Sorry

So I haven't had a chance to post anything in a while. As you all know I procrastinate everything and the past two and a half weeks I have had 3 midterms and two papes to do. I am finishing my last midterm tonight and hope to post some of the fun stuff I have done when not cramming. So in a near future blog there will be tons of pics from the Thriving Ivory concert, the Halloween party at the homeles shelter I volunteered at, and a summary of what has been up in the life of B-rad.

The art of judgement

I apologize beforehand to all who read this, please do not take personal offense to what I am about to write. This is not directed at any one person but to all as a whole. What follows is a ranting and a plea. I want to hear what you think about this so please feel free to comment, this time it is a completely judgment free zone, we can judge eachother on my next political blog entry.

The famed philosopher John Locke, once wrote,“He that judges without informing himself to the utmost that he is capable, cannot acquit himself of judging amiss” I submit he is only partially correct. I would further add when judging a person's morality and relationship with Divinity, unless authorized and inspired by Divinity, one is always incorrect.

The culture that I live in and am a part of, as good as it is, in generality fails tremendously on this subject. I live in a culture where, speaking again in generality, peoples lives revolve around the way they worship. I consider this a great thing, my life does as well, especially since that devotion is centered around always striving to become a better person. One sad thing that I have noticed is that the striving to become better is starting to shift to being better than what we perceive others as. That by somehow thinking that if you are better than those around you; you are somehow exempt from harsh judgement because there are those that are perceived as worse. You can reserve your seat in heaven by not being your best but just moderately better than what you perceive your neighbor as. I regret to inform you that this is obviously not the case for the following observations:

1. You cannot and are not judged by the merits of others. You can only be judged by your own actions, thoughts, and inactions. Other's actions cannot restrict you from or guarantee your right to celestial glory.

2. One item that is so often mentioned but rarely internalized is that, with the exception of Divinity, no one is perfect. What I mean by this is simply no one is perfect. Definately not me, not you, not your mom, and as much as I love her not even my own mom. That's right, I just said that about my own momma.

3. Again, you are probably saying, "Brad, we already know this, why are you rambling saying the same things over and over again?"
This is the point I am trying (probably badly) to express, why then are we so quick to tell someone when they are wrong? We all have imperfections, we are all striving to do better, in general we are trying to progress but we need to recognize that everyone does it differently. I do it differently than you and you do it differently than me. Is my way better than yours? No. Is your way better than mine? Again a resounding no.

4. I am under the impression that we all have the ability to have a unique and deeply personal relationship with Divinity. Please note the usage of the words "unique" and "personal" in correaltion to "relationship with Divinity." My relationship with Divinity is inversely different than yours. Does that make mine better than yours or vice versa? We would all, unless responding sardonically, echo no. Then why are we so quick to tell someone that they are wrong?

5. I also believe life and eternal progression is hard. Very hard. Why then, would we want to make it that much harder for other people by condeming them by standards that we have decided are correct? In any sociology class that I have taken the theory of a self-fulfilling prophecy is always discussed. What this means is that when someone is conutinually assigned a label the chances of fullfilling that label are exponentially higher. When you give the label as sinner, charlatan, slut, overall bad person, you are helping to enable a person to fulfill that assigned label.

So to keep in line with the command, "Judge not," let us all put aside our spiritual judgements of others, and instead focus on how we can better ourselves as individuals. My life, as hard as it can be at times, would be so much better if others would keep what they think of what I do to themselves. Believe it or not I know the difference between right and wrong. It is left up to me, not anyone else, to decide what is right and wrong for me. If you do this for me I will definately do this for you. I will do it for you even if you don't do it for me.

What a weekend: figer tighting, movie night with me padre, flooded basements and a car that won't start

Figer tighting is an inside joke for those who were at Denny's after LAgoon friday. I don't know what we were on but it was fun. Saturday I went home to pick up my new phone and Saturday night my friends in o-town were too busy to chill-lame, see if I come to otown any time soon- so I chill-axed with my dad and watched I am Legend with him. I don't get to spend enough time with the pops so I am glad I did. That however was the only highlight of the weekend. The parentals basement flooded a little bit due to a leak in the water softener. Luckily I was spent the night there and caught it at seven in the morning before it had a chance to do extremely serious damage. Just some carpet padding and some books and some stuff we had in our storage. So Sunday I spent the day cleaning and getting the water out of the basement. I did that until three took a nap ate dinner and then did it some more. Exhausted I spent the night again there and woke up to my car not starting. Coldness killed my battery. Nothin like droppin a hundie before ten, good thing I got a job promotion or else I would have needed a parental bailout. Then I got to go to work and hear secretaries tell me how I need to do my job better. Gotta love my life... or not. So fun night with friends who turn lame the next day to flooded basement to bad battery to doing an apperently bad job at work. Yup sums up an awesome three days.

October and maybe November Playlist

Yeah it is a good one this go around. And I am a bit late with this so this may do for November, we'll see.
1. Human by The Killers: Awesome song. Really deep with some religious undertone, something I appreciate by the band a lot. "Are we human or are we denser?"
2. Love Lockdown by Kanye West: Kanye can sing, cool song, cool beat. I like it a lot.
3. Wild Horses by Alicia Keys and Adam Livine: Maybe my favorite Adam Livine (Maroon 5) Very soulful and a just an all around solid song.
4. Live Your Life by T.I. ft. Rihanna: T.I. is becoming a favorite rapper by me and no one is better to do a song with than Rihanna.
5. I'm Yours by Jason Mraz: This one is the better version of the two. Listen to the song at the bottom of the blog. There is one that is out on the radio a lot but this one is different. It features Joshua Radin.
6. I'd Rather Be With You by Joshua Radin: New artist I found playing on itunes indie pages. Great song.
7. Tell You Something (Nana'a Reprise) by Alicia Keys: Powerful. In my top four Alicia Keys songs. Has a whole lotta meaning.
8. The Resolution by Jack's Mannequin: Great song.
9. Father and Son by Cat Stevens: This song tells a story of a father and a son and the contention that exists between the two. I love it because I think that everyone can relate to it so well. I have only had maybe two serious arguments with my dad or with my mom for that matter but this song can totally tell how I feel sometimes. I am at a dramatic point in my life where decisions have to be made. I can feel both the dad's voice in the song and the son's voice pulling me in different directions. Each have an unknown and semi-scary outcome for me. Just don't quite know which one to follow.
10. Everything Will Be Alright by Joshua Radin: Seriously check this guy out, my pick for the next Jason Mraz.
11. All These Things That I've Done by The Killers: I've got soul but I'm not a soldier. Words I live by. ha ha
12. Better In Time by Leona Lewis: Just a good song, she has a cool voice.
13. Lucky by Jason Mraz ft. Colby Coleit: Awesome colaberation. good song.
14. Disturbia by Rihanna: freaky song but cool.
15. My History by 16 frames: My new Hills band I found and like a lot.
16. Perfect (Acoustic) by Army of Me: Again another Indie find on itunes. "These days it feels that everything is changing. Used to be that every stride, you were standing by my side. But now it feels I’m walking on a tightrope, As I try to balance out how to make you proud. One day I’ll be perfect, I’ll be so extraordinary. I will shine, I will radiate"
17. I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy: Basic song from a decent band. Worth listening to.
18. Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day: I swear September never ended.