Paradoxi

I hate/love paradoxes.  They pull in so many directions and are so insatiably frustrating with their “both must be right” components.  It is tough to be satisfied, to find any sort of peace or answer or stillness.  But you have to love paradoxes for their ability to answer complicated questions.  And then hate them again because they never actually answer anything.  Somewhere in the limbo, in the balance space, there is a point of agreement which requires the presence and reality of both sides in order to be found and maintained.  That is the PIP.  The Point of Integrity and Peace.  It’s a paradox, and that’s why it is an answer in itself, yet never really answerable.   Ugh. 

Whole

"The moments when I truly live are the moments when I act with my whole will." 

-Oswald Chambers

For some reason, this statement hit deep.  There are a few choice moments in life when I could say I felt truly alive, but was I?  And what made it so?  It seems I would have to place myself in extreme conditions on a consistent basis, making sure everything was exactly as I willed it, in order to be truly alive for an extended amount of time.  But that sounds truly impossible, and I have significant doubt as to that being the true meaning of Chamber's words. 

The real issue to face is the question of what holds my will back from being acted upon wholly.  Am I capable of such complete action?  And in that action will I find peace?  Or will I only find exhaustion and disappointment?  Am I willing to try?  Perhaps Integrity Pends upon our own initiative to seek True Life, and in our reaching out come to find it standing right behind us.

Persistence in Passion

I just received a large order of used books, and immediately went through, flipping the pages of each book , just “making sure” it was what I had ordered.  At any rate, I noticed a strange phenomenon that, come to think of it, often rings true when dealing with used books.  As I flip through the pages, the markings of a previous owner jump out at me – highlighter, underlining, little notes jotted in the margins – but these markings only occur throughout the first 10-20 pages of the book.   Sometimes I will get excited, “Oh boy, someone has already marked all of the important points for me!”  Only to find that, yes, the important points of chapter one, MAYBE chapter two and/or three, are marked out, but from there I am on my own.   

I might be jumping to conclusions here, but what this says to me is that for some reason someone who had been claiming the ownership of this book previous to myself did not finish reading the book.   Is it the book’s fault?  Is it not a good book, not worth reading? 

Or, according to my stronger suspicions, is it the reader? 

The fact that this is such a common occurrence has me slightly concerned – is anyone willing to stick through an entire book these days?  Even if its not a science-fictional romantic thriller?  Somehow this parallels the level of integrity that runs rampant in society today.  We love the bits and pieces that fuel little whims and spurts of passion, but when it comes to commitment, it is a rare few who can finish what they started with the same passion that  was present at the beginning, having conquered all that may have thrown others off track with a determination to see something through to the end.  And they come out all the much stronger for it…

PIP

Welcome to PIP Talks.  As most normal people, I assume you are frustrated by unfamiliar acronyms, and, upon encountering yet another unknown set of capitalized letters feel completely at a loss for anything else being said until you are informed as to what those looming, intimidating, must-be-oh-so-important letters are representing.   Well, the bad news is that you’re never going to find out the real meaning of PIP.  Unless, of course, you decide to make it up for yourself. 

Originally, the idea had been to call this Perspectives on Integrity and Peace, which would be all nice and well except for the fact that those two concepts are informed by so many other factors, and to try and focus on just them, only them… seemed a little exclusive to me.  Truly, the options here are endless.  It could be People Informing Peace, Promoting Inspirational Passion, Perpetually in Prayer or Pretty Interesting Person.  How about Peace Inspired Play or Purpose Influenced Passion?  We could try summing it up with Peaceful Integrated Passion, but then what about those Perpetually Introspective Persons who need a Push Into Practicality?  I am not about to forget the importance of creativity and beauty in issues such as these, so even a title such as Prevailing Igloo Practices could be turned into a fairly meaningful and pointed thought. 

PIP has a meaning, and it’s a good meaning too.   The whole Purpose In Point is to uncover the possibilities without unraveling the mystery (Paradox Is Priority)…

PIP Talks

There are two reasons for the name of this blog, which primarily, I suppose, boil down to the same thing, but for Pride In Posterity I will offer up both sides of the same idea.  That idea, naturally, is that the blog is to be kept short.   I am already beginning to feel long-winded.

It is “pip” for the sense of smallness that the word implies, but it is also a play on the phrase “pep talks” (if you hadn’t yet noticed).  Pep talks are meant to be short but pointed, intentional, motivating, encouraging, and directed at ways to develop better game plans, strategies, attitudes, outlooks, actions, etc.

So welcome, again, to PIP Talks, now that you know what it is.  Read, reflect, comment, and be Personally Inspired to Passion, or anything else for which you may find a PIP Talk useful.