JC Speaks!: Life
Each person's life thrust is different. What's that you ask? Just imagine one action or image or whetever that seems to sizzle with life to you. The things that you do that make you feel the most alive. This is what living is to you. For me, it's going beyond the norm - exceeding the boundries of the expected. Running like a madman in sleet and hail makes me feel alive. Ending my day knowing that I exceeded my own expectations and the expectations around me makes me feel alive.
That's my life thrust, it's what I get a kick out of - going beyond the norm. As I grow, I want to begin icorporating this into every aspect of my life - not just my physical training (where my life thrust most expresses itself now). I want to excercise my life thrust in work, in relationships with people, in my relationship with God, and anything else that I come across. That every hour of every day I can feel that electricity called life sizzle thorugh my being. I want to LIVE!!!
JC Speaks!: Friendships
Friendships are funny things and it is really quite hard to categorize them. This one is someone you enjoy, this one is a best friend, and that one over there is a 'close friend.' Sound vague? I think so and thus I have taken it upon myself to establish a definition to guide at least my own self in categorizing friends.Acquaintances: Individuals you know my name, face, vocation, interests or whatever else but have no real connection to beyond such.
General Friends: Individuals whom you get along with and can enjoy time in their company.
Particular Friends: As the title suggests, those whom you particularly enjoy, whom you would prefer to hang with. Good friends.
Close Friends: Not far from 'particular friends', but ones whom you feel a little more akin to - perhaps feel a little free-er to be your own self around. Enjoy some openness with, some level of intimacy.
Intimate Friends: The highest level of friendship, a David and Jonathon type relationship. The souls of each are 'knit together.' Each is completely open with the other and feels free to bear one's soul. They are open about their innermost feelings and struggles. They help each other and understand, they sacrifice. Most people do not arrive at this type of relationship outside marriage, though it is for the having. Some do not even seem to desire it, though it is my belief that it is good, if not necessary, for the emotional and developmental health of an individual to arrive to this degree of friendship with at least one other outside of marriage sometime in his or her lifetime.
Clickable Friends: Those very few people with whom a certain chemistry just seems to take place. You know what I speak of, so I will not go into further delaberations to explain myself. In many cases you 'click' from day one - for this reason 'clickable friends' may be on any level of friendship before mentioned and usually progress very quickly to a 'particular friend.' They could very easily become close or even intimate friends given the right conditions.
So there you have it! Of course, these are just general definitions and medians exist between each. Naturally there are going to be those who fall inbetween somewhere. But hey, take it for what it's worth and let me know what you think.
JC Speaks!: Complexes
Complexes are an element which truly intrigue me. This is because they are found in everyone of us, to some extent or another. They are inherent to humanity. In every relationship we maintain in our lives, complexes will at some point determine actions and feelings within that relationship. Complexes play an important role in the interactions between any two human beings who maintaintain a relationship together, friendships, enemies, spouses, etc.
Most people look at complexes as a fault, something to be ashamed of. I digress. Complexes can, if approached correctly, be used to stoke the fires that smelt the metals of our personalities. Complexes should be looked at dead on, and taken as a challenge to overcome. If one has an inferiority complex, for example (which is really a category of complexes, not a specific type) one should not merely dwell on the complex, for this only leads to reinforcing the same. Rather, an individual should look at themselves circumspectly and discover the root cause of the complex.
When this step has been taken, one has come a long way. All that now lies ahead is to deal with the issues. Once the root causes have been removed one must watch over this area, it is weak, and if allowed to, roots do grow back.
So how does a complex help a person? Again, if approached correctly, a complex may actually help an individual remove a fault from their own lives, thus making them more polished and refined. In my own humble opinion, God has placed complexes in our lives as catalysts. It is up to us as to how we use them, but we will be called to accountability as to the changes that these 'catalysts' make in the chemistry of our lives, whether to the good or to the bad.
