currently have a mattress and while I have slept on many directly on the floor and continue to neither mind nor give a shit, there is a part of me that is attempting to become more of what some may describe as a normal human being. That seemingly in my eyes involves having a actual bed.

I have access to a random mismatched pile of planks and beams, and in my mind am on par with Jesus in my abilities to work with wood. Several years ago I took an eight week carpentry evening course at at the local college. This may sound impressive but it was only one night a week and for various reasons I was only able to attend four classes. I did in that time though learn a little about joints and managed to construct quite a beautiful basket for my dog. She still appreciates it today. I decided then to put some of these skills of mine into practise and what I discovered was that I am no Jesus. My excuse if that the wood was all oddly shaped and of varying quality and a jigsaw power tool would have been ideal, my handsaw was not great for the finer work, neither was my clumsy and lazy use of a chisel. Theoretically I know exactly what to do but in practise it turned out to be anything but.

Getting back to my house with everything and ready to construct the pre cut by me pieces together, I received a phone call from a friend who had a bed for me if I wanted. Would it be a waste of a day to simply take this bed and discard all my hard work. I’m pretty proud of what I created, imperfections and all, but this bed is better. To proudly display my hard work and experience the achievement of completion or to put aside my pride and just embrace easy and better. I know what I’m going to do but I am unable to decide what is a better approach for my personal development, not that that is even what it’s all about of course.

Anyway with that more or less done, next on the list is sourcing some curtains, I’m sure the neighbours have seen enough. Maybe I can find a small tree, hollow it out and cut it into hoops for the rings before crocheting the cloth. That sounds like a typically practical and easy approach to this new desire.

Tag: jesus

Good Versus Evil

Impractical Me