Witt's End

 I've been thinking a lot about my faith recently and how it interacts with my life. What's central, what isn't, what's evolved, what hasn't. That sort of thing. And it really made me reflect on what my faith is bound on. Two things rose to the top. One was Jesus Christ as a figure divine. The other was the inherent good I see in other people.   So we're going to start with the second first. I think that mankind is inherently good. I just do. I see it every day. I think the majority of suffering inflicted upon is brought on by hardships. Hardships that lead to desperate acts. All while the majority of people attempt to just live their lives. Lives that need redemption and alleviation to suffering.  Lives that I admire and come to goodness to alleviate that suffering and find redemption in various ways. Ways that continue to amaze me.  I could talk about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy, or Carl Jung Archetypes to show how this fai...

 I struggle with the idea of calling out sins in others. It usually just makes me feel like a hypocrite.  See I take the idea of taking the beam out of my eye before working on the mote in your brother's eye very seriously. I can't build people up or take them to where I am very effectively without being really really honest about where I am and where I've been. Part of that may be some of the peer support training I have. The idea that being in recovery, having that experience can allow us the ability to be an example to others. Be a coach, a help, and at times a mentor. But it has to be based in experience.  There's a reason most substance abuse programs want counselors who have the experience of addiction themselves. There are aspects of the process of recovery that are hard to explain if you haven’t faced the fire and hardship. There’s an authenticity missing. I think similar principles can apply to the gospel.  Now really important caveat here. One needs not pur...

 "Superman is boring."  “No one ever dreams about the problems, but every life has them — even the extraordinary ones.” Those two lines stand out from a series premiere last night. One I had trepidation about that I have since thrown away. A lot of people know that I love Superman. Clark Kent is my DC jam. Yes he can be OP. Yes he's typically good to a fault and for a lot of people that's boring. I get it. The solution is typically to try to make things grittier. We can insert the DCEU and the New 52 here. It doesn't usually work. Darkness plastered haphazardly over a source of light casts inconsistent shadows. It makes things different to the max. It changes the core of a character.  The alternative to that is usually considered formulaic, boring, and too nice for a lot of comic book fans. He's good to a fault. Predictably will do the right thing even if it costs him. Will give all to doing the right thing. I mean he's almost a trope. So what do you do? I...

Our heroes fall sometimes. They stumble, the muddle, they get tired just like everyone else. Superman has kryptonite, Spider-Man went crazy with the symbiote suit, Achilles had his heel. There are weaknesses and flaws in all of us. The strongest of us.  But because we've placed them on a pedestal for whatever reason, it's exponentially more noticeable. And that can be the hardest thing to recognize and understand. But the most important lessons come from failure, and not always our own. We can't learn how to truly get back up unless we watch someone we respect do the same thing. I've been thinking about this a lot. A large portion of this is a spiritual thing, and another part of it is deeply personal. But examples of mistakes, those are valuable lessons I'll never forget. When I think about stumbles I've witnessed. Whether it was drugs, sex (infidelity or other issues), an injury, or fraud. There have been some stumbles that have caught my breath. I don't k...

I think Superman gets a bum rap. A lot of people seem to think he's overpowered, too self righteous, and unrealistic. And they would be right to a point. Kal El is meant to be an aspirational figure, someone for us to strive toward. I like my heroes like that. He's just the brightest. Now before I really get into the meat of what I'm trying to say I know I need to address something. Batman is awesome, he's conflicted, he's well written. He's just a man so he should be something to strive for. I agree with all of that, but he's never been a true favorite of mine. Bruce Wayne is too damaged. I have enough of that in my life. I don't want to be one ruled by fear, or using fear too much. So I look elsewhere. I'm searching for goodness. I love heroes that are inherently good. Even if that means some people think they're boring. I need goodness in my life. I am my own redemption story already. I enjoy one. But they aren't as inspiring as ju...