Dead Knots

I was interested  in abstractions.

einerlei

The heart cannot exalt in what the mind rejects, but what the mind accepts may not be what the self avows.

not a mind-reader

While I think I am considerably sensitive to things and people, sensitivity can only go so far before it gets muddled in either ambiguity or misunderstandings.

So it is strange why I keep trying to summon mind-reading powers in instances where it seems ‘possible’. Like when putting across an argument in a debate, or when crafting an illustration to convey a biblical principle. Or when sharing the gospel and hearing a template-form response to a point made. And of course, when deciphering what a girl means by a particular action or silence. During all these moments, I unconsciously attempt to gnaw hard on anything that can activate this elusive faculty.

I guess there are times I do come close and find the right chord that will resonate in my audience. Plenty of other times though, I am sure that this effect is far from achieved.

The reality is that we are very separate individuals. In every “we” there are minds that are ultimately isolated, hearts that are engaged with issues with varying convictions and wills that require very different conditions to be challenged. Even among the closest of friends, such ties might only be made on the basis of some of one’s strike-the-nail-on-the-head connections, not all of them.  The very need and sublimity expected from the act of communication is a testament to that.

Trying to say something gets a lot harder when one is trying to say it to a particular individual. But I’m not a mind reader, and so I can only try.

Over the Edge of Innocence

A random thought today.  I remembered a friend who casually quipped in an all-guys conversation that there’s something beautiful about unrequited love. The statement was made on grounds of personal experience, and knowingly said in the presence of others who have been there before as well.

understated emotions

In the last few months, I’ve had a few conversations with people angry or jaded at the Christian faith. Not that it was bad for them to happen (I mean I prefer anything that is more candid than small talk) But an online conversation that ends with me utilizing the facade of the smiley face when I retreat in prayerful exasperation is not exactly a very uplifting feeling.