MI VIDA LOGICA

Twitter: @mividalogica

[mividalogica]

Everything you do and say in your life, every choice that you make, and everything you decide to invest in is a reflection of a system of internalized values in your heart.

Paul David Tripp

[mividalogica]

New single from The Weeknd and he delivers. When I first saw the video I noticed something sounded a little odd right on the second time he sings the pre-chorus. So I watched it again and it seems like he stumbles through the lyrics? I’ll give him a break since he is performing live :) 

Lyrics are found here.

[mividalogica]

Another good read. I honestly did not know how she was until I started this book. It was really fascinating to read about Smith’s upbringing and her journey and progression into the artist she is. She saw her being an artist as a calling, as something she needed to pursue despite the many difficult challenges that this entailed. She seemed honest about what specifically her struggles looked like. It’s really refreshing when I learn about people’s different turns and detours that life takes them in and how they continue to persevere and push forward. 

Life’s not easy, at least not to most people. 

Here are some quotes that caught my attention:

“For art sings of God, and ultimately belongs to him.”

“I was a dreamy somnambulant child.” [I resonated with this]

“One cannot imagine the mutual happiness we felt when we sat and drew together. WE would get lost for hours His ability to concentrate for long periods infected me, and I learned by his example, working side by side. When we would take a break, I would boil water and make some Nescafe.” Smith talking about Robert. 

“I was there for these moments, but so young and preoccupied with my own thoughts that I hardly recognized them as moments.” Really good retrospection and self-assessment. 

“He dreamed of amassing musicians from all over the world in Woodstock and they would sit in a field in a circle and play and play. It didn’t matter what key or tempo or what melody, they would keep on playing through their discordance until they found a common language. Eventually they would record this abstract universal language of music in his new studio. “The language of peace. You dig?” Smith on Jimi Hendrix.

“”Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.” I had written the line some years before as a declaration of existence, as a vow to take responsibility for my own actions. Christ was a man worthy to rebel against, for he was rebellion itself.” 

http://a.co/gZOlE7L

[mividalogica]

I read this tweet yesterday in passing but after writing my last post I thought about what the writer was saying. She is a writer and has an upcoming novel that I’m looking forward to reading. She’s been tweeting about the process of writing and what that looks like for her and it’s been interesting to read about it.

What I take from her tweet is that anytime you write, you have to edit your writing. You have to revisit what you’ve written to see if you’re really conveying the message you’re trying to communicate. This process takes time because while you may have an idea of what you’re trying to say, it may look different by the time you get around to actually writing it down. Then you have to go back and make sure you’re on point with your message, that it’s clear and you feel good about what you’ve written and how you’ve written it. Indeed, writing is rewriting.

I did this for the two paragraphs above. I reviewed it a few times and made some corrections here and there. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t do a lot of editing in my writing because, well, I don’t do a lot of writing and I get impatient once I do write something and just want to get it out and get it published, even if no one’s reading it. But I’m trying to do more editing and taking more time to read and re-read over what I’m writing. Because if you want to be a good writer, that tweet describes what writing and the writing process is. 

[mividalogica]

A very interesting parenting book. It took me several weeks to finish it and had to borrow it twice from my library’s online portal so I will not be providing much details about the book (I hardly ever do nowadays anyway). In essence, the book pushes back the culture’s take on parenting children, which is really overparenting children, and advocates for teaching children life skills and how to be more independent at an earlier age. The book doesn’t provide much guidance on it, which I think it’s a plus because each parent and child is so unique and circumstances in which a child is raised are also so unique.

The book then focuses in about the college application process and this dominates most of the book. This makes sense, as the author was herself the dean of freshman at Stanford (I think right up until her research for this book). In summary, she says trying to get at a top university is next to impossible and thousands of competent, smart kids get rejected because there are only so many kids that will get accepted. Among other things, the author suggests finding out what a child is passionate about and finding the right fit for college/university for them, and ideally, have the child figure this out on their own. 

The author does not mention the fact that there are still plenty of people who do not go on to college and that there are other avenues that children can take that don’t necessitate a college degree, but I get it, that’s the world that the author comes from, one in which middle to upper class kids simply go to college. 

It was really eye opening learning about what the college application process entails nowadays and the lengths parents will go to in order to make sure their children get into the “right” college/university, which includes writing their application essays or paying a “handler”, that is, someone who will guide the child through the application process and possibly do a lot of the work the child should really be doing themselves. Basically, getting into a “top” college/university is a system and parents find a way to get their kids into them, which used to be something a young adult used to do themselves.

Overall a good read and I’m glad I read and finished the entire thing despite setbacks and the inconsistency of my reading lately.

[mividalogica]

I'm falling on my knees / Forgive me, I'm a fucking fool / I'm begging, darling, please / Absolve me of my sins, won't you? / I'm falling on my knees / Forgive me, I'm a fucking fool / I'm begging, darling, please / Absolve me of my sins, won't you?

Kai litters the bridge with religious imagery as she juxtaposes “falling in love” with “falling out of love.” Absolution occurs when a Roman Catholic has confessed their sins and completed an act of contrition. Kai has confessed her sins and awaits her partner to absolve them, subsequently renewing the relationship. Kai asking for forgiveness

In Her Own Words

I wrote about Kai’s lyrics for her song Never Be Like You, and above is her own commentary of her lyrics. 

[mividalogica]

What would I do to take away This fear of being loved Allegiance to the pain... I would give anything to change This fickle-minded heart That loves fake shiny things... I'll never be like you I'm only human, can't you see? I made, I made a mistake Please just look me in my face Tell me everything's okay I'm falling on my knees Forgive me I'm a fucking fool I'm begging, darling, please Absolve me of my sins, won't you?... Please don't ever leave me

Never Be Like You, Flume (Feat. Kai)

(I selected some, not all, of the lyrics)

I was really intrigued by this song’s lyrics. Obviously they’re of one asking for their lover’s forgiveness after making a (perhaps big?) mistake. However, it’s a lot more than that, for among other things, the person asking for forgiveness opens up (quite honestly and significantly) about an underlying issue that is the true cause of the mistake. Among other things, this person has a “fear of being loved” and a “fickle-minded heart that loves fake shiny things.” Anyone making an honest assessment about themselves can relate to this. 

Next comes what I see more of a plea, a prayer. This person acknowledges their inability to be mistake free and would like this to also be acknowledged by their lover. Then comes some very powerful words. This person wants forgiveness and absolution. They want what’s gotten in between this relationship to be dealt with, they want things to be repaired, to be made right, they want reconciliation.

While I absolutely can relate to these lyrics, a big question remains. Sure, relationships can be repaired, and forgiveness and absolution given. But the underlying cause of these mistakes have not been dealt with. Forgiveness and absolution does not guarantee that the person will not make another mistake, because they are, after all, “only human.” 

The question is, then, can the heart be changed? 

[mividalogica]

Como lo es con muchas cosas, no estoy al todo de acuerdo con los puntos de vista de esta comediante, pero me fascino la pregunta que le hizo a su presidente. No solamente lo hizo con respeto, pero en si la pregunta creo que demuestra el entendimiento que ella tiene acerca de su cultura y de cómo su país está evolucionando (en parte gracias a la internet como ella lo indica). 

Antes de hacer la pregunta, ella dice que, “Al final, toda la comedia es crítica social todo el tiempo.” Luego prosigue con su teoría que precede la pregunta: “Tengo esta teoría... de que un pueblo con mala educación [o poco educado diría yo] es un pueblo más fácil de gobernar.” 

Ahora, es basado en esta teoría que surge su pregunta para el presidente... 

“Está listo el gobierno para un pueblo educado--que su educación va venir mas de internet que del sistema educativo? Porque si todo esto se abre, se va abrir para una educación muy universal y un pueblo menos manipulable. Está listo el gobierno para un pueblo asi, o que tanto limita que va pasar esto para que el gobierno agilite las cosas?”

*Enfasis mia. 

[mividalogica]

It never fails that I always end up reading books that somehow end up speaking to me, to some aspect of my life, to something that I’ve been thinking about. This book is no exception. It’s a really engaging read about a guy who moves away after a bad breakup but doesn’t really move on. But then he has to return home, or at least what used to be home for him.

I appreciate how Norman threads the brokenness of the characters throughout the story. He tells the story of broken people and relationships in a way that is at times funny, and at other times sad, and still at other times reflective.

Here are but a few quotes that caught my attention and which I highlighted as I read:

“the world has this uncanny knack for kicking people while they’re down...”

“Sometimes people throw things away. That doesn’t mean those things aren’t really, really good. Most of the time, it just means that person didn’t know what they had.”

“We’re all lying. We accentuate what’s good, hide what’s bad.”

“The quarter-life crisis. That’s actually a thing now. Talk about white people problems, right? Like we’re making up shit to worry about.” 

“I’ve always been very generous when it comes to other people’s money.”

“We hold on to the shitty things the tightest, for some reason.”

“You’d think it would be easier to articulate the things we obsess over the most.”

“We accept a certain level of unhappiness--like we have an unhappiness equilibrium built into our brains--and then, one day, we drop dead.”

“Are all our parents, collectively, fucked up? Have they always been fucked up, and it just takes us until our own adulthood to figure that out?” 

“He’s not a happy person, and neither am I, but right now we are, and that’s all that matters.”

Props to Amazon for giving their Prime members a free Kindle copy of upcoming books, such as this one. Find the book here: https://amzn.com/B019XX9I3O

[mividalogica]

Cara Santa Maria on her interpretation of a Carl Sagan quote:

“Since we can contemplate ourselves, and we are made of the stuff of the cosmos by transitive properties, we are a way for the cosmos to know itself because without us it can’t know itself.”

The quote from Sagan (which she got it tattooed down her left ribs) is, “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”

[mividalogica]

Just discovered this band. This video includes a surprising (for some reason, but in a good way) song titled Psychedelic Quinceañera. 

[mividalogica]

I really enjoyed this conversation about what it means to be an original thinker. And for those that have seen or will see this video, know that I’m a Chrome user : ) 

Here’s my favorite quote:

“Know that being quick to start but slow to finish can boost your creativity, that you can motivate yourself by doubting your ideas and embracing the fear of failing to try, and that you need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones. Look, being original is not easy, but I have no doubt about this: it’s the best way to improve the world around us.”

[mividalogica]

If we tried that we could be Somewhere the climate is warm, long as you around me I swear that everything will be just fine I wish that we could take some time Go anywhere, baby I don't mind

From the song oui by Jeremih

[mividalogica]

Y asi, infelices y desgraciados aquellos que de Vos no hablan; pues aun los que hablen mucho de Vos, se quedan tan cortos como si fueran mudos.

San Agustin, Confesiones (Traducción 1824)

[mividalogica]

Vos sois, Dios mío, un soberano Ser, altísimo, perfectísimo, poderosísimo, omnipotentísimo, misericordiosísimo y justísimo, ocultísimo y presentísimo, hermosísimo y fortísimo: tan estable como incomprensible; inmutable y que todo lo mudais; nunca nuevo y nunca viejo, y renovais todas las cosas, y dejáis envejecer a los soberbios sin que lo reconozcan; siempre estáis en acción, y siempre quieto; recogiendo, y no necesitando: lleváis, llenais y protegéis todas las cosas: las criais, aumentais y perfeccionais todas.

San Agustin, Confesiones (Traducción 1824)

[mividalogica]

Se con absoluta seguridad que por fe he sido justificado por medio de los méritos de Cristo, y he sido tratado como si fuera perfectamente justo, hecho heredero de Dios y coheredero de Cristo, todo a pesar de corresponderme, por naturaleza, el lugar del primero de los pecadores. Yo, completamente indigno, soy tratado como si fuera digno. Me ama con tanto amor como si siempre hubiera sido santo, aunque antes era impío. Quien puede menos que maravillarse de esto? La gratitud por tal favor se reviste de admiración indecible.

Charles H. Spurgeon

[mividalogica]

La ley es para los farisaicos: a fin de derribar su orgullo. El evangelio es para los perdidos a fin de quitarles su desesperación.

Charles H. Spurgeon