#evolving ideas

[catandguitarsnugglingonthecouch]

Still working out the ideas for the final picture "Hot Baths", but I like this scribble. It started out with the steam swirling around, dissolving into blurry images. But halfway through, the steam transformed into these arms? or tentacles? I'm not sure what my brain was doing. Maybe the Leviathan-Quote popped in!? It's equally calm and ominous. I wonder what will happen, if I put it into it's real size and colors...

[probaway]

SACC - inside cover of the weekly folder.

SACC – inside cover of the weekly folder.

The Spiritual Awareness Community of the Cascades                                SACC

The mission is to provide a time and place for helping us to fulfill the many purposes we find in our lives.

These include: – exploring the divine aspects of nature to help us thrive. – discussing the existential problems of our being. – helping one another find purposes for our lives. – exploring those things…

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[the-adelaide-blog]

We kissed like butterflies dance; fluttering around each other’s lips to affirm our love for the other. We were no more than children it seemed, but our lives revolved around one thing; and it was always our dedication. A few moments that I spent with him, I felt that our dedication became obligation from the longevity of our relationship. I never spoke my worries out loud for fear that the wind might altar the sound waves like snakes against his ear drums; “to make him happy”, I reminded myself at the end of each thought, therein confirming my undying and exclusive existence to him.

[therealeternia]

You did then what you knew how to do and when you knew better you did better.

- Maya Angelou God knew I needed to hear this today.

[focusedinquiry1]

Which essay would you like to read for class?

Professor Williams has asked me and Chase to help him decide which essay the class will read next. Would you like to help us choose? Reply to this post or send us an e-mail.

You do not need to read the essays to help us decide. You can skim them over in your Evolving Ideas book or you can pick based on the titles/descriptions in parentheses.

"From Front Porch to Back Seat: A History of the Date" by Beth Bailey, page 42 (history of dating in American culture)

"The Myth of the Male Decline" by Stephanie Coontz, Page 124 (changing gender roles in American culture)

"The End of Solitude" by William Deresiewicz, Page 128 (connectivity and the decrease of 'alone time' in American culture)

"Hooking Up and Sexual Risk Taking Among Students: A Health Belief Model Perspective" by Teresa M. Downing-Matibag and Brandi Geisinger, Page 138 (why do students take sexual risks?)

"The Atrophy of Social Life" by D. Stanley Eitzen, Page 158 (isolation and the changing American social life)

"The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge" by Abraham Flexner, Page 165 (seemingly useless satisfactions can actually turn out to be the source of utility)

"Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace, Page 390

-Caitlin

[unadulteratedkat]

So I know people are being snarky and shit about folks changing their facebook profile pictures to the red equality sign.. and I know the HRC is not a perfect organization by far (expecially with their focus severely lacking in the trans-people area...)

You can feel free to think it's stupid, but I feel the need to explain why I did it.

I am a member of a church that when I was initially baptized at 14 was very, very harsh in its rhetoric about the horrible sins of homosexuality. I don't think it was any coincidence that at that very time in my life, I was first encountering an alternate lifestyle in my own personal life. I now see it as a sign from God himself that this type of hatred was NOT to be a part of my life. I went to junior high with someone a year older than me. When this person left our junior high, I knew him as a girl by the name of Rose. However, when I got to high school, I was reintroduced to a very kind, funny and delightful boy named Zane. It was the first inkling I ever had that maybe my church was not the full authority on every single aspect of a person's life. Later, I was lucky enough to study under one of the most gifted and emotionally present men I have ever met: my high school choir director. This man gave me confidence to pursue a future in performing, and I will always treasure my memories of those moments. Oh, right. He was also gay. And that was the moment that I definitely recognized there was something wrong. No matter how many sermons I heard about how the devil can approach you in seductively unsuspecting ways, I knew this was not one of those moments. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the devil would have wanted to introduce me to how absolutely soul-wrenchingly wonderful communing with God through music can be (which is certainly what choir with Mr. Peterson gave me). However, I was still young... I didn't have Tumblr around to help me find resources to explain what was going on... All I had was my own opinion, and as a teenager at my church... I felt I needed to keep my mouth shut. I've kept it shut for a while.

I'm sure this must make you wonder: well, Kat.... why didn't you just leave your church? I guess it's a sign of my almost hopeless optimism... I truly believe I will be able to experience the transformation of their ideology. It's already starting to happen. I went away to England for just six months, and I was floored when I got back and heard some of the sermons and lessons... preaching unconditional love and the separation of church and state, versus fire and brimstone or condemnation sermons. I'm seeing a change.

But as of right now, not everyone (especially at my church) believes what I believe: that God loved and created the people in this world who are NOT heterosexual just the way they are. And I've not been too vocal about our disagreement... mostly because I'm young, and I admit I'm afraid of being judged. And then I realized that was absolute bullshit. There is so much truth to the idea that all it takes for evil to triumph is for the good to do nothing. So I changed my profile picture to finally announce to my entire group of friends and to announce to certain members of my congregation that I do support and fully desire to see a day when marriage can be between two PEOPLE who love each other, regardless of what their sexual organs look like.

You may think it's an empty gesture, but for me it was finally a moment to be honest.