RichRock : Running Free

Well, I’m supposed to be teaching in my homegroup tonight. There is a preferred subject, but I’ve had no inspiration about how to go about it. The problem is simple - do a subject I’ve done quite a few times, but differently.

All I have is a sequence of events that I’d like to unfold the session with. However, the actual elements (quotes, stories, questions, practicals) have yet to materialise. Am I panicking?

Yes.

I’ve just watched ‘Schindler’s List’, possibly one of the most moving movies that I’ve ever seen. There’s a small selection of cinema which I will watch not to be entertained, but reminded, of we as a human race, and our capabilities of atrocities towards one another.
When I say that there are movies that do not entertain, I am correct. Quite often we see war movies as glamourising the art of death-dealing, yet the pain and suffering that this causes shows us that we are really human, emotional beings. Of these films, I have a few that I hold dear to my heart, not because of the violence they portray, but the essence of what we are as humans, and how flawed we can be:

• Schindler’s List - already mentioned, the systematic extermination of the Jews, recreated in black & white film, and how one man’s profiteering bought him the ability to give several hundred people hope at life after WW2. Not entertaining because it shows a brutal regime, the abuse of Jews having to sift through the remains of their brethren, having to bury their friends, subjected to torment and terror.
• The Killing Fields - based around the story of Dith Pran and Sydney Schanberg, a journalist for the New York Times, with Dith Pran as his ever able assistant. This story tells of the genocide that happened in the killing fields of Cambodia. Following both stories of Dith Pran’s captivity and Sydney Schenberg’s efforts to locate Dith, this movie moves towards an intensely emotional reunion. The horror of the killing fields is quite accurately portrayed, and very realistic. This movie, again, is not entertaining.
• Brotherhood (Taegugki) - this is definitely not one for the weak hearted. This film centres around two brothers drawn into the Korean war, a war which has never been resolved, with only a ceasefire holding place. Considering the tense situation between both countries, it was impressive that Korea’s largest budget live-action film could out-do ‘Saving Private Ryan’. And the reason this is mentioned? Saving Private Ryan, despite it’s brutal depiction of war, somehow glamourised it. Brotherhood rips any glamour of war to shreds. And your emotional state with it. This film has emptied boxes of tissues from me, merely because of the base nature that mankind can stoop to when faced with these decisions: kill or be killed. This film does not entertain, but informs, due to the socio/political nature of Korea (the scene where the girlfriend is taken to be executed merely because she attended a communist rally being a point), but also lifts the lid on how families cope during these times of war. One review stated,
  

  “Most positive reviews cite its unflinching portrayal of war and praise it for showing the brutality of both the North and South Korean armies.”

  Not a bad statement coming from a South Korean film.

So that’s my immediate selection. A series of films which do not entertain, but inform us of historical events, that show us facets of human nature we choose to hide under a layer of glamour. These films, being war films, when people get shot, they die. There are consquences. Scenes like where the Jews were lined up to save ammunition make this even more poignant. There is no glamour here. No dressing up, no ‘get up and carry on’. It’s a depiction of human life. And death.

Yes this post has been morbid. But there is something good about all this. People do live. The Schindler survivors. Sydney and Dith. I won’t mention the last, it would be a spoiler. The quintessential point of mankind is hope. Like the Architect states in the Matrix : Reloaded. Hope.

Hope is what we have to drive us on. But as in 1 Corinthians 13:13:

And now faith, hope, love, these three remain; but the greatest of these is love.

Nuff said. Mainly because I’m tired. And it’s late.

Haha!!! In my posting of photo’s on recent posts, I completely neglected to do an obligatory ‘new year‘ post. So here it is.

I have resolved to improve my personal life in one main way, which in the whole ‘cliched new year resolutions’ scheme of things, it to lose some weight and get fit.

So a little of my past, to understand where I’m coming from. I used to do road cycling, many years (10) ago. I would think nothing of eating up 30-40 miles 2-3 times a week, as I was unemployed at the time. I had a resting heart rate of 54bpm. I still had some flab, which would not shift, but I was fit.

I would love to return to something of these glory days of peak fitness, and my current lifestyle is not going to help that. Curse the DVD player, my love for foreign cinema, for making me sit on my behind, as my job now lacks any physical effort also!!!

I have planned to attain a return to fitness using an approved ‘ease in’ plan, which involves combinations of run/walks for eight weeks. I was never much of a runner, and hated the 1500m at school, so I find it amusing that I have started something which I used to hate, and it’s turned to something I enjoy. I guess one of the things being on a mountain bike taught me was that you must push the limits of what your body can do. I watched a trailer of a film, called ‘Spirit Of The Marathon’, which illustrated to me what running is all about. There seems to be an underlying philosophy that pretty much any other sport doesn’t have. It’s just you and the elements. No equipment (save shoes), no gadgets, racquets, wheels, clubs, etc. Just your legs. I’ve linked to the youtube video version below, although you can visit the site: www.marathonmovie.com.

So I’m into running. At the moment, I can last for 7 minutes. Not bad for someone who pretty much hasn’t run since school. I am desperately unfit, and am learning new things about pain, my body, and how I should treat it. Obviously, I’ve had digestive issues which are being investigated, but a diet geared towards running/general fitness if of benefit to me. Also, the nature of running and it’s physiological changes on the body will help, as my metabolism will change accordingly.

My new year resolution is an old, cliched one. But it’s by far the best one. And it’s nothing to do with resolutions, but with determination, willpower and a definite feeling of achieving something, even if other people don’t understand or appreciate it.

The aim of this? To complete a marathon. Had I thought earlier, I would have been getting ready for this year’s marathon in London. However, I believe that my fitness, the levels to which I need to achieve, are too great a stress on me, so I have decided that the London Marathon 2009 is a more realistic probability. It’s a definite goal, and I want to achieve it.

On a completely separate note - it was quite easy to place youtube videos on the site - so you may start to see more of them…

I’ll admit I’m a total bloke when it comes to Christmas. I haven’t done any shopping. Yet. I’ve got to get it done this week for two reasons:

1 - It’s Christmas next week.
2 - I’m off to the girlfriend’s on Saturday.

So, with that in mind, I have to get a list of things for Christmas that can be purchased locally. At least I don’t have to worry about parents until after Christmas, as they’re away Christmas week.

Of course, there should be something special for the babe, as the first thing she said when I asked ages ago was ‘Dressing Gown’. How awfully practical dear… At least it was a suggestion, which is better than ‘I don’t know darling, why don’t you surprise me?’ Words like these must strike dread in the minds of many blokes. This can be interpreted as ‘Whatever you get me won’t fit/be the right colour/completely useless/the third one I’ve had this year….

It misses the point of Christmas. Sure gifts are good, and the adage ‘Tis better to give than to receive’ rings true. Our gift-giving should be a reflection of the gift God gave us. (If you’re thinking life, well close, but no cigar). Christmas is a remembrance of Jesus, God’s gift of salvation to mankind. He came to earth human as you or I, and lived among us until that fateful day when He paid the price for our sin. Jesus did not appear out of thin air (well, except the immaculate conception bit) and suddenly just go ‘Right - sin. Paid for. I’m off on holiday.’ No. He lived as we did, sharing our lives, as now He still does, resurrected. But I’ll come to that at easter.

So Christmas, giving of gifts with love, not with the value and size, is more important. I’ve noticed that when my folks give me my Christmas presents, occasionally the smallest gift is the most awesome.

If I don’t blog before the day, merry Christmas y’all.

I’ve finally recovered my hearing aid. For those who don’t know, I am technically one of the many hard-of-hearing people in the UK. I am practically deaf in my left ear, and have some loss in my right. I have a Siemens Prisma digital hearing aid, which is great. It’s way more accurate than the old analogue ones, as they only just about covered the dynamic range that was required. This one is programmed to replicate the dynamic range that my hearing has lost. With some new batteries, I hear again!

Of course, maybe those who read this blog regularly realise that I am a: a Christian and as such b: believe in a God who can heal. So why not my ears? Well, God has healed them in one respect - I was given a hearing expectancy of 5-7 years. 11 years ago. Not something I could ‘fight’ like a disease, so increasing the odds of this ‘miracle’ as some might put it.

So if God chooses to complete this then that’s great. Until then, I’m grateful to Him that I am not deaf. However, I would accept my lot in that respect. Before the flame wars start, I do have some deaf friends, and in no way are they jealous of my hearing. I am in awe of those who once heard things and now do not. Unlike the old saying: ‘It’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.’

As I sit here, pondering my life, I realise I have a beautiful view outside. Tall, majestic clouds float past the Blorenge, a mountain I have an uninterrupted view of from my windows. In the summer, everything is a vibrant green, but in the autumn, it all turns a fiery red. I watch the trees lose their leaves, and the mountian turn brown. When the sun comes, like today, it has moments of fiery red.
Why am I writing this, you may ask? Well, it’s like this:
Autumn is not a depressing time. Think about the trees - they go through the annual cycle of growth and rest. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

So as the trees go through the cycle of the seasons as dictated to them from the very beginning, we see that they go through a process of renewal and strengthening each time. Whenever I see the trees lose their leaves, I realise that they will grow again in the spring, and become stronger for having been through the whole process.
So it is with us. We are people who will go through difficult times, where we cannot sleep, cannot rest or relax, and it feels as though the weight of the world is upon our shoulders. Jesus never came to say ‘Rest up guys (and gals), you don’t ever have to stress about anything ever again’. Now he did say not to worry about tomorrow, and to cast our burdens onto Him, and to be honest, quite often I feel guilty that I should have to do such a thing. So now I find myself in a personal Autumn where the pressures are great, maybe of my own making - but that’s not the problem here, it is the finding of the solutions that we need. In the process of casting burdens, we find ourselves in a clearer position, similar to winter air, which is crystal clear compared to the haze of summer. Only then can we see clearly, and be revealed the solutions to issues, or the path we should take. Yes, the days are shorter, and nights dark, and this gives us the cosy feeling in the evenings when we have the fire burning (if you’re old scholl like me) and you’re sat all cosy on the sofa. After the darkness of a winter, comes the fresh spring. Spring is awesome because the trees grow their leaves once more, flowers bloom, and life seems anew.
I can’t wait for my spring to come. Too long have I waited in the darkness of winter.

God has blessed me with so much, and for that I am grateful. As mentioned in “The Matrix : Reloaded” -
“That went badly”
“No it did not”
“Why?”
“Because we are still alive”

So it is. I am still alive, despite all the hustle and bustle of modern living. Slowly I am growing to dislike the pace of modern life, even despite living in what many would define as a ‘rural market town’. Occasionally I wish I never knew a thing about computers. That is true. Still, God knows exactly what He’s doing, and it’s ok by me.

The photo above was taken around 2000, at the start of the autumn season, and shows heavy clouds on the blorenge. Scanned from a dusty negative, taken with a dirt cheap film camera. Obviously, it’s been cropped to fit the whole theme of this site.