The Great Cool Down

I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to talk about the earthquake. The entire internet has been abuzz since yesterday afternoon with continuous talk about the earthquake. So, for a little break from earthquake related news, I'm going to talk about the weather.

Of course, it is now late August and the college is back to its normal rhythm of classes and social events. It's a time of new beginnings as all of the students get used to new living arrangements, classes, and classmates. We had my sister over for dinner last night, and she filled us in on all the new policies and the new goings on at the school. As I sat there listening to her, though, it struck me just how incongruous it was that school BEGINS in late August.

This year more than ever I've noticed what a time of change late August is. It is the beginning of the end, as it were. It is the time where the heat of July finally breaks, the weather cools just slightly, and everything finally feels like it is moving towards Fall. All the major events of the summer are over now. Throughout all of last spring we planned multiple trips here and there that have been sitting on the calendar for months: Freddie and Nicole's house in June, Hilary's wedding in July, Gettysburg with my parents and a business trip to Canada in August. Now, we'll be home for some time before heading out for more trips around the holidays. We are now the opposite of the people we are in February. In February we can't wait to get out and travel; now we can't wait to stay near home.

With the breaking of the heat (for the most part) and the last of the summer trips, a gentle calm is beginning to settle in to the Anderson household. We are excited about all the Fall activities that lie just around the corner, and we will relish the apple pickings, bonfires, cool evenings, and fall colors with great enthusiasm. But it will be a calm enthusiasm. The frenzy of spring and summer is slowly starting to pass away as we move towards a true "fullness" in nature.

There are many lessons for men during this time of year. A lot about calming down, finding peace, settling into the day to day routine and reflecting on the higher things. I won't say anything about these, though, because I strum these chords quite frequently on this blog (and I'm sure I'll have more to say as we actually move in to Fall). Rather, I'd wish to leave you with this description of Fall by the author Hilaire Belloc. Of course, we're not quite yet to the time he describes, but I simply wish to bring to everybody's mind where this great cooling down is headed:

"The scent of life is never fuller in the woods than now, for the ground is yielding up its memories. The spring when it comes will not restore this fullness, nor these deep and ample recollections of the earth. For the earth seems now to remember the drive of the ploughshare and its harrying; the seed, and the full bursting of it, the swelling and the completion of the harvest. Up to the edge of the woods throughout the weald the earth has borne fruit; the barns are full, and the wheat is standing stacked in the fields, and there are orchards all around. It is upon such a mood of parentage and of fruition that the dead leaves fall."

Ah, glorious Summer

A remarkable thing happened this past Tuesday - Summer began. Indeed, since it was a slow news day, major news outlets were full of explanations as to why June 21st was the beginning of Summer. They lucidly explained that on June 21st the sun would reach its highest point in the sky at precisely 1:16 pm EDT, and in fact would be directly overhead on the Tropic of Cancer at that point. Hogwash.

I have to laugh when I hear these reports on the two solstices and two equinoxes during the year. They always seem to imply that seasons and time are measured by the scientists, like all things in life. For most real people, though, Summer started many weeks ago, because in reality life is not ruled by scientific definitions. For my wife Liz and I, summer started on Memorial Day weekend. That weekend we attended a wedding, went to the subsequent outdoor reception, grilled burgers at my best man's house, enjoyed alcoholic drinks with lime (Corona's and GT's, a particular favorite of Liz), and stayed out late so that we could drive home when it was cooler. These are the sort of things that truly define Summer, not the analytical definitions of science.

For us, Summer is about outdoor picnics with family and friends. It's about getting outside just because you can. Liz has recently started taking our son Alan out on walks in the afternoon. Its a chance for her to enjoy the weather, stretch the legs, and breath in some fresh air. For his own part, Alan is a little man who truly understands Summer. He's fascinated by the outside and never grows weary of all the splendors of nature. His always naps underneath the wide open skies, and when he comes in he is immediately ready to eat.

A truly wise young man! Food is an especially important part of Summer. While philosophically I espouse a local view of food consumption, I do not always follow my intellectual convictions. The lime, for instance, being God's fruit for Summer, should be mass distributed in a good society. Summer calls for limes in the same way that Fall calls for apples. It is truly Summer when you can enjoy an alcoholic drink with lime. At all other times of the year, the lime seems out of place. Ah, but in the Summer, it is the most necessary ingredient! It always feels wrong to drink a Corona in Summer without lime. Sometimes extraordinary circumstances call for such a sacrifice, like when your friend has several Coronas left in the fridge but has made the fatal mistake of running out of lime. At such times, the demands of friendship are rigorous. At all other times, the demands of Summer for limes should take precedence.

All said, then, Summer is a time for truly vigorous living. If Spring is the dawn of life, and Fall is its consummation, Summer is that season where life is truly itself. It is that time of year where God tells you to rejoice, work, pray and love. It's the time for weddings, barbecues, late nights and adventures. Winter and its focus on the home, the hearth and the family will come. Now is the time to rejoice in God's amazing creation! And such an amazing gift it is.

The Antithesis of Ennui

I'm currently re-reading John Senior's the death of Christian Culture. For anyone who hasn't read it, I definitely encourage you to pick it up since Senior has a true mastery of contemporary thought (well, somewhat contemporary, the book was first published in 1978). Among the many topics that Senior tackles in his book is the subject of ennui. Very early on (which tells you how far I've gotten through it so far) Senior identifies ennui as one of the key characteristics of the modern age.

Indeed, it seems this boredom with the world is everywhere we look, and not just in the non-Catholic circles. So many people today seem to have a "weariness" or, as Senior describes it, a "nausea" when it comes to life. I know that I experience this. There are days where I feel like doing the same old thing is just tiresome. Working, doing dishes, paying bills, it all seems to take its toll. I look back at my college days, filled with so little responsibility and so much fun, and I think, "Wow, being fully grown-up now is boring."

Of course, this isn't what I really think of my life. Starting a family has been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. It's a constant source of joy and thanksgiving. But it struck me as I was reading Senior's work that the antithesis to ennui was exactly what I find in my family: the joys of day to day life. Ennui is rooted in a disgust of being, in a disgust of existence. But most especially, it seems to be a disgust in the every day existence. The ennui-infected modern age flees from the every day to look for the extraordinary. It is in constant search of the new and exciting experience.

True joy, though, is not found in life's new and fleeting experiences, but is found rather in the living out of the daily experience. All the things that matter most to us - God, Church, family, friends, community - are experienced mostly in daily living. An archetype for truly human and Christian daily living is found in the "hidden" years of Christ's life. For 30 years Jesus lived, worked, loved, and prayed the daily life. Our Savior spent this time rejoicing in creation, rejoicing in the ordinary. These years of Our Savior's life were the complete antithesis to ennui and to the resulting perpetual search for the new. He spent such a large portion of his life doing his daily duty, and we can hardly think that this time was wasted. I, at least, am often tempted to think these years were purely a preparation, like he was in a waiting room for 30 years before beginning his public ministry. No, he must have truly lived out human existence during this time.

I think its important to remember this. I know it is for me - doing many of the same things day in and day out. Our Lord's first 30 years of life remind me that I need to cultivate this spirit of joy in the everyday. I have my moments where I believe I do in fact accomplish this, but this type of living is something that is a continual commitment. Indeed, I think it has to be a daily commitment, one that is rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ. All of us Catholics, myself especially, need to live in that house in Nazareth on a day to day basis. This truly Christian life is so very opposed to ennui.

A New Experiment

So here we are, in a digital age.

For many of us Catholics, we're not exactly sure how this whole "digital age" thing happened. We feel as if we were going along in our daily lives and suddenly we found ourselves plugged in to Facebook, twitter, e-mail, YouTube, Hulu and a thousand other services. Even though I'm very young (24), I still remember the days before internet, before unlimited and constant connectivity. I only got a cell phone 2 years ago.

And so, like many Catholics and like many people in general, I find that the place of internet in my life is still a new one. The internet, unlike God, family, work, and leisure, still needs to find exactly where it fits in. Is it something purely for entertainment? Information? News? I'm still not sure.

What I do know, though, is that it's literally changed everything. In fact, I'm not sure there's any going back (unless something absolutely catastrophic happens). It appears that this whole internet thing is here to stick around, not just as a small hobby, but as an essential part of people's lives. Indeed, our Holy Father, in his message for the 45th World Communications Day, says as much: "It is an ever more commonly held opinion that, just as the Industrial Revolution in its day brought about a profound transformation in society by the modifications it introduced into the cycles of production and lives of workers, so today the radical changes taking place in communications are guiding significant cultural and social developments...I would like then to invite Christians confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible. This is not simply to satisfy the desire to be present, but because this network is an integral part of human life."

So, this blog will be my attempt to answer the Holy Father's call for digital living. Before this, I've never really been able to maintain a presence online. Sure, I have Facebook and e-mail, but I'm sure several of my friends could tell you I'm terrible at actually responding to things. Further, I don't really share any of myself. Most of my activity is limited to solely posting the occasional article I find interesting. But Benedict says, "To proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in one's digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences, and judgements."

Hopefully, then, this blog will be the beginning of something. Its my mission to share with you, the mysterious and unknown digital reader, more than just philosophical thoughts. Hopefully, we can find wisdom and truth through the communication this tool affords.

That's what this is. A new experiment.