Upon understanding more thoroughly how messed up our culture is about food through studying the vice of Gluttony, I realized more thoroughly how messed up our culture is about sex through studying the vice of lust. The two vices are very similar, in fact, as they both have many ways to go wrong. Both sex and food are very good things if approached in the right way.
They also share that they are both extremely commercialized and appeal to our primal and base desires.
DeYoung wonders why there is a "taboo" on sex?
I wonder why there is not.
Anymore, sex is so advertised and so talked about, that it is impossible to go anywhere or do anything (just about) without being bombarded by some sort of sex appeal.
This is what I found during the discipline for Lust - I could not go ANYWHERE without somehow experiencing some kind of commercialized sex.
DeYoung almost criticizes Christians for treating sex as if it were our culture's main problem.
She is right - it is not our culture's root problem.
Yet she also accounts for the flip side- our culture's view of sex is messed up, and therefore destructive. The culture's view of sex singles out individual sexual pleasure as the main goal of sex, when it is so much more, especially to someone of the Christian faith.
But back to the sex "taboo."
President Obama has recently endorsed "sex education" for kindergartners.
This seems to be the current line of thought in public education. And they wonder why 12-year-olds get pregnant.
Pregnancy is treated as a disease - a nasty side-effect of sex - kind of like diabetes is to food, except that diabetes is actually bad.
Terrible food is portrayed as good in our culture, and diabetes is the nasty side-effect. Fornication is portrayed as good in our culture, and unmarried pregnancies and STDs are the nasty side effects. It is interesting that diabetes, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and STDs are not a problem when you approach food and sex the right way.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
On Gluttony: A Fast Way of Overcoming a Food Obsession
DeYoung describes the vice of Gluttony as our using of food to satisfy our pleasures. It is not necessarily overeating and becoming fat - but rather our desire to use food to satisfy what she calls our "pleasure fix."
Some ways in which I've seen this in my own life is when I used to eat when I was "bored." I had nothing else to do, and would therefore eat. I think that this qualifies as a form of Gluttony.
DeYoung provides an acronym (F.R.E.S.H - fastidious, ravenous, excessive, sumptuous, and hastily), which outlines the different components of gluttony.
Our discipline for Gluttony was to skip lunch today. I actually fast fairly regularly, and so I expanded upon this discipline. I did an 18 hour fast.
I actually do this a few times a week already - usually from 14-16 hours.
This is a discipline which I am becoming better at - but this assignment made me think a little bit differently than usual.
I began to think that I was good at this, but put it in perspective of the other disciplines for the other vices. I was was not very good at them. However, I was not good at fasting at first - it really is a discipline (especialy now during the Lenton season)!
I began to contemplate how I became successful at fasting (through practice) and how I could apply the same concepts to the other vices in my life. I think that this is a very good lesson to learn.
Some ways in which I've seen this in my own life is when I used to eat when I was "bored." I had nothing else to do, and would therefore eat. I think that this qualifies as a form of Gluttony.
DeYoung provides an acronym (F.R.E.S.H - fastidious, ravenous, excessive, sumptuous, and hastily), which outlines the different components of gluttony.
Our discipline for Gluttony was to skip lunch today. I actually fast fairly regularly, and so I expanded upon this discipline. I did an 18 hour fast.
I actually do this a few times a week already - usually from 14-16 hours.
This is a discipline which I am becoming better at - but this assignment made me think a little bit differently than usual.
I began to think that I was good at this, but put it in perspective of the other disciplines for the other vices. I was was not very good at them. However, I was not good at fasting at first - it really is a discipline (especialy now during the Lenton season)!
I began to contemplate how I became successful at fasting (through practice) and how I could apply the same concepts to the other vices in my life. I think that this is a very good lesson to learn.
Monday, April 7, 2014
On Avarice: My Greedy Wardrobe
Our assignment on the vice of Avarice was to attempt to come up with a monetary value of all of our clothes. While I'm sure this number is nowhere close to what is actually is, my best estimate (excluding shoes) is around $500. I recently cleaned out all my old clothes and donated them to Goodwill, or else that number would have been higher. If you include my shoes, the number goes up to about $1,000 - not that I have a lot of shoes, they are just pretty expensive (especially my soccer shoes.)
The reason I am including my shoes is because of my personal story that I will relate to my experience with Avarice.
On Saturday night, my wife and I spent the day at Two Keys Tavern with some friends for the UK Basketball game. We had been there from 3PM in order to have a table, and it was a very long day - especially when it got extremely crowded with belligerent fellow fans.
When the game came on, we moved inside where there was a better view of the TV, but we were pack in like sardines. I was wearing my newest jacket (which I payed $25 for) and my newest pair of shoes ($40).
Throughout the whole night, people were stepping on my feet and spilling beer and other drinks on my shoes and pants.
As Aaron Harrison hit the winning 3-pointer to win the game, the whole crowd went nuts, and suddenly there was beer flying and spilling and people screaming. It was crazy.
As Tessa and I made it out (we were having a lot of fun with everybody) and walking back to our car, I noticed something on my shoulder. It was a beer (and whatever else) soaked napkin that had landed perfectly on my jacket.
Although I was enjoying that we won and were going to the championship, I was worrying about my shoes and my jacket being stained from the beer.
It worried me more than it should.
Aquinas defines greed as the opposite of generosity, or "liberality." I felt imprisoned by my beer-stained shoes and jacket! I was worrying about how I was going to get the stain and smell out of my new clothes! I was caring too much for them.
I am probably not suffering from Avarice as one of my main character vices, but this did make me think about how I saw my new things - eventually they are going to get dirty, but they will still serve their function. Plus, I have more jackets and more shoes, and much more than most other people in the world.
The reason I am including my shoes is because of my personal story that I will relate to my experience with Avarice.
On Saturday night, my wife and I spent the day at Two Keys Tavern with some friends for the UK Basketball game. We had been there from 3PM in order to have a table, and it was a very long day - especially when it got extremely crowded with belligerent fellow fans.
When the game came on, we moved inside where there was a better view of the TV, but we were pack in like sardines. I was wearing my newest jacket (which I payed $25 for) and my newest pair of shoes ($40).
Throughout the whole night, people were stepping on my feet and spilling beer and other drinks on my shoes and pants.
As Aaron Harrison hit the winning 3-pointer to win the game, the whole crowd went nuts, and suddenly there was beer flying and spilling and people screaming. It was crazy.
As Tessa and I made it out (we were having a lot of fun with everybody) and walking back to our car, I noticed something on my shoulder. It was a beer (and whatever else) soaked napkin that had landed perfectly on my jacket.
Although I was enjoying that we won and were going to the championship, I was worrying about my shoes and my jacket being stained from the beer.
It worried me more than it should.
Aquinas defines greed as the opposite of generosity, or "liberality." I felt imprisoned by my beer-stained shoes and jacket! I was worrying about how I was going to get the stain and smell out of my new clothes! I was caring too much for them.
I am probably not suffering from Avarice as one of my main character vices, but this did make me think about how I saw my new things - eventually they are going to get dirty, but they will still serve their function. Plus, I have more jackets and more shoes, and much more than most other people in the world.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
On Sloth: How I was Slothful in my very busy day
Wednesday 11pm - Thursday 8am: sleep
8:15am: woke up, grabbed oatmeal & cream for breakfast
8:30am: shower
8:45am: prep for school - get dressed and ready books
9:00am: leave for class
9:15am: driving for Georgetown
9:30am: attend THE227
9:45am: "
10:00am: "
10:15am: "
10:30am: "
10:45am: leave class, wait for Nexus credit at 11
11:00am: Nexus at Asher 112 about organ donation
11:15am: "
11:30am: "
11:45am: "
12:00pm: Went to computer lab to work on homework
12:30pm: homework
12:45pm: attend KHS 410
1:00pm: "
1:15pm: "
1:30pm: "
1:45pm: "
2:00pm: back to Asher to work on homework
2:15pm: "
2:30pm: "
2:45pm: "
3:00pm: "
3:15pm: "
3:30pm: Library to take ETS General Proficiency Test
4:00pm: "
4:15pm "
4:30pm: Drive back home to Lexington
5:00pm: Arrive at home, prepare to leave again with my wife
5:15pm: Leave home, head to grab something quick to eat
5:30pm: After dinner, shopping for my dad's birthday present
5:45pm: At the store
6:00pm: "
6:15pm: "
6:30pm: "
6:45pm: Leave store for a theatrical play at Talon Winery & Vineyards
7:00pm: Arrive at Talon Winery for the play
7:15pm: waiting for play to start
7:30pm: Play begins
7:45pm: "
8:00pm: "
8:15pm: "
8:30pm: "
8:45pm: "
9:00pm: "
9:15pm: "
9:30pm: "
9:45pm: "
10:15pm: "
10:30pm: Play ends, en route home
10:45pm: arrive home, exhausted!
11:00pm get ready for bed
If Sloth were laziness, I would not have had a slothful day whatsoever. However, Sloth is not simply laziness, according to DeYoung and other philosophers. Sloth is rather an inner condition of lovelessness - or the "shirking of spiritual duty." It is hard to say whether I spent this very busy day "shirking" my spiritual duties, mainly because I was so busy with things that were required of me for my classes.
It is, though, very apparent to me through my reflection of my day that I did not give myself completely to these things - I did them almost mindlessly. During my homework I did work on some things regarding my online start-up business, which I enjoyed - which I wanted to do over my homework. At this point in my life, my homework, except for my philosophy (seriously!) has become something which I do just to get done. I am very anxious to graduate. Maybe this is me getting ahead of myself and being slothful even in my busy-ness! I found through this exercise that I need to be more mindful of the purpose of my actions.
8:15am: woke up, grabbed oatmeal & cream for breakfast
8:30am: shower
8:45am: prep for school - get dressed and ready books
9:00am: leave for class
9:15am: driving for Georgetown
9:30am: attend THE227
9:45am: "
10:00am: "
10:15am: "
10:30am: "
10:45am: leave class, wait for Nexus credit at 11
11:00am: Nexus at Asher 112 about organ donation
11:15am: "
11:30am: "
11:45am: "
12:00pm: Went to computer lab to work on homework
12:30pm: homework
12:45pm: attend KHS 410
1:00pm: "
1:15pm: "
1:30pm: "
1:45pm: "
2:00pm: back to Asher to work on homework
2:15pm: "
2:30pm: "
2:45pm: "
3:00pm: "
3:15pm: "
3:30pm: Library to take ETS General Proficiency Test
4:00pm: "
4:15pm "
4:30pm: Drive back home to Lexington
5:00pm: Arrive at home, prepare to leave again with my wife
5:15pm: Leave home, head to grab something quick to eat
5:30pm: After dinner, shopping for my dad's birthday present
5:45pm: At the store
6:00pm: "
6:15pm: "
6:30pm: "
6:45pm: Leave store for a theatrical play at Talon Winery & Vineyards
7:00pm: Arrive at Talon Winery for the play
7:15pm: waiting for play to start
7:30pm: Play begins
7:45pm: "
8:00pm: "
8:15pm: "
8:30pm: "
8:45pm: "
9:00pm: "
9:15pm: "
9:30pm: "
9:45pm: "
10:15pm: "
10:30pm: Play ends, en route home
10:45pm: arrive home, exhausted!
11:00pm get ready for bed
If Sloth were laziness, I would not have had a slothful day whatsoever. However, Sloth is not simply laziness, according to DeYoung and other philosophers. Sloth is rather an inner condition of lovelessness - or the "shirking of spiritual duty." It is hard to say whether I spent this very busy day "shirking" my spiritual duties, mainly because I was so busy with things that were required of me for my classes.
It is, though, very apparent to me through my reflection of my day that I did not give myself completely to these things - I did them almost mindlessly. During my homework I did work on some things regarding my online start-up business, which I enjoyed - which I wanted to do over my homework. At this point in my life, my homework, except for my philosophy (seriously!) has become something which I do just to get done. I am very anxious to graduate. Maybe this is me getting ahead of myself and being slothful even in my busy-ness! I found through this exercise that I need to be more mindful of the purpose of my actions.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
On Vainglory: A whole day without myself
DeYoung defines vainglory as the "excessive and disordered desire for recognition and approval from others." When Augustine reflects on his theft of the pears as a teenager, he identifies the reason he stole was to impress or fit in with his friends. How often is this the case? DeYoung called it his "fear of shame." So how does vainglory fit into our daily lives as we interact with other people?
Our assignment for the vice of vainglory was to go a whole day without talking about ourselves.
I failed.
Miserably.
I found that I am in such a habit of putting everything into my own words - my own context. I am deeply entrenched in the habit of telling people what I think, or relating something about myself or my past to the current conversation.
I focused on asking about other people are - I saw one of my friends who I have not seen in a while at school, and I found it very difficult to not talk about myself. However, I did find that I could be genuine and as about his life and his family. That is one thing that I am - empathetic.
This exercise was excellent for me in identifying one of my major characteristics - talking about myself. I have even interrupted people to talk about myself - not in a rude way, but it made me think about my intentions. I realized that even in every day conversation, I have a desire for recognition and approval from others. I do not know if it is disordered, but it may be excessive. I definitely have a "fear of shame" - a fear of not being respected in everyday conversation.
Our assignment for the vice of vainglory was to go a whole day without talking about ourselves.
I failed.
Miserably.
I found that I am in such a habit of putting everything into my own words - my own context. I am deeply entrenched in the habit of telling people what I think, or relating something about myself or my past to the current conversation.
I focused on asking about other people are - I saw one of my friends who I have not seen in a while at school, and I found it very difficult to not talk about myself. However, I did find that I could be genuine and as about his life and his family. That is one thing that I am - empathetic.
This exercise was excellent for me in identifying one of my major characteristics - talking about myself. I have even interrupted people to talk about myself - not in a rude way, but it made me think about my intentions. I realized that even in every day conversation, I have a desire for recognition and approval from others. I do not know if it is disordered, but it may be excessive. I definitely have a "fear of shame" - a fear of not being respected in everyday conversation.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
On Envy: 2 Thoughtful Compliments
Envy, that glittering green vice that eats at you, can consume you whole and take over your desires. I remember watching the 2004 comedy movie called Envy with Jack Black and Ben Stiller on my first plane flight to California to my widowed Grandfather's wedding. I remember nothing about this movie - not even that it was probably horrible - except something about "Va-poo-rize" and that Envy is associated with being green.
Green is not one of my favorite colors mostly because it makes me look like a leprechaun. I never have anything to wear on St. Patrick's Day because I don't own any green clothes.
I don't wear it well.
When we were assigned to give two honest and thoughtful compliments to two people about something or some trait that we desired, I thought it would be easy.
I started to plan... What were character traits, abilities, or things that other people have that I want? How would I set up these compliments? How could I mean them?
The more I thought about it, the less clear things became.
I don't envy people or things - in fact, I give people compliments that I mean all the time, and not even necessarily to people that are close to me.
I am overly free with my compliments. I tell my wife that I love her and that she is beautiful almost every day (which is a good thing.) I do think, however, that for some people, this would become less meaningful over time.
For instance, for this assignment, I told my brother that he does an excellent job in keeping up with reading some of the Classics every day (or at least Mortimer Adler's Great Ideas from the Great Books.) This is something that I truly want to do as well as him, but the compliment was taken in stride. It wasn't as meaningful as it could be. I did not have an opportunity to give my second compliment - mainly because I could not think of anything greater than what I normally do.
In a way, I think that I am blessed to have this trait, and my friends and family love me for it.
But I think I could do with some green in my wardrobe - at least for St. Paddy's Day! I do not mean this in terms of the vice of Envy, but maybe I should save some compliments for when they mean more to the people I deeply care about.
Green is not one of my favorite colors mostly because it makes me look like a leprechaun. I never have anything to wear on St. Patrick's Day because I don't own any green clothes.
I don't wear it well.
When we were assigned to give two honest and thoughtful compliments to two people about something or some trait that we desired, I thought it would be easy.
I started to plan... What were character traits, abilities, or things that other people have that I want? How would I set up these compliments? How could I mean them?
The more I thought about it, the less clear things became.
I don't envy people or things - in fact, I give people compliments that I mean all the time, and not even necessarily to people that are close to me.
I am overly free with my compliments. I tell my wife that I love her and that she is beautiful almost every day (which is a good thing.) I do think, however, that for some people, this would become less meaningful over time.
For instance, for this assignment, I told my brother that he does an excellent job in keeping up with reading some of the Classics every day (or at least Mortimer Adler's Great Ideas from the Great Books.) This is something that I truly want to do as well as him, but the compliment was taken in stride. It wasn't as meaningful as it could be. I did not have an opportunity to give my second compliment - mainly because I could not think of anything greater than what I normally do.
In a way, I think that I am blessed to have this trait, and my friends and family love me for it.
But I think I could do with some green in my wardrobe - at least for St. Paddy's Day! I do not mean this in terms of the vice of Envy, but maybe I should save some compliments for when they mean more to the people I deeply care about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)