my [JOE] blog: the dailies of a portrait & documentary photographer. who doesn't take pictures.

Life.

Posted by jOe

Being in a position of leadership is not about power.  It's about the very opposite.  It's about having more responsibility than you "should" and having everyone complain to you about things you can't control.  And when I say complain, I don't mean polite emails that fall over themselves to let you know how much you are appreciated.  No, I'm talking about the hunt-you-down-and-yell-and-stare-in-your-face-until-you-give-me-what-I-want kind of a situation.  you knowwhatimean.

Normally, our [read: my] nature is to smile and retort with some flowery form of "if you wouldn't mind, to be so kind, and [shove] off!"  but, unfortunately, being in this position and responding ilke this would negate everything you're working for.

Assuming, that is, you know what (and whom) you're working for.

Have you ever thought in retrospect the differences between Sunday School illustrations of the right and wrong attitude, and real life?  Why is the gap between the two so big?  Really, conceptually, we all get it when we're sitting in Sunday School.  But somehow real life tails this lesson at a deceptively slow pace.  Giving us too much time to get comfortable, and then, oops.  It's like it has a mind of it's own.  Oh wait.  It does.  It's called Satan.

But it can't be enough to slap a name on it.  To know there's a problem and not do anything about it is useless, right?  right.  It's under this guise I've been thinking about the significant difference that happens between the intellectual lessons we are taught and the practical examples we learn.

Is not pride the one thing that always gets left out on the front end?

For instance, we read the illustration of Jesus, perfection, and of the pharisees, our symbolic enemy in today's world.  Then we read the illustrations of the disciples.  Those silly disciples, and how they keep messing up on the easiest of lessons.  In our minds, we're Jesus.  Be honest.  I mean, yeah, you see a lot of 'disciples' around you, but ya know, come on.  Jesus.

Let me put it another way.  Anyone sitting in a cushioned, metal-frame chair can agree to be a martyr.  I have.  After all, the definition of a martyr is one who does for a cause they believe in, not one who dies as a punishment for their wrongdoing.  Jesus died like this.  I'm supposed to be like Jesus.  When I'm persecuted, this is what's happening.

Well.  Hopefully.

But really, when was the last time you were a martyr.  In principle, not in real life, of course.  Aren't we normally finding ourselves in the disciples' position instead.  Our lives turned upside down by principles that are contrary to the world around us.

This is where our duality comes in.  Die to our old self (which was already dead), and live to our God who saved us.

The core of so many of the issues we face involves putting our own pride first.  We have a right to be here or do this, how dare you repress and take that from me.  Me.  If we're REALLY being honest, and we do a little research, we can see what a deep-set social condition this is.  Example: were our founding fathers biblical in their rebellion from England?  Not if Jesus tells us to submit to government.  Oooo.  Right.

Maybe that 'founding father ' reference seems a little left-field at this point.  It's not.  As logical, thinking entities, we strive to find consistancy.  This is the fundamental principle of logic and learning.  It's how we are.

When you read the Bible, and you compare it to life, all kinds of questions arise.  Many are centered in our daily lives--why we do what we do.  To understand that is to know the motive.

Most of the time I find myself in a position fighting for my pride.  whether I single-handedly shoveled that gargantuan hole I'm standing in, or whether I was simply pushed into it.  I'm here defending something.  My right.

Again, to go historical on you, it reminds me of the nine most famous words from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "of the people, for the people, by the people."  Normally, you hear the emphasis on the word "of."  But I've heard historians claim the emphasis was actually on the word, "people."  Of the people, by the people, for the people.

Don't misunderstand my patriotism or my respect for the people who selfishly died and continue to die for all the freedoms I abuse today.  It's there.  And I hold these people in great regard.  But like the old saying: don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.  to leave this sentiment alone solely our of respect would be a huge mistake and oversight on our part as Christians.

Our world in America is centered around what is best for us, seemingly by design.  We are individuals who strive to be unique.  We are born and bred to conquer, strong-arm, and crush anything that finds itself between us and that goal.

Poor "anything" one might say after breathing in that wave of adrenaline.

...

Poor "we" I say.

The Bible tells us why we're here.
The Bible tells us what we're supposed to be doing.
The Bible tells us how to do it.
The Bible tells us our reward for doing this.

There's a pattern here.

What is the one thing that constantly dives us away from this simplicity?  Pride.

The answer to how we fix this flies in the face of conventional wisdom.  Truly we cannot fix it.  God does the fixing.  But we are commanded to take the first step: No pride.

...been on my mind lately.

joe

Supply & Demand, pt 2

Posted by jOe

This is a continuation from my June 9th post.

What makes the principle of Supply and Demand so great is that it's like a Mac. It just works. Okay, not like an iPhone4 on wifi during Steve Job's keynote speech. But you get what I mean.

The mechanics of it are simple: people do what they want. In the case of free enterprise, customers and vendors each compromise as much as they are willing until an acceptable balance is created.  The market.

That's the way it works.

Simple enough.

But what cracks me up.  What makes me laugh is an industry of authorities screaming at the new guys about what they "can't" do, about breaking the rules, and about how it's supposed to go. But really, this isn't true. For one, ... and for two, they're flat making this stuff up.  If it did have to go this way, it would already be going this way, knowwhatimean.

That's what's up.

So, here's the caveat. Here's why it stings so much. Supply and Demand (in the context used here) is a collective principle. Meaning, an individual may see vastly different results, but the net conclusion will be predicted. Or, at least, sustained.

To go against this principle is like a worm trying to eat itself. After a while, it just doesn't work.

That means that all these industry-crushing predictions are really, pretty far-fetched. Just like how TV killed the movies...which is why you've never heard of heard of movies.  wait.

Anyway, I'm getting out of hand here.  What I'm saying is, the next time you read an end-of-the-world article about too many punks downloading free music or giving away goods or services below market value, it could just be the opinion of someone who's getting the shaft.

Sucks for them.

Doesn't mean it's gotta be for you.

right.