Second Thoughts ~ My Dead Pixel

Greetings Dear Reader,

On my one-year-old laptop, I have a dead pixel.  It is at the bottom center of the screen and really bothers me.  It sits right above the Windows Toolbar so every time I click something on that space, I see it.  There is nothing wrong with the laptop.  It runs great and has all the power I need. As I write this, I am running a movie on one screen, have the computer hooked to my external storage array and the video card is supporting three external monitors effortlessly.  Oh, and there is a dead pixel on the laptop screen. 

I contacted the manufacturer about the dead pixel.  The computer is still under warranty.  They let me know that the dead pixel is outside of the single dead pixel replacement zone.  I never knew there was a zone.  I do not want there to be a zone but someone decided there is a zone.  The dead pixel taunts me from outside the zone.

I asked the person on the phone if I could purchase just a replacement LCD for the laptop.  She giggled and asked if the dead pixel really bothered me that much.  I asked her if she had ever been taunted by a pixel.  She giggled again and said no.  After explaining that this particular pixel is both rude and intrusive, she full-on laughed at me.  She said I could get a replacement LCD for $100.   I reassured her that I could replace the LCD with ease as I have done so often.  She expressed that I would void the remaining two years of my warranty if I did.  There is a dead pixel on my laptop that laughed at me.

She was very polite and thanked me for being kind and for being funny.  I was trying to be kind and did not mean to be funny.  She verified my contact information and asked if I wanted to buy the LCD screen.  My wiser brain politely said no.  In case you forgot, Dear Reader, there is a dead pixel on my laptop who snickered as he realized that he would live.

I thank the service agent for her time and concluded the call.  I researched ways to hide the pixel and found a few that seemed foolish.  Resigning myself to the daily mockery of a slack, freeloading pixel, I went on to other things.  A few days later a friendly Fed-Ex driver delivered a large box to me.  In it was a laptop identical to mine with the following note:

"Dear Mr. Thorn, if everyone treated me with lighthearted kindness as you did, my job would be very easy.  I was near the end of my shift when you called and had had a very rough day.  People assume that their computer problems are your fault.  I could not solve your problem and you were still nice to me.  You even made me laugh.  Here is a replacement “LCD” for you.  Thank you for being a (NAME REDACTED) customer."

I set up my new laptop and wrote a thank you note on it.  I retired my older backup laptop, thanked the Father for His provision, and now there is not a dead pixel on my primary laptop.  The other one serves as the entertainment center and backup processor for my data.  Oh, and it has a dead pixel.  I have named it Mort.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
 

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

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Haunted by dead pixels is the kind of horror that follows your every effort to be content trying to thwart it.

Satisfaction – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

Satisfaction is elusive but attainable.  We must be discontent with our lack of it.   We must only pursue those things which truly satisfy.  We must also learn that contentment with that which is good is a great thing.

Things will not satisfy me.  Money is a love I dare not embrace.  Power is something I do not want.  It is in Christ alone that satisfaction is found for me.  It is in following the commands to love and grace that feel the most content. 

The current distresses that haunt me are passing.  The present conflicts are nothing if I find solace for them in Christ.  I have learned that no collection, game, or distraction will satisfy.  Now if I could only apply it in all things.

That, however, is always the challenge.  I must not find my contentment or satisfaction in the journey.  It is in the destination that it will be found.  If I thoughtlessly chase things that will not satisfy I waste my time and life.  In Christ alone my hope is found.

The times are changing.  There is something in the air that is different.  I follow Christ in hope that all will be as it should.  I must do so with eyes wide open to the truth that nothing will satisfy except Christ.

Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg

Tell me a secret, tell me a lie

Tell me the truth if you have to

Say what you see fit but don't ask me why

Love never seems to last you

In times like these

It's hard to keep a man off his knees

In times like these

It's hard to keep a man off his knees

Over a barrel, under a spell

Money's the demon that drives you

Limping through heaven or running through hell

Happiness smiles but denies you

In times like these

It's hard to keep a man off his knees

In times like these

It's hard to keep a man off his knees

Nothing before you, nothing behind

Thoughtlessly chasing the thunder

Traveling lightly, traveling blind

Never detouring to wonder why

Tell me a secret, tell me a lie

Tell me the truth if you have to

Say what you see fit but don't ask me why

Love never seems to last you

In times like these

It's hard to keep a man off his knees

In times like these

It's hard to keep a man off his knees

Nothing before you, nothing behind

Thoughtlessly chasing the thunder

Traveling lightly, traveling blind

Never detouring to wonder why

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Satisfaction – Need or Want

Greetings Dear Reader,

I need that new video card for my gaming.  That statement is a lie.  I do not “need” it.  I may want, desire, crave, and covet it.  I do not need it.  One of the great lies we believe is that we need things that we do not.

The consumer market is driven to make us dissatisfied with what we have and instead push us toward what others want us to buy.  From phones to shoes what we have that is still serviceable and good is no longer up to speed or in fashion.  We are robbed of our contentment because the market is always hungry for our money.

Simply being honest about what I need versus what I want can carry me very far down the path to contentment.  Forcing my mind to say “I want” instead of “I need” when it is proper is a valuable discipline.  Forcing my wants to be subject to my means becomes a holy thing and instructs in contentment. 

It is not as important to have as is it to understand why I want.   I know that things will not content me.  I have funds for the things I want if I am patient.  It is in mastering my desire for a thing that I learn contentment.  It is in discerning between need and want that I gain the power to choose wisely.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Satisfaction - Contentment

Greetings Dear Reader,

This is something I have not mastered but wish to master.  I want to be content in whatever state I find myself.  I am further down this path than I was but it would be a lie to say that I have mattered this. 

Contentment is one of those ever needed and elusive qualities.  It is one of the things that is a two sided coin and the obverse is dangerous.  We must be content with things we cannot change.  It is not that we accept that things will not change.  We accept when we cannot control change.

My duty to love, kindness, grace, and mercy is the same no matter what the circumstances.  Those who follow Christ should be able to live this way under any circumstance.  The commands to be these things are not circumstantial. 

• I am to love God in any situation with all my heart, soul, and mind.
• I am to love my neighbor.
• I am to love my enemies.

The essence of contentment is found in this.  The things I do that show greed or avarice violate these commands.  When I am discontent with the state I am in I cannot focus on the love I must show to others.  I cannot put the needs of others ahead of my greed if I do not learn contentment. 

There are also things about which I must not be content.  I must never be content with my devotion to Christ.   It can grow deeper every day.  I must never be content with my love for my fellow travelers.  I can always learn ways to show that love more deeply.  Relationships sour because we do not do this.

I must never be content with a world that does not know Christ.  This does not mean that I do anything unkind or force him on the world.  It means that I love him and follow as faithfully as I can.  It means that I see everything through the lens of my obligation to love and his promise to return al things to good.  The world will  not be content until all things are returned to good.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Satisfaction - Guaranteed

Greetings Dear Reader,

How often do we hear this in advertising?  Businesses wish us to buy their products and guarantee to satisfy us.  We spend money, look for satisfaction, and even go into debt based on this claim. 

The promise of low prices, double quantity, or free financing are just lures to the pursuit of satisfaction.   Whether it is a need or wants we pursue satisfaction.   We go into debt to feel satisfied when we could wait for satisfaction and pay cash. 

Do we really get satisfaction form things?  It the guarantee ever truly fulfilled?  Power, money, and possessions all guarantee satisfaction.  We must ask ourselves honestly if they deliver.  We must demand that the promise be fulfilled but it will not. 

I have learned that the common guarantee of satisfaction will not be met.  Instead I must search for satisfaction in the eternal.  I must avoid the feelings of pride and avarice.  I must be content with what I have and not seek to possess for the sake of possessing.

The quest for possession exposes our weaknesses.  It shows me what I value more than Christ.  It reveals what I think will satisfy.  I can use the desire to trap the hunger for more.  I can use it to expose what seeks to be more than Christ ot my eyes.

Loose Ends – Dan Fogelberg

Climbing a mountain in darkness

Stranded alone on the ledge

Every attempt that I make to hold on

Pushes me nearer the edge

Sensing the changes impending

My thoughts are diffused by despair

I feel like I'm swimming straight up underwater

Desperately racing for air

I'm racing for air

And the chords struck at birth grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again

And we plead and we pray for a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings and descends

Exposing the loose ends

Surrounding myself with possessions

I surely have more than I need

I don't know if this is justice hard earned

Or simply a matter of greed

A matter of greed

And the chords struck at birth grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again

And we plead and we pray for a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings and descends

Exposing the loose ends

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Satisfaction - Never

Greetings Dear Reader,

Some thirsts can never be satisfied.  They crave and want and cry for more.  Some hunger can never be filled.  We all have these hollow places in us.  We want things that only make us want more.

We damage ourselves and others in these pursuits.  Depending on our power and position we damage ourselves or the world.  We can harm our own health and life or we may cause a war.  Each siren call for that we crave is a moment of choice.

I have hunger in me that cannot be satisfied.  In following Christ I find the will and power to stay hungry without starving.  I do not wish to push the metaphor too far.  I do want the image to be clear.  Following Christ does not guarantee the absence of selfish hunger or desire.  It doe promise the strength to do what is right out of love and grace. 

There are things I have “tried” that have left me with the desire for more.  I know in one sample that these things are wrong but the temptation is always there.  I know what is right and sometimes hunger to avoid it.  At the recently revived parable reminds us, it is the hunger I feed that grows stronger.

Every moment is a choice.  The choice is mine to do good or not.  Christ will give me both the will and the power to resist the hungers that cannot satisfy.  He will also provide sustenance for those genuine hungers that go unmet.  It is in Christ alone that find the power to choose the right side of every costly bargain.

The Lion’s Share – Dan Fogelberg

Grand slam, your moment's at hand

The day holds a costly bargain

Lost lamb asking the lion's share

Homespun, a prodigal son

Comes begging a humble pardon

But no one rises to hear his prayer

Lone star, you've wandered so far

And long in the unfamiliar

That now you travel a map unknown

Star bright, a constant delight

To those in the dark and still your

Birthright's to shine in the night alone

Living in the shadows

Of the things that might have been

Torn between the blessing and the curse

You may starve the hunger

But you'll never slake the thirst

For the nectar you remember

But you'll never taste again

Nonesuch, your Midas' touch

Has gilded your heart and left you

So much playing the prince of clowns

Hell-bent, empty and spent

Just look what your gamble's got you

Exiled, far from the sacred grounds

Living in the shadows

Of the things that might have been

Torn between the blessing and the curse

You may stop the hunger

But you'll never slake the thirst

For the nectar you remember

But you'll never taste again

Grand slam, your moment's at hand

The day holds a costly bargain

Lost lamb asking the lion's share

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Satisfaction – Can’t Get No

Greetings Dear Reader,

We rarely are satisfied.  That is both good and bad.  I must never be satisfied with “good enough”.  My Grandfather would always say, “good, better, best’ never let it rest, until your good is better and you better is your best.”

I told this to my students for years and demanded it.  We must give our very best in what we do.  This is what God expects of us.  It is our obligation that whatever we do we must do it with all our hearts to the Father.

We also must realize that satisfaction with food, leisure, and things is fleeting.    The taste fades.  Rest becomes restlessness.  Things decay, tarnish, or become mundane.  The only thing that endures is not a thing.

We are not meant to be satisfied with the world as it is.  Whether you adopt the position that man can make it better or that God is working to bring things back to good, we are dissatisfied with the world as it is.  A simple look at the world around us tells us that things are not good.

I cannot get satisfaction here.  Since I chose that Christ would be my hope and strength things are easier.  My selfish nature still calls out to be satisfied by things that are here.  Jesus gave us absolute instructions about where to place our desires and hope.  When I am hungry for true satisfaction it is found in Christ alone for me.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Satisfaction – Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

What does it mean to be satisfied?  It is a fleeting pursuit or a state of rest.  It is a state or a quest.  Often when we grasp what we think will satisfy but it does not.  We lie, cheat, and steal to get satisfaction but we do not get it.

When we are truly satisfied it is beautiful.  From what does that satisfaction spring?  From where does it stem?  Where does it go when we lose it?  The answers to these questions yield a path.  It is that path that joins the greater way in following Christ.

There are things that I need and there are things that I want.  The line between the two is not always clear to me.  It is always clear to God.  This is why I must follow.  I must learn when to be satisfied and when to be dissatisfied.  I must ask and answer the questions around this so that I can use wisdom in discerning.  I must follow both paths as required.

Walk with me as I deal with my dissatisfaction over the question of satisfaction.  We will likely find a laugh or two in this serious endeavor.  As always Dear Reader your part in the conversation is welcome. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Closing the Year – Dodging Discontentment

Greetings Dear Reader,

Two of my children were gifted with new PlayStation Four Consoles for Christmas.  Sony experienced a vast denial of service attack on their network beginning Christmas Day.  This means that my two children and hordes of others were not able to register, download games, update content and things of the like.

I was pleased as a Father to see both of them find the positive in the situation.  My Daughter Christmas did this at home.  She expressed her gratitude and turned to other leisure activities.  She would try every couple of hours over the next few days but showed not a moment’s discontent.

My Bezel show similar patience and character.  He did so in front of my Grandsons and made the best of the situation by being good to them.  He was content to play the included game with his nephews and siblings.  He expressed at one point his compassion for all the other people who were disappointed by the network outage.

I watch with pride as both of them dealt with disappointment in love and compassion for those around them.  I felt moved that when they were with my Grandsons the set an example of giving up what they wanted to be good others.  As I mentioned yesterday the media is screaming for us to be discontent with what we just received.  My children have instead chosen to love.  That is joyous. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store." 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Closing the Year – Pigs Gone to Clover

Greetings Dear Reader,

As the year turns toward its last week my thoughts always turn toward the way in which we mark that passage.  I mentioned the phrase “pigs gone to clover” earlier in the month.  It denotes a level of satisfaction.  It is a level of satisfaction I rarely hear expressed in our culture.

Yesterday the media was filled with ads and stories telling us to be dissatisfied with what we received for Christmas.  Phrases like “get what you really wanted” offend me.  I am so very satisfied with the gifts I received.  Those who gave them showed that they know me and love me.  Even my Grandson, Orion showed he knows people in the gifts he chose for them.

Are there things I wish to have?  Yes there are.  Are any of them worth failing to pause for a bit to be truly grateful for what I have been given?  No they are not.  People took time and spend money to choose gifts for me.  That alone should satisfy me.  I value the time with my family more than things.  I value giving joy to them more than getting things for myself.  I value the privilege of meeting their needs and some of their wants.

I feel satisfied by showing them love and generosity.  I find joy in sharing my home and food with them and their guests.  The true satisfaction for me is in the lives of others.  That is what keeps Christmas in my heart the entire year.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store." 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)