Mar. 27, 2005 - 5:09 p.m.
I had a six-hour flight yesterday, and although I am no stranger to flying over middle America, I'm always amazed by it. As one who grew up among the tall, dense pine trees of East Texas, and currently lives in the biggest metropolitan area in the USA, it never ceases to floor me to fly over miles and miles of NOTHING.
The author of Ecclesiastes (possibly Solomon) observations on life convinced him that "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all." Life is an inscrutable mystery that remains hidden in God, and the attempts to unravel and discern this mystery are vain and futile. Life can be desperately, absurdly, INSANELY unfair. How else do you explain Paris Hilton, the girl famous for being famous, the fact that a smart, creative, dynamic 20-something as myself has been unemployed for 10 months, $1 million+/WEEK salaries for TV actors and $20,000/YEAR salaries for teachers? The size 2 girl who eats and drinks whatever she wants? You can't. It's inexplicable. And totally unfair. Ecclesiastes' reaction? Nothing you can do about it. Enjoy the good things that God provides when He provides them.
I think that's fine advice - even if I did once hear from a learned and wise biblical scholar that Ecclesiastes was probably written for the pagan, not the Christian. Here's to life's little pleasures. Notice and revel in them. Just a few of mine are:
-a good bloody Mary
-walking down the streets of New York City
-the first sip of coffee in the morning
-a baby smiling at me on the train
-brunch in a french patisserie with my roommate
-noticing the diversity of ethnicity, age, and familial status in my church
-Sunday morning NPR with Jonathan Schwartz.
I got to experience all of these things today. I'll continue my day to enjoy more of my own personal favorite things, like watching my favorite tv shows, falling asleep with a book on my chest because it's just so interesting I can't put it down even to sleep, and having every single piece of clothing I own washed, folded, and put away.
May you enjoy life's pleasures today.
~J.
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