Young

"And sometimes you close your eyes
And see the place where you used to live
When you were young"

I used to ask lots of questions, most of which were directed towards my Dad:

Dad, How far away is Pluto? Is spontaneous combustion real? How do I stop it from happening to me? Why is money made? Did Jesus have a beard? Why do Amish ride in the back of cars but not the front? Is the devil only in the front of the car? Can I have a new Batman toy (signs of early childhood consumerism...YES)? Oh, and why can't I tell Grandma about the beer in the fridge?

Being inquisitive is fun sometimes. Especially when you are a small child and life is so wonderfully overwhelming.

But I am tired. I am tired of thinking critically. I haven't sworn it off, but i would just really like to take a break.

I want to drink coffee or have a beer without analyzing what it means to be responsible in my current setting. I want to stop thinking so damn hard and breath deeply. I need rest from this lifestyle of intellectual criticism.

I need silence. I need help.

But, when I think about the consequences of such "freedom", my heart and mind scream...MYTH!!

This myth being the idea that senseless wondering and spontaneous adventures will in fact yield freedom. Freedom from the pains of thought and the realness of decision making. Many of us yearn for a life that is other than the one in which we find ourselves.

So, we escape. We run to the bathroom to cry...
or the couch to consume entertainment...
or the bottle to feel good for a time...

And the pattern continues. we run. we flee. we escape.

But here is the inconsistency: Escaping does not seem so much like freedom after it has become a pattern. We are enslaved to our "freedom".

Voices both in our heads and from others scream: What the hell is wrong with us?

"You gave your body to the lonely
They took your clothes
You gave up a wife and a family
You gave your goals"

"To be alone with me"

Jesus' understanding of freedom is something quite different than how I think about it most of the time. Freedom is humility. Through giving and lowering himself, Jesus showed us what freedom ought to look like.

Maybe curiosity and selflessness can be joined. Inquisitive Humility?