Peter Kreeft on Famlies and the Sexual Revolution

Just got back from a lecture by Peter Kreeft, a Catholic philosopher and amazing speaker. I would like to share with you some of the points that he taught us. The ones that stood out the most to me were the ones about the sexual revolution and the ones about families. He calls the sexual revolution one of the three main false 'absolutes'. He says that the sexual revolution of today is different than the one of Rome or any other, because instead of being just about behaviour, it's also about belief. It has divorced two things that God has joined together: sex and procreation. And the sexual revolution has destroyed the holiness that is within marriage and sex. Why is it holy? Peter Kreeft says that sex is related to ecstasy, which is best defined as standing outside of yourself and giving of yourself. It is an image of what God is doing in heaven in the fellowship of the Son and Holy Ghost. That's why it is holy. And the sexual revolution is destroying the holiness. As Dr. Kreeft says, the two holiest places are the sacristy and the woman's body where God continues to perform miracles day after day, the first being the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and the second being the formation of souls in the woman's womb.

On families, Peter Kreeft says that families are the foundation of society. Of course, that means marriage holds a very important place. He also says that promises are the fundamental way people hold together over time - and marriage is the most solemn promise made. Demolish families, and you demolish societies. That's why the Devil is attacking families: he wants to destroy our societies. And he's succeeding.

That's some of the wisdom that I picked up from Dr. Kreeft. I hope it was thought-inspiring to you as well. :)

Summer Musings

Summer. Ahh. I don't know about you, but it's one of my favourite times of the year. I think it has something to do with all the happy childhood memories of no school, swimming, and camping. To this day, if I smell sunscreen, I think of towels and goggles and iced tea and aqua blue pool tiles. To me, summer is defined by special smells, sights, sounds, and tastes that come around only during that time of year. For example, when I think of a summer sight, I always think of a sunset, reds and pinks and periwinkles and soft lavenders, all blended together with the orange hues of the last dying rays of sunlight. In spring, autumn and winter, the sunsets are different than the sunsets in summer. Summer sunsets are more alive, more vibrant.

When I think of a day in summer, there are specific details that define it. The sounds of the crickets chirping. The smell of warm grass and flowers and popsicles. The feel of the hot rays of sun, making your skin prickle under the sunscreen your mom slathered on you. The shimmer that drifts over the hot road, making it look like it's flooded ahead when you're driving. So many little things, and yet, summer wouldn't be summer without them.

A Deadline...*gasp*

Well...I've decided to give myself a deadline for my novel. I hardly wrote all year because of my schoolwork load, and now that school is over, I'm going to write. I'm going to sit down at my desk each day and type out a certain number of words/chapters. Even if it's only one page, I'm adding to the manuscript. I'm going to get it done, even if it kills me. By August 31st, I will have a completed novel in my hands. Probably. ;D

Goal: to finish my novel
Deadline: August 31st, 2011

On the Myth of Wasted Pages

I believe there are no such things as wasted pages. Period.

People always look at me funny when I say this...they're probably remembering all those essays and reports they did back in school which are now happily decomposing in a rubbish pile somewhere. And yet, I believe that those words were not wasted. Not because they're feeding a grateful worm at the moment, but because each word penned prepared you for the next one. I have a confession to make: I have over 400 wasted pages. Seriously. 400. Count 'em. And my handwriting's tiny! They're contained in old, faded notebooks shoved in a box under my bed. Collecting dust. Not serving any purpose except to annoy my mom when she attempts to extract something from under there. And I firmly believe they aren't wasted. Each word I penned back then make the words I'm penning now even better. And the words I'm penning now make the one's I'll pen later even better. The more pages you 'waste', the more pages are saved. So, when you start to think "Nothing I'm writing now will ever be published...might as well stop writing." DON"T STOP. Pick that pen back up. Approach the blank page. And make the word's you'll write someday even better.

Study=Fail

what do you think? :)

Ink and Paper

When my body fades to dust,

and my spirit soars amid other worlds

When all I knew and all I loved

has faded into the fog of Time's relentless passing

May my words, my thoughts,

my insignificant specks of wisdom

be living still

bound in ink and paper

May my inklings, my dreams

be an inspiration to others

whom I have gone before.

May they be paving stones

on the world's jagged road

where many stumble and bleed

In Principio...

Today, I begin my blog. I thought I should lay out for myself, more than for your benefit, what I hope to accomplish in this act. The answer is simple: to make the world a better place. Perhaps my inklings will not make much difference. Perhaps this blog is too insignificant to make any difference. But perhaps it's not. Perhaps my words will shed a ray of light into someone's darkness. Perhaps they will make someone smile. And then, all of it will have been worth it. I hope this is a long and prospering endevor. I hope I will enjoy it. But most of all, I hope that you will enjoy it. Now, onward!