Rain Here, Rain There

People here in Southern California really don't know what a rainstorm is. Today, I heard a girl complaining about having to practice in the barely visible specks of water falling from the sky that she called "rain." If I heard this years ago, I would have agreed with the her.  I thought I knew what rain was when I was younger. Rain meant putting on my raincoat and getting my boots wet in the "big" puddles out in my front yard. Occasionally during the night, flashes of lightening would penetrate my bedroom shutters right before the thunder would rattle the windows. This was the extent of my knowledge of a rain storm, until I experienced a one in the Grand Canyon.

As the sun set, the clouds began to accumulate. I knew a storm was coming, but I had no idea what was about to happen. At first, the drops of water that I knew to be rain began to fall from the sky. Suddenly, the droplets got bigger and bigger, becoming what seemed like five times larger than the rain I knew back home. I became drenched within seconds from standing outside while the abnormally giant sized raindrops continued to pour down.

Soon the lightening arrived. It lit up the sky just as it lit my room through my window shudders, except the bolt made it almost daytime for a split second, then complete darkness would return until the next bolt struck. The thunder that rattled my bedroom window was magnified as it rolled through the canyon. As I stood soaking listening to the thunder and watching the sky turn from white to black, I realized what I thought to have been rain was only a small fraction of it's true power.

Consumerism Gone Wild

Black Friday marks the beginning of holiday shopping. The bargains offered on Black Friday make the day seem perfect to get early Christmas shopping done, but have people taken it too far? Shoppers stake their spot in line several days before the stores are open for Black Friday shopping and even miss their Thanksgiving dinner in hopes of finding amazing deals. Once the doors are open, people go wild and stampede into the stores, losing all sense of humanity. It's as if people have become animals acting upon their shopping instincts trampling over other shoppers to get an item that's discounted. It is sickening to hear of people getting into brawls just to get a small item on sale. The other day I heard that two grown men got into a fight over a Victoria Secret gift bag filled with goodies, most likely for women. Not only was I thinking how ridiculous the story sounded, but I also came to conclusion that people have lost respect for others and even themselves over material possession.

Times Have Changed

Recently, I read Jonathan Edwards sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" for my English class. Our class had to discuss how we felt towards the text. Most people were violated and thought Jonathan Edwards had no right to tell them that they are wrong. This demonstrates the cultural difference between Edwards' time and today's time. During Edwards' time, it was acceptable for people to tell others that are they wrong because people did not have a subjective sense of morality. However today, people do not take it very lightly when someone tell them that they are wrong. That is why students in my class felt violated and did not like Edwards' sermon. Edwards plainly states that people are sinners and need God. They did not appreciate that Edwards was intruding on their personal morals. 

Today society does not believe in a universal, unalienable definition of right and wrong. Most people believe right and wrong is defined by their own standards, and not a god or higher power. If they believed in a god, the god would be able to say what is good and bad, and nobody would be able to contest to that.  However, people who do not believe in such a higher power, believe they are at liberty to determine what is good and bad. 

Today, it is not acceptable to impose one's own beliefs onto other individuals. However, I find it contradictory, that by simply telling someone this, one is inflicting their own beliefs onto other individuals. 

Of Cats and Men

Today I learned that even that gentlest of souls have a little bully inside of them. I thought my cat, Morpheus, was the most gentle of all cats, but today he proved me wrong. Recently there has been a stray black cat wandering around my neighborhood. She doesn't bother anyone and just goes about her business, occasionally finding someone to play with. This afternoon I was in my family room and as I looked outside I saw the stray cat. Morpheus, the timid cat I though of him to be, as expected hid inside and watched the stray cat roam around his personal territory. I went outside to play with the cat and eventually Morpheus gathered the courage to come join us. At first, Morpheus and the stray tentatively sized each other up, neither one really making any move. Then suddenly, Morpheus pounded his paw onto the stray's head. I was appalled! Yes, the backyard is his territory, but I never expected him to make such a move without provocation. How could he do such a thing? Then I realized that no cat, or human, can be entirely good. Every soul, both gentle and fierce, has a mean side.