Copper Chronicles

I feel like God is making room on my insides. They feel mushy. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit said they’d come and make their abode with me.

That should put an end to my lonely existence. It’s possible being “present” will fix my morose episodes. Why go meandering in my past, or reliving nagging regrets with Love itself in Human Form attending me faithfully?

Maybe writing is my way of soul searching- getting out the misconceptions and false perceptions about the world, and Who I am in it? Seems a tedious task to perform with such prestigious guests. But, it is the nature of God, Himself, ‘to help.’ Love helps.

Love doesn’t lie to me, confuse me with distractions and illusions to capture my attention. Someone who loves me exposes lies and deceit- so I don’t get caught in the nettles of life.

Like a Good Shepard, Jesus is there. I sound like a State Farm commercial. Ugh!! See how thoroughly the world gets into our beings, speech, and thought patterns? And, influences them??

Now wonder St. Therese had such a happy life. No constant barrage of commercialism in the French countryside a century ago.

When I wrote those words, State Farm’s jingle rhythm accompanied my pen.

This cultural de-tangling may be an exhausting job. How am I to exist in a realm with God and speak to Him, when the a**holes who own insurance companies have through decades of cultural influence and manipulation sowed their jingle into my soul?

Then, it triggers me like a supper bell, like I am Pavlov’s dog in an experiment. It rings and I obey. At least, today it has distracted me from my personal, non-commercial quest of salvation.

Clearly, I am trying to speak to someones superior to State Farm Insurance Company. You have lost your sale!

One way to combat this awful conditioning by market manipulators is: Every time I hear that jingle I will say, “Like a good neighbor, Jesus is there!” But, I ought not to be a tedious neighbor myself. And, talk too much about myself or seem to be complaining.

I am sure this new habit will reduce my morose musings. How can one remain sullen and ill-tempered in the presence of One who is Love?

Exploring subtle meanings of words that my previous, naive self ignored, I believe State Farm is a mocking allusion to “Animal Farm,” by George Orwell. The modern day Company Store requires its dues.

Let’s say I pay the Company Store $100 each month to insure my truck. Over the course of forty years, I’ve spent nearly $50,000 for insurance because I was legally required to. It’s like a tribute to the mob, only the criminals have made it appear respectable by making it law.

My hundred dollars contributed to a market fund compounding annually at 8% would be worth $350, 000 now. That is plenty of funds for any kind of emergency I may have in life. Compounded annually in a 12% Market ETF, my money may be worth over a million dollars already.

So, I am the Animal in this farm scenario. I handed over valuable income that could be emergency funds and retirement money to the “State” Farm. So, they could watch it grow into staggering amounts of money which must far outweigh the payouts they give. Otherwise, they wouldn’t continue to do it.

Compulsory payouts to the Company Store. That’s the State Farm. No wonder the animals are trying to destroy it.

It’s possible my long and lonely existence is due to an absence of love. Life itself has energy, its almost effervescent even chaotic. What happens to a soul that is disconnected from love? An island?

We’ve been told “No man is an island.” But, my well-being requires more than metaphors to survive. What if some people are islands and we’ve been lied to all our lives?

Aren’t islands typically desirable places to go? We go on vacations to paradisaical places. And dream of escaping to places like the Florida Keys. At least I do. What is undesirable about being surrounded by the sea, warm sand, and the hot sun?

So, a lie is like a vacuum, then. False statements steal from us something that is valuable, like our souls and our purposes.

I can be an island if I want. I can be hospitable and invite people over. Then, when I am feeling tired or unnerved, I can retreat into my private paradise.

I believe “No man is an island” – like everything we see and hear – can appear one way. But, then have deeper and more subtle meanings naive and foolish people miss. Sort of like the phrase, “Share the wealth” means: if you have something we want, we are going to take it from you.

Well, I tried that. People took everything I had. And, nothing left, I became a “non-essential” being. And, had to flee the state for refuge. See how very dangerous lies are?

So, untruths leave us empty like a black hole. But truth bestows, it dawns like the morning: it isn’t chaotic or parasitic in nature. It guides gently, but doesn’t force.

Understand that being an island isn’t a committed, life goal I am suggesting to anyone. Sometimes, in our places of refuge we miss good fortune and benefits of people who do love us.

Lies leave holes in our soul. Emptiness. Love is what gently and sweetly opens our eyes to realize things are not always what they appear.

Oddly, I learned that God was not a tyrant today at the Maier Museum of Art. My distaste for contemporary art was gnawing at me, like eating a peach and crunching on a pit. A gritty nub isn’t delicious, pleasing, and lovely like a peach. And so, my sensibilities being tuned towards more classical forms of art, I spit out the distasteful pit of modern artistic expression.

Contemporary Art isn’t always beautiful, and the meaning is often obscured. Being an entitled person (in my own mind), I imagined art should be visually pleasing and contribute something meaningful to me. Both preferably. Isn’t that what art is for? To improve culture? To enrich and elevate people?

The host of the gallery, David, patiently assisted while I “pulled the log out” of my own eye. Then, I may be fit to help others with obstructions in their own view about art. That is the formula according to Jesus. Correct your own self first, otherwise you cannot see things accurately enough to be of use to anyone else.

Truth be told, I am not certain that it is necessary that Contemporary Art live up to my expectations of art at all. Or anyone- ever?

What right do I have to expect anyone person or Artwork to live up to my expectations? My definition of Art was clearly an obstacle- an entitled filter through which I was looking at the world. Then, I could not see the artwork or artist at all.

The reason I know God is not a tyrant is because, whatever standards exist in the universe for the well-being of human beings- for health, verbal or visual communication, or any sphere of our existence, an All-powerful One could easily destroy whatever displeases Him. And force us to abide by His rules.  

Such One could summon a whole army and lock up anyone who acted in unauthorized ways- which could be any of us or all of us collectively at any moment of time. Like me, when I wanted to march out in furious protest at the gallery’s latest show. And destroy my cell phone which seems an inescapable tool necessary to interact with contemporary culture.

A device like a cell phone and our dependence on it can create a tyranny. That depends on who is curating its use- just like a Museum Director curates an art show.

The beautiful place I came from was far from the modern world. I witnessed the world’s devolution around me, changes, dangers, and impossible looking challenges. But that chaos didn’t penetrate my private one, until I looked at my cell phone.

I’d have stayed buried there happily forever if “progress” didn’t crush my family financially. But, in everything I lost, I gained a valuable insight into the modern world. Maybe art is like God speaking to us, the way nature speaks to us. It’s a conversation outside how we traditionally may view art or God.

Contemporary Art is about people communicating and trying to be understood, in unusual ways- outside the rigid forms of what may be called classical art. The expressions may seem chaotic, disturbing. And, in my case disorientating.

But, after some hand-holding by patient docents, I discovered some paintings were fun in a rule-breaking way. Others, dark and foreboding, like mysteries that need solving. Artists can create out-of-the-box experiences for viewers.

I didn’t immediately “like” any of them. But, only a tyrant would stop people from expressing themselves. That what disturbs us is allowed to exist proves God is not tyrannical.

What He asks is we not be judgmental of others and love them. As we can, listen to them. Every human being has something to contribute even if it is not obvious at first. Even if they are different. Or negatively affect our sensibilities as in my modern art experience.

I couldn’t see “Great Art” at first or anything else for that matter because of my entitled thinking and rigid expectations. But I wrestled with my frustration and disappointment and found what I was really looking for, myself. And the God who listens when we speak.       

Religious communities speak of “Pride” as a moral failing. That is, the elevation if oneself to god-like power despite the reality of our precarious state. Modernization, or abandoning our collective wisdom of history in the name of ‘the new,’ scientific knowledge and technology, is giving us cultural Botox.

There’s no guarantees the “treatment” will work. And, we may well risk being worse off then before we experimented with the scientific improvements. Like, Botox victims become unrecognizable and distorted.

It’d be better if we had a cultural identity, before facing this Brave New World. Then, people and young people particularly will be less inclined to try any new thing they see on Tik Tok in order to find one.

Identity-less ness is a brutal condition. Human beings who are susceptible to what is quickly becoming a vast ocean of knowledge, human interactions via social media, technological and scientific interventions (and manipulations) may be lost in “system overload.”

I am certain people much smarter than me are crying in the wilderness with the support of scientific research that human brains are not satisfactorily able to process so much sensory input from even our cell phone use.

It’s great we may become anyone we want using this ‘new’ technology. I understand the enthusiasm for possibilities. But, if we don’t understand our origins- where we came from- then, where we are going can be a bit alarming.

Even if we know human history and are thoroughly acquainted with tragedies and triumphs of humanity in previous ages, the future may still be daunting. A great blank slate, who knows Who or What will write on??

The reason for my concern about unmooring people from the past and thrusting them into a ‘new world’ largely controlled by Science and Technology is, well, our world will be largely controlled by a tiny group of people welding almost unlimited power.

People will not know what reality is because what we see on social media or experience watching news is easily manipulated. I liked watching Star Trek growing up, but for an hour a week. Sometimes more, if I find reruns. I am not sure I am ready for full-time, Sci-fi experience on steroids that the future holds.

I believe people inventing new technology, and prognosticators rushing us to our collective future built on scientific knowledge, don’t realize that we are all becoming infinitely smaller and insignificant by it.

Prophets of Ai mean to ‘save humanity’. Or, they are just lying to silent the masses who are watching what is happening with rapt attention.

I can’t help but believe the higher human beings rise, like Big Tech giants or our own selves in a careless overestimation of our abilities, the harder we will fall.

It’s not wrong to want to do great things human beings are capable of achieving. But, pride is a lousy motivation. It blinds us to the repercussions of our actions. We forget to consider how our behavior effects other people🤔

Achievement at great expense to others then, creates a kind of devolution. The proponents of evolution may need to reconsider their theory. That ‘evolving human beings’ cause devolving in others is hardly an achievement to be proud of. That both forces are at work in the world rather points to the existence of a God, rather than refutes it.

Seems God built a system of checks and balances into our existence: Proud ass-holes who don’t consider others when striving to achieve power create in their wake powerless human beings who may hate them, resent them. And, consequently destroy them and their potentially- harmful – if -not -adequately -restrained ambitions.

I am still not certain what pride is exactly, but it can be rather hazardous, for sure. To oneself and others.

It’s possible “Pride” is a manifestation of identity-less ness. Someone so much in need of being valued or recognized and appreciated, he/she/they them will do anything to escape emptiness – the vacuum of unmoored culture that we’ve become??

Maybe Elon Musk and Bill Gates are just trying to be themselves and must achieve what they are capable of achieving which is not necessarily pride in itself. Maybe men particularly require demonstrating themselves and their abilities so that they may be loved? How will we be loved, if we do not show the world who we truly are?

We can’t fault a person for intelligence. Maybe geniuses have some diabolical drive to control humanity like ‘mad scientists’ are portrayed in literature, like in CS Lewis’ writing, Abolition of Man.

How can we distinguish between a person with a healthy estimation of oneself (so not demonstrating pride as a moral failing) and therefore must achieve great things; and, the genius one who is proud and possesses diabolical plans for us?

Well, their attitude towards humanity. That’s a ‘tell.’

It seems our nation has reached a new low and a new high simultaneously. In the natural climate when low and high pressures meet, there’s a storm. The two forces at work cannot coexist, no matter how hard the social engineers, intellectuals, and news media enforces conformity to their globalist agenda.

Storms don’t conform. They transform by destroying what isn’t built to last. Jesus says the fool builds his house on sand (collective ideology being the sand in this case). He said that because those dwellings cannot endure reality. They are human-made, and weak. Intellectually soggy. Wishy washy.

Right now the prognosticators would have us believe, guns are bad unless they are used to murder your political opponents. Then, guns are good. It’s ok to murder people who do not want to build their houses on sand. If we kill those people, our pathetic dwellings will still sink in the storm. The non-existence of political dissent only makes the house built on sand more precarious.

If your house was poorly built, sinking, about to be destroyed by a storm maybe literally or figuratively speaking, ought not a voice crying in the wilderness be a good thing?

As I’ve discovered lately in examining my disposition to hate modern art, I’ve discovered that even things I hate can teach me about myself. Art that is ugly to look at, like Picasso’s Mademoiselles… is disturbing. Who wants to be disturbed, I say?

So, this leads me to ask myself, which is a useful expression of humility perhaps, what reason should I expect to never be disturbed? To only experience happiness?

Our collective obsession with feelings and feeling good has become the end all of our modern culture. Whether we’re eating McDonald’s, snacking on social media bits (which are also addictive), or flattering ourselves how enlightened and ‘good’ we are to ourselves and our neighbors, we are all certainly deceived.

A cloak has been laid up on our world, one of terror, chaos, darkness and confusion. Let us not be deceived that we are safe from storms, if we’ve built our collective dwellings on anything but Jesus Christ.

Heed His warning, for a storm is coming!

The art of worry is closely related to the Art of War. When one worries, in essence s/he/they/them is entertaining some fearsome event that may possibly occur. But, it may not actually exist in reality.

Worrying is allowing our self to be in a state of derision about something we imagine is possible, or true. But might not be either. So, kind of a dangerous pass-time actually.

Like, preteens who are fighting fiercely to have gender-altering treatment because they can. They can smoke crack, too, or jump off bridges. They can run away from home. Get tattooed. But, it doesn’t logically follow they should do any of these things.

This is what parents are for: to protect young people from dangerous ideas and trends that are not necessarily in children’s best interest: things they learn from Hollywood, the internet, and public schools.

The Art of War has similar designs on us as a culture: Derision.

Make communication impossible! And, cut off citizenry financially. Poor and confused people are easily enslaved.

If people don’t own firearms, their enemy can just heard them up and sell them for slaves. Let’s face it, aside from Western Civilization in the last century and a half, slavery was a cultural norm – a sort of institutionalized expression of hate for human beings that did not reflect the culture, intellect, and vanity of cultural elites.

Kind of like today. Contempt, inhumanity, and slavery are ever the tools of oppression by powerful people. Tell young people they have a right to sex change operations. Send a child home to every family in the nation gender-confused. (Meanwhile no such problem existed before for 99.9% of them) And, chaos is the result.

Like I said, the art of worry is closely related the the Art of War. 🤔 What powerful people want America in a state of confusion?? And, poor??

Oh, maybe it’s that crowd at Davos, Who say: “You will be happy and own nothing.” Like slaves.

The Bible says the Sword of the Lord and Christ Word’s are the same thing. Or similar things, I believe. This explains why when we say anything as mere human beings it can cause pain. Words are powerful; they can build and also destroy.

I believe words carry ideas, intentions, and the will of those who speak. So, if someone in a position of political power says: “I wish all those people would die…” S/he they/them are conveying an inspiration- for lack of a better word- of genocide. Death.

A disgruntled teen may utter a phrase of hatred or express retaliation to a teacher, for example, who humiliates him in front of the class. But, the context and the position of the speaker matter.

The rage and intention of violence is similar in the basement dwelling teen and the would-be attorney general of my state, Jay Jones, for example. But, the origin is the same.

Hate and rage are hellish by nature. When we speak so, we agree with the Adversary of humanity. For hate only has the capacity to destroy.

That is why I have abandoned hate for redemption of the loving God. Rage, anxiety, and fear are part of our human experience. “Natural” we’ve been told.

But, hate that wants to murder it’s neighbor is more than a natural anger, which may emerge as a response to protect ourselves from physical threats. Our will to live can be natural and reasonable.

But hate has energy, force, beyond just the physical realm. It’s bi-realmly so to say. Hateful words carry power to harm.

Hate may be viewed as anger detached from reason. So, inflamed by imagined threats not actual ones. Irrational then, hate IS.

I heard a young leftist say: “We are gods- let us then use our power for good.” And, it is true human beings possess god-like abilities being made in the image of the One True God. That is, the words we speak have power to build or to destroy, like Jesus says.

I just hope that people would wake up to that fact that, once the god-like beings that hate America succeed in destroying our country- then what?

We’re going to need a builder.