I've been moving at warp speed the past week and a half and that has kept me from getting to the next point regarding what I've discovered about "life". I've been North of the San Fransisco bay area for meetings, then in Phoenix for a few days of further ministry to the Karen people from refugee camps in Thailand that are now living here in the U.S. And I then spent the last two days in Las Vegas.
Lots happening which I'll fill you in on, along with continuing to share what I've learned....but it'll be a few more days. I'm off to a men's overnight retreat tonight, then on to San Diego on Sunday. While in that area, I'll be attending a Padres game with my pastor, (Pat Kenney) and Dr. Nick--I'm really looking forward to it. Then on Tuesday I'll be in the LA area for Shepherd's Staff related meetings.
I'll be back......in a few days
Friday, August 24, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Physical LIFE--a "bare bones" definition
With the responses I've received, I believe I'll go ahead and meander down the path of sharing what I've discovered regarding what "life" actually is and the place that understanding should have as we continue to sojourn on this planet in what my brother refers to as our "earth suits."
What I'm about to try and summarize may sound a bit philosophical or even "heady" to some of you. Others may think that what I'm trying to describe is beyond my intellect and that I really have no business trying to delve into things that I don't have the academic backround to understand or express. If you're in either group, please be patient with me because I believe that what I've learned just might be a blessing to you as it has been to me. With that disclaimer, here we go:
Making a decision to disconnect or discontinue using a machine that has been doing for a person what they are unable to do themselves, (like breathing,) is to decide that the "life" that person has had up to that moment, will cease. At the most basic, physical level, breathing is so tightly connected with "life" itself, that it wouldn't be improper at times to use the words interchangeably. As every person on this planet knows intuitively and by experience, life cannot continue without breath. Cease breathing and in minutes, life as we know it will end.
But what is really taking place when we breath? We are having an interaction and exchange with that which is external to us. If we breath, we have the capacity to take in air from outside of ourselves, have it fill our lungs and then have an exchange with it. We take from it what we need, (like oxygen, nitrogen, and so forth,) and then place back into that air what we no longer need, like carbon dioxide. We then exhale, or launch that air back into the space that is outside of our physical bodies. This whole process of intake, exchange, and exhalation usually takes place in less than a second.
There are two other key abilities that are also tightly linked with life itself, EATING and DRINKING. Ceasing either of those things will also cause life to end, but after a much longer period of time. If you stop taking in liquids, you'll only continue to live a few more days. Stop eating and after a certain amount of weeks and months your body won't be able to function properly and life will end.
With those basic observations understood, here is the simplest definition of life that I can come up with. This is what physical life is--which is what we ALL have:
The key concept is interaction and exchange with that which is EXTERNAL to itself. Without taking in from that which is external to us, there will no longer be life. In other words, life, by its very nature and at its essence is DEPENDENT on something other than itself. Life is not independent, self-existence.
I'll bring this to a close right here by pointing out that if the bible really is God's word and it is what it claims to be--the Creator's self revelation, the story of His creation and the saga of His interaction with his creation, then it's not suprising that it refers to something called the "breath of life." (Gen. 2:7 6:17 7:13)
Physical life isn't all there is though. More on that next time.
What I'm about to try and summarize may sound a bit philosophical or even "heady" to some of you. Others may think that what I'm trying to describe is beyond my intellect and that I really have no business trying to delve into things that I don't have the academic backround to understand or express. If you're in either group, please be patient with me because I believe that what I've learned just might be a blessing to you as it has been to me. With that disclaimer, here we go:
Making a decision to disconnect or discontinue using a machine that has been doing for a person what they are unable to do themselves, (like breathing,) is to decide that the "life" that person has had up to that moment, will cease. At the most basic, physical level, breathing is so tightly connected with "life" itself, that it wouldn't be improper at times to use the words interchangeably. As every person on this planet knows intuitively and by experience, life cannot continue without breath. Cease breathing and in minutes, life as we know it will end.
But what is really taking place when we breath? We are having an interaction and exchange with that which is external to us. If we breath, we have the capacity to take in air from outside of ourselves, have it fill our lungs and then have an exchange with it. We take from it what we need, (like oxygen, nitrogen, and so forth,) and then place back into that air what we no longer need, like carbon dioxide. We then exhale, or launch that air back into the space that is outside of our physical bodies. This whole process of intake, exchange, and exhalation usually takes place in less than a second.
There are two other key abilities that are also tightly linked with life itself, EATING and DRINKING. Ceasing either of those things will also cause life to end, but after a much longer period of time. If you stop taking in liquids, you'll only continue to live a few more days. Stop eating and after a certain amount of weeks and months your body won't be able to function properly and life will end.
With those basic observations understood, here is the simplest definition of life that I can come up with. This is what physical life is--which is what we ALL have:
Life is the capability of an entity to interact with and have an exchange with that which is external to itself in order to continue existing as it does.
The key concept is interaction and exchange with that which is EXTERNAL to itself. Without taking in from that which is external to us, there will no longer be life. In other words, life, by its very nature and at its essence is DEPENDENT on something other than itself. Life is not independent, self-existence.
I'll bring this to a close right here by pointing out that if the bible really is God's word and it is what it claims to be--the Creator's self revelation, the story of His creation and the saga of His interaction with his creation, then it's not suprising that it refers to something called the "breath of life." (Gen. 2:7 6:17 7:13)
Physical life isn't all there is though. More on that next time.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Advanced Directives--provoked to think!
Because of the things that the Lord has permitted me to face over the last few years, I've learned to look at the important issues of life with a little more intensity, thought, and from angles that I had never viewed things from before. Additionally, I'm no longer satisfied with assuming that those I communicate with understand key words the same way that I do. I now strongly believe that because people really do pour their own definitions into certain words, if at least one person in a conversation doesn't actually provide their understanding of the definition of a key word, it's incredibly easy for the two of them to move forward thinking they're on the same page when in reality, they're not.
Not many months after my diagnosis with Lou Gehrig's disease, (ALS) in 2004, a very abrupt neurologist that examined me told me in a very frank manner that I needed to create an Advanced Directive, (AD) because of what I would be facing ahead. There was no emotion visible, no hesitation, no change of inflection in her voice. She said it with the same demeanor that she probably used when she told someone that she had to work late. At that time, I wasn't totally sure what an AD was, but I was sure that I didn't want to let THIS doctor know that I didn't know.
Of course, I researched it later that day and discovered what an AD was and determined that although I'm fairly confident that I wouldn't encourage a person to create one using the same sort of people skills that this doctor did, I do recognize that putting one together is a wise thing to do.
And one of the issues that must be addressed in creating an AD for an ALS patient is: Under what conditions will the respirator be disconnected, or unplugged? To come to a reasonable conclusion about that decision, you, and your intimate loved ones, must come to a consensus regarding the definition of LIFE itself.
Now having been involved with the pro-life movement and ministry to the disabled and elderly for many years, I had some awareness of the various ways people refer to life issues, and I was familiar with the term "quality of life" to a degree. But even in that phrase, there is an assumption that people are understanding the word "life" in the same way. Here's a newsflash: They're not!
So, I set out on a journey to find out what the bible had to say about "life", because after all, who would know more about it than the one who IS life and who gives it to everything and everyone else that has it? I also stumbled down the scientific, non-spiritual path to discover what those headed in that direction had to say about it.
And I have come to some conclusions. Anyone out there interested in what I've discovered? If so, I'll meander that direction for a while. If not....well... I may meander that direction anyway, just not as soon.
Not many months after my diagnosis with Lou Gehrig's disease, (ALS) in 2004, a very abrupt neurologist that examined me told me in a very frank manner that I needed to create an Advanced Directive, (AD) because of what I would be facing ahead. There was no emotion visible, no hesitation, no change of inflection in her voice. She said it with the same demeanor that she probably used when she told someone that she had to work late. At that time, I wasn't totally sure what an AD was, but I was sure that I didn't want to let THIS doctor know that I didn't know.
Of course, I researched it later that day and discovered what an AD was and determined that although I'm fairly confident that I wouldn't encourage a person to create one using the same sort of people skills that this doctor did, I do recognize that putting one together is a wise thing to do.
And one of the issues that must be addressed in creating an AD for an ALS patient is: Under what conditions will the respirator be disconnected, or unplugged? To come to a reasonable conclusion about that decision, you, and your intimate loved ones, must come to a consensus regarding the definition of LIFE itself.
Now having been involved with the pro-life movement and ministry to the disabled and elderly for many years, I had some awareness of the various ways people refer to life issues, and I was familiar with the term "quality of life" to a degree. But even in that phrase, there is an assumption that people are understanding the word "life" in the same way. Here's a newsflash: They're not!
So, I set out on a journey to find out what the bible had to say about "life", because after all, who would know more about it than the one who IS life and who gives it to everything and everyone else that has it? I also stumbled down the scientific, non-spiritual path to discover what those headed in that direction had to say about it.
And I have come to some conclusions. Anyone out there interested in what I've discovered? If so, I'll meander that direction for a while. If not....well... I may meander that direction anyway, just not as soon.
Friday, August 3, 2007
A glimpse outside the "bubble"
If any of you have spent any time in a developing nation then you have had a glimpse outside of the "bubble" that we live in as Americans. The reality of that bubble was brought home to me afresh during our time on the cruise.
As I mentioned before, the crew of the ship, (I believe the crew is more than 1,000 people,) was made up of folks from 57 different countries. The vast majority of them were from developing nations. If you know me at all, you know that I love people from other countries and cultures and I absolutely love to ask them questions about their backrounds, families, and so forth. So of course, I did exactly that with many of the crew members. And, for someone who does so on a regular basis, I wasn't surprised at how eager they were to tell their stories. I also wasn't surprised to learn from many of them that very few of the passengers, the people they serve, ever take the time to really ask them about themselves and their countries.
What stands out though, at least to me, is how many of them are married and have husbands/wives and children back in their own countries, and how "normal" it has become for them to be separated from their loved ones for a minimum of six months at a time. The majority of them spend less than three months of any one year period at home with their families and their people! And what's even more astounding is that they are incredibly THANKFUL for the job that causes it to be so.
You see, as difficult as the job itself is, (and these guys work 7 days per week for 6 straight months,) what the job makes possible for their loved ones back home, at least to them, makes it a worthwhile trade-off. The better life that they can afford for their families because of the cruise ship work they have, they themselves aren't able to experience with their families the majority of the time.
With the jobs available to them in their own countries, incredible dilemmas are faced everyday and decisions need to be made that honestly, we're never forced to make here in America. For example, with a 4 dollar per day salary, there are times when they literally have to decide whether they will feed their 3 children dinner that night, or, purchase the medicine/prescription that their other, hospitalized child needs in order to get better. They can't do both, so which do they do?
Those are the kinds of decisions they no longer have to make when they have a job that pays what the cruise ship job pays, (which is quite a bit less than minimum wage in any of the 50 states.) And of course, because of what they're making on the ship, now they can even consider purchasing all of the materials necessary for their children to go to school, or even sending them to a private, rather than public school.
I thank God for those occasional glimpses "outside the bubble" of life here in America.
As I mentioned before, the crew of the ship, (I believe the crew is more than 1,000 people,) was made up of folks from 57 different countries. The vast majority of them were from developing nations. If you know me at all, you know that I love people from other countries and cultures and I absolutely love to ask them questions about their backrounds, families, and so forth. So of course, I did exactly that with many of the crew members. And, for someone who does so on a regular basis, I wasn't surprised at how eager they were to tell their stories. I also wasn't surprised to learn from many of them that very few of the passengers, the people they serve, ever take the time to really ask them about themselves and their countries.
What stands out though, at least to me, is how many of them are married and have husbands/wives and children back in their own countries, and how "normal" it has become for them to be separated from their loved ones for a minimum of six months at a time. The majority of them spend less than three months of any one year period at home with their families and their people! And what's even more astounding is that they are incredibly THANKFUL for the job that causes it to be so.
You see, as difficult as the job itself is, (and these guys work 7 days per week for 6 straight months,) what the job makes possible for their loved ones back home, at least to them, makes it a worthwhile trade-off. The better life that they can afford for their families because of the cruise ship work they have, they themselves aren't able to experience with their families the majority of the time.
With the jobs available to them in their own countries, incredible dilemmas are faced everyday and decisions need to be made that honestly, we're never forced to make here in America. For example, with a 4 dollar per day salary, there are times when they literally have to decide whether they will feed their 3 children dinner that night, or, purchase the medicine/prescription that their other, hospitalized child needs in order to get better. They can't do both, so which do they do?
Those are the kinds of decisions they no longer have to make when they have a job that pays what the cruise ship job pays, (which is quite a bit less than minimum wage in any of the 50 states.) And of course, because of what they're making on the ship, now they can even consider purchasing all of the materials necessary for their children to go to school, or even sending them to a private, rather than public school.
I thank God for those occasional glimpses "outside the bubble" of life here in America.
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