General Reflections

I finished reading Maus a number of weeks ago. It was the first graphic novel I'd read, besides a collection of Marvel comics, which doesn't really count. I really enjoyed it, but I'm going to avoid making any grandiose critical pronouncements. I will say that Vladek Spiegelman was a very real and endearing character to me, and my favorite part of the book.

In a weird coincidence Mark Blumenthal, editor and publisher of Pollster.com (a political polling and analysis site I've been frequenting lately) posted this today. Blumenthal's father-in-law, who passed away yesterday, has a very similar story to Vladek Spiegelman, as documented in Maus.

Michelle and I have been watching the Office almost every night. We're already half way through Season 4, which we got less than a month ago. The Office is great because it is so subtle and compelling in the way it engages our culture. I don't know exactly how to explain it, except that I watched the last two minutes of "Survivor Man" twice in a row, totally spellbound. And I need to see "The Deposition" again. I mean, it's totally hilarious, but it's the once-in-a-blue-moon, darn-that-was-poignant, out-of-nowhere-when-you-least-expect-it, rewind-that-I-need-to-see-that-again moments that have me totally hooked.

More good stuff from The Call:

For Jesus, spirituality is plainly not a life of contemplation divorced from a life of action. There is nothing in Jesus' life of either the super-spiritual "Catholic distortion" or the all-to-secular "Protestant distortion" we saw earlier. There is only a rhythm of engagement and withdrawal, work and rest, dispensing and recharging, crowds and solitude, in the midst of one of the shortest, busiest public lives ever lived.
If we are not to be dried up, our secular lives require supernatural refreshment too. But equally, if our supernatural experience is not to become an end in itself and a source of indulgence and pride, we must resolutely descend from the mountain peaks of vision to the valley of ordinary life where our callings take us. The New Testament knows no monasteries or monks, only spiritually disciplined disciples in a demanding, everyday world.

Last but not least, I'm excited to say that Michelle and I are having a girl. We went this weekend to a second hand store and picked out some of her first clothes. I learned that newborns wear pants with their onesies. Hey, it looked like a complete outfit to me.

Things I'm Applying

There are some spiritual truths which I have learned, per se, but which I haven't learned to apply. The following paragraphs come from "The Call":

Midlife crises that are genuine and not simply fashionable are generally due to the tensions between three very different desires: for successful careers, for satisfying work, and for rich personal lives. Early in life the differences between our personal lives and our work may not be marked or obvious. But as life goes on, and especially if success in one sphere is not complemented by success in the other, a yawning chasm will open that leads to deep frustration. Sadly, studies show, a few people enjoy neither their work nor their personal lives; more enjoy their work but not their personal lives; only a few say they enjoy both.

Crises created by a contradiction between successful careers and satisfying work are even more fateful. For when we set out in youth and choose careers for external reasons - such as the lure of the salary, the prestige of the position, or pressure from parents and peers - we are setting ourselves up for frustration later in life if the work does not equally suit us for internal reasons, namely our giftedness and calling. "Success" may then flatter us on the outside as "significance" eludes us from the inside.

I wrestle with this a lot. Theoretically, I want work that is satisfying, fulfilling and significant in my own eyes. Practically, I don't really know what satisfying work would look like for me. What am I gifted for? What am I called to? I usually default to applying for jobs I'm qualified for, which haven't had the significance I'm looking for. Another problem is that I panic if I'm not able to contribute to my savings on a regular basis, to say nothing of actually having to spend those savings.

Speaking of money, another quote from The Call:

Second, and more practically, calling introduces into society a different style of operating that directly counters the market mentality. We do what we do in life because we are called to it, not because we get paid for it.

Contrary to the ways of commerce, calling means that life is lived for God's sake or for it's own sake under God. Intrinsic satisfaction outweighs external rewards such as pay, advancement, and external recognition.

That I need to try to live out. Thus far, it has not been easy and I haven't had much success. Little by little, though, the picture is becoming clearer. I want to be in a position to listen to people, understand them, and encourage them. I want to help people. I want to teach people. I want to strive, with close friends and colleagues, for some common good. It's hard to know what I was made to do. For now I can be faithful and patient.