brad pitt

Brad Pitt is one Hollywood star I like, not because he looks greatly handsome or acts well, though both are true, but all because one day years ago I happened to see him on a TV interview, and he was asked a question by the host: "Are you happy now (with all the fame and gain you have already)?", and he paused, then with a little smile said "Happiness is over-rated.."  Wow, this guy's deep. So I started paying attention to news about him, and his wife, Angelina Jolie, and surely they two have done quite some admirable work for mankind during the past few years..

We live in a country that lists "the pursuit of happiness" as one "inalienable" right on their founding document, it's no wonder then there are so many self-help books and theories on what happiness is, how to get happy, be happy, get even happier after you got it, etc. And indeed, according to surveys, Americans are happier people than most others in the industrialized world. Maybe America is indeed blessed--after all, we do have the highest percentage of Christians in this country among the industrialized world as well, don't we?

Is Bible a guidebook to happiness, or Christianity a gospel of happy living then? It does exhort us to "eat, drink, and be merry," "because tomorrow we die", that we like to use fondly when comes party time. Or taking it less carnally, up a spiritual notch, one reformed Christian doctrine says: "The chief end of man," is to "glorify God by enjoying Him forever." ("Christian Hedonism" by John Piper.) And personally sometimes I think Jesus is a humorist who "teases" the Pharisees when he told them that they had committed adultery already when they had wrong ideas seeing beautiful women!

But surely the Bible is not a light-hearted book like that at all. On the contrary, it says bundles about souls of sorrow and hearts in agony. From the cries of King David's--"the lamentations of death compassed me about; the pains of hell surrounded me; I cried in my tribulation," to the "spiritual darkness" that haunts Mother Teresa for decades even while she's dedicated her life serving God among the poorest of the poor in the slums of 20th century Calcutta, are testimonies that Christianity is by no means a "feel good" religion some make it out to be.

So what does God want me to pursue in my earthly life? One morning I woke up and the word "wisdom" came to me. Happiness is a psychological state that is not a pursuable object by itself. But wisdom is. How do I do that? By going out and experiencing life with a Godly mind, soul, and heart, I think. Or here I'd like to paraphrase what I heard our dear brother Ed said some time ago, permission assumed given: "Regarding my SHAPE, I realize I can do nothing about my S(piritual gifts), nor my A(bility) or P(ersonality), as they seem pretty much set already. The only thing I can still do then, is my E(xperience). By trying out different experiences, I hope I can then find out what my passion, or H(eart), is, and know how best to serve God." To me, a real wise person is not one smart or outwardly successful guy, but one who always knows when to give people a word of comfort, a kind smile, or a pat on the back. We all know people like these around us. They are true blessings from God, and they bring love, joy, and yes happiness, to people all around them. I sure hope I can be one of them someday. 


"If I turn on an electric light at night out of doors I don't judge the power by looking at the bulb, but by seeing how many objects it lights up."
"The brightness of a source of light is appreciated by the illumination it projects upon non-luminous objects."
"The value of a spiritual way of life is appreciated by the amount of illumination thrown upon the things of this world."

--Simone Weil

good routines

The other evening, on our way home from a dinner party in a ride share with some friends, the topic of "empty nest" was casually lipped upon. Light-heartedly we congratulated one lady who's kids are all going to colleges this year that she's going to have time to take care of her dear old husband again. "Actually, I am not much worried about that job," she said, "than about taking care of his mother"--who has been living with them for the past 10 years or so. We were a bit surprised to hear that, because as far as we can recall, her mother-in-law had been in pretty good physical shape and mentally agile. But, that was years ago when we last saw her. For the past few years, she said, her mother-in-law has been living a self-confining life within their home. She seldom comes out of her room, lying on bed most of the time. She has no social life, no hobbies, does not even watch TV. She's still physically sound, but there seems no joy or purpose in her living. She's just biting time, till the end, it seems.

The pictures of my father-in-law came to my mind (and I am sure to my wife's too). He had been an active man during his career as a utility company manager and even after he retired. Yet in the past two years, especially during our recent trip home last December, we found him physically and mentally retreating fast. He's staying in his room more and more, insisting on his ways more and more, in addition to the physical difficulties that hamper his movement.

I feel sad for both cases and desire to do something for them next time I can (spending more time with my father-in-law, as my wife had scolded me already for not doing enough in our last trip there, is certainly one thing I'll do). What alerts me, though, is how quickly and easily we all can fall into such seemingly hopeless trap. My father-in-law had talked about doing some volunteer work after retirement, and we had been urging him to do some simple daily work or physical exercise since many years ago. Yet for some reason he couldn't consistently make those, and the inertia set in, till he became physically and mentally incapable.

Our body deteriorates every day--life is like morning mist that disappears, said the Bible, and that by itself is nothing to be dreaded about. What would be dreadful and sad to me is to let the physical-mental degradation drag my spiritual keenness down, or more subtly, fill my life with "garbage routines"--even at a relatively young age of 50, I feel I am more apt to stay put with my daily routines, however it was set up to begin with, than, say, when I was 45.

One way to combat this, I guess, is to set up "good routines" that take away the space of "bad routines", so I win the contest by design and by default.

Meeting you guys every other Saturday morning counts as one "good routine", I think.


"When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature-the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God."  -- Oswald Chambers