Contemplating Creation

The mystery of creation has held people curious since their beginning.  Each culture created a myth to explain the event.  The African people of the Kalahari Desert believe they are Kaang’s people.  Kaang is God who lived with all animals and people under the earth, before providing them a way to emerge onto the earth.  This is similar to several other creation stories.

Some Native American tribes believe in emergence/metamorphosis.  Humans started in the “womb” of the world.  Kaang’s people also started in the womb, the inner part of the earth.  

Ex nihilo means something out of nothing, yet the human emergence of man onto the earth before woman, Kaang’s warning to man of the one thing he should not do, and Kaang’s departure to a place of observance all resemble the Ex Nihilo story of creation.

The Kumulipo story has ties to science.  The world was created over a long cosmic night and in two parts.  The organisms came first in the darkness of the spiritual world.  Next came the sun and evolution, as later described by Charles Darwin.

The other myths told a story but not about the creation of human life.  Several were not concerned with the creation of life, but rather about the occurrence of the things around them.  The Mongolian story describes the creation of the elements.  Pandora’s Box describes the beginning of envy, hate, and hope in the world.  The Cherokee myth describes the emergence of the material world: land, sea, and air.

It is interesting that the Greek myths included Gods who made mistakes and had very human qualities about them.  It is my conviction that God is not confined to a description of words.  His character is perfect, flawless, beyond any quality humans can achieve.  His image cannot be put on paper because no one can see God in his perfect form.  We were created in His image, yet we are in temporal cavities that are marred by aches and pains.  God could not have a human body such as ours; what would we have to look forward to if God were in the same shape as us?

Each story is similar in that it wants to say something specific.  Most of the stories, such as the Greek myths, are very explicit about their theme.  Some of the others describe the story and allow the audience to infer its meaning.  The African creation myth uses the scenario to emphasize the importance of obedience and collation with each other.  Creation Ex Nihilo also emphasizes this point, but others as well.  Genesis tells two tales about human origin.  In each, humans are created slightly different and at slightly different points in the time-line.  While some say that these stories conflict with each other, I believe they enhance the meaning behind each other.  The point is not how humans were created, but by whom.  One of the accounts infers that God is loving and personal.  The other shows His omnipotence and authority.  One is not wrong and the other right; the two explain the complexity of God and his ability to be the ultimate “parent.”  

This project was very insightful and yet aided in reaffirming my own beliefs.  I have realized that throughout college I have learned to not only be tolerate of the beliefs of others, but to be confident about my own.  I feel I have gained better insight into Christianity and why it speaks to my heart in the way it does.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Movies like this are those you have to watch twice in order to understand.  They are not my favorite at times when I want to “kick back and enjoy the show”, but they make you think beyond the plot.  You must piece the story together.  The story is presented to the audience the way the characters understand it themselves.  Joel is confused.  He doesn't understand what's happening because his reality is being erased, and he's being left with gaps in his story. 

He realizes the he's lost his girlfriend.  He can't understand why she's gone.  She did it as a joke because she probably thought it wouldn't work.  Now she's lost her best friend and gained someone who's using her.  Patrick is being the very person she had erased from her mind.  He takes Joel’s information and uses it to please Clementine.  

Joel is fighting to regain the relationship he had with Clementine.  This is the epitome of not knowing what you have until it’s gone.  Joel desperately wants to regain his relationship.  He is fighting against the process that is erasing his memories.  He is reliving the memories of their relationship, and in his mind, he knows he is losing something precious.

I think that Joel will go after Clementine.  Even if she doesn’t regain her memory of him, he can get Patrick away from her and win her back.  He can date her all over again.  Clementine may even remember things and have déjà vu.  But I think Joel will win her back and not make the same mistakes he made before.  He loves Clementine and they will live happily ever after.

The African Myth: Kaang (Bushmen)

HISTORY

The Kaang people originate from South Africa.  They are considered to be one of the oldest peoples in the world.  They have no name for themselves; they are known only as “the people.”  Nearby tribes have called them the San people.  During their fight with colonists, they were given the name Bushmen, meaning outlaw.  This is the name they are said to prefer.  The people were proud that they defended their land and did not give in the colonists who tried to take it from them.

The Kaang people live in and around the Kalahari Desert.  Only about 100,000 remain in the area.  Others were among those who migrated from the country across the Middle East.  Some believe that creation took place in Africa and that all human beings have African roots.

The Kaang people are mainly hunter-gatherers who are experts in the plant and animal life on their land.  This knowledge allows them to move frequently with their family group and live in harsh conditions.  They know where to find items they need to survive, and how to use these items.  The people move around from area to area as they allow the plants they use to ripen and replenish themselves.  Only what will be used is harvested.

The people have a deep respect for all living creatures.  They believe that all living things are connected to each other.  The chief (Shaman), has spiritual authority over the people, but he does not dictate how the people live their lives.  The Shaman is part of the community meeting group that gathers to discuss issues of the people.  

GODS

Kaang people believe in one creator God and many lesser deities.  They use the stories of the gods to teach about good and moral behavior.  Kaang is the god of the people, who married the sorceress Coti.  Together they had two sons, Cogaz and Gewi.  

STORY OF CREATION

Kaang and his people once lived below the earth.  In that place, there was peace and harmony among all creatures, and humans and animals could understand each other.  There was light without the sun because Kaang was present.  One day Kaang decided to create a world above the earth.  He created a huge tree which had branches that spread across the whole country.  After he had created the world as he wanted it, he made a hole at the base of the tree and helped the first man to get through it.  After the man had ascended through the hole, the first woman came next.  

After all the people and animals were gathered together, Kaang told them to remain at peace with each other and never to build a fire.  He said that fire would bring about evil consequences, and the people agreed.  Kaang then ascended above the earth where he could secretly observe his creation.  The people and animals got along fine exploring the new world until the sun went down.  The people, lacking fur and nocturnal vision, became cold and frightened.  One man had the idea of building a fire, and soon their promise to Kaang was forgotten.  The fire scared the animals, and they fled to the mountains and caves for protection.  This ended communication between humans and animals, and fear replaced the friendship they once had.

LESSONS IN THE STORY

This story is used to explain the creation of the world and its inhabitants, as well as to teach about good and bad behavior.  The story emphasizes the importance of obeying the laws of Kaang.  The creatures got along fine until they were given freedom to roam away from the enclosed presence of Kaang.  They quickly forgot the protection, provision, and peace that he had always provided.  At the first sign of trouble, they disobeyed him.

This story also represents the value that the Bushmen place on man’s interaction with animals.  Bushmen don’t like interfering with nature, and seem to feel resentment toward those first men who cut the lines of communication between man and animals.  This is why it is important that the people only take from the earth that which is necessary for survival.  Also, the people honor the spirits of those who have passed on before them.  This is another way that they can try to make peace with nature and those still living.  The Bushmen believe that the dead return to the world as stars.  This way they shine light down on their family on the earth.

This story coincides more with stories such as the Christian creation myth rather than evolution or physics.  The world was not created in a blast, nor did it evolve over time, and humans appeared in the world one by one.  One single God created the world and its inhabitants, and he retired to a place afar off where he could watch his people.   

No matter the similarities or differences, this is only one myth about the creation of life which alludes to positive and negative behavior and the consequences each elicits. 

http://www.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths_14.html

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=37263

http://www.answers.com/topic/kaang

http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/origins2490-kaangs-people.html

Finding Fulfillment by Discovering Your Purpose

It’s hard to understand why we exist.  What is the purpose of life….the constant circle of life and death….the trouble and heartache of bills and loss?  There seems to be no clear answer to any of these questions.  In her paper, Professor Bennett argues that there are four ways of looking at the creation of life.  I can only recall the two that stood out to me: the potter and the clay and the fractal viewpoint.  As I have not read the paper, I may not understand or describe them as she does, but I will attempt to explain what I think she means. 

My first impression of Ms. Bennett’s description of the potter and clay was to take offense.  I have always heard God’s relationship with humanity being described this way.  However, I believe that she is looking at this perspective in a slightly different way than I always have.  I would like to argue that my view of this perspective collates with her view of the fractal perspective.  Again, keep in mind that Professor Bennett only gave a brief description of these perspectives and that I may not relate her viewpoint accurately.

I took her description to infer that God, as the potter, created human beings out of “clay” and placed them into the world as separate beings, having no relation to Him.  He is outside the world in which humans exist.  In comparison, the fractal viewpoint seems to suggest that God created us and is in us.  Every part of our lives is intertwined with God and his purpose for our life.  My idea of the potter and clay incorporates both components of these outlooks. 

According to the Bible, which is the reference I am convicted to believe, God and Jesus existed before anything else.  God created the Heavens and Earth, animals, and man.  He created man in His image and placed him in the Garden of Eden.  During man’s creation, God breathed in him the breathe of life. 

Because we are called His children, I can’t help but to remember giving birth to my son.  During my pregnancy (aside from conception, this would be the “creation” of the child before it comes into the world) he grew by taking from me.  He lived off my air and my food.  Although some people are insane beings, one cannot give birth to a human being without having a relationship with them.  If my son were taken from me from birth, or hated me from the time he could think on his own, I would still love that child and have a relationship with him.  God is a loving God who created man and placed part of himself within him. 

Man was for His glory, to worship Him in the fullness of all he could possibly be.  He was given authority over all the animals and provided every comfort he could ever need.  God came to the garden and walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.  He came down from His place to be with them.  This revealed a personal relationship between the potter (creator) and the clay (man). 

After Adam and Eve sinned against God and were cast out of the garden, God still maintained a relationship with human kind.  He allowed them access to prayer and forgiveness through sacrificial offerings.  Then He allowed His son Jesus to come to the Earth in human form and be a living sacrifice for all sins.  This allowed the barrier, that Adam and Eve had created, between God and man to be broken.  It signified God’s desire to have a closer relationship with man. 

Following the death of Christ, God allowed his spirit to dwell within us.  Although we were already instilled with a conscious, which I believe to be from that breathe of life, God provided us access to a greater conscious that would help us through the hard times of this life.  Because this spirit is the third being in the Holy Trinity, it is a part of God.  Therefore, God is outside the world, and he is in the world through each of us.  Those who believe in Him and His son have a stronger connection to Him than unbelievers.  This sounds like religious crap, but it’s common sense. 

Imagine again, my relationship with my son.  If he loves me and maintains his end of a relationship with me, we will be closer than if he leaves home and never speaks to me.  Additionally, it is important to point out that if the latter scenario is true, I will still have a relationship with him in that I am his mother, I love him, and I think about and pray for him. 

Although a lot of human beings do not acknowledge God’s presence, it doesn’t make him absent.  I do not believe in fate or luck.  If I’m driving down the road and I am spared from an accident, I know that God chose to keep me safe.  On the other hand, if I am a victim in that accident, I know that God has a purpose for the situation.  This may be viewed as only my attitude, and that I choose to think this way about things, but I am convicted in my heart that there is a God who loves me and who created me to worship Him.  He does have guidelines on how we should live, but I think that each of his rules is what is best for any human being regardless.  These guidelines help to elongate our lives and provide support for reaching our full potential. 

Enjoying life in a healthy manner is what God wants from us.  This is our purpose in life.  When we have reckless sex, break the law, drink and do drugs, we are not only going against what Jesus taught, but we are hurting ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  These practices may have short-term pleasures but also long-term consequences. 

Do you believe there is a God who loves you?  If not, how do you believe the world originated?  How do you account for the complexity of the world and the human mind?  What do you believe will happen when you die?

Narrative of the Self

In her article, "Narrative, Memory, and Life Transitions," Michele Crossley speaks about narrative as an organizing principle for human life.  She says that Sarbin, "proposes what he calls the 'narratory principle'...the idea that human beings think, perceive, imagine, interact and make moral choices according to narrative structures."  All our choices are based on those stories we see in the world around us.  We make choices in accordance with the groups we associate ourselves with.  This tells the story that we are associated with this group, that we believe what they do.  We also look to the story we want to tell.  For example if we want others to see us as responsible, we will act accordingly.  If we want others to see us as smart, we will work hard to get good grades. 

Sometimes we forget that we are telling a story that is being read by those around us.  During these times, our inward perception tells us that what we do doesn't matter and that we can do what we want.  This is like a story within a story.  We have withdrawn in ourselves to that inward story we feel inside us.  Sometimes I feel that no one cares what I do.  I may act in ways that I shouldn't because I feel like it's unimportant, like I can put my "story" on hold and pick up when I'm not so stressed or not angry anymore; in reality, the film has been rolling the whole time. 

Another way we make our choices based on narrative structures is in our moral decisions.  We have a narrative of religious beliefs and the way we should live.  My narrative for decisions is the Bible.  It guides the way I want to live my life.  I do not always follow the guidelines which I believe are correct, but I am convicted of my errors.

The author goes on to say that, "we are inculcated from a very early age to seeing connections between events, people and the world in a certain way through the stories and narratives told within our families."  What our family believes and teaches us is the foundation of what we will believe.  If we have a good experience with our family, we tend to accept their ideas and apply them to our lives.  If we choose to go a different way, we base this decision on the foundation we have been given by our family.  My own family has always been very supportive of me and my life.  I was raised in a Christian home where I was taught that everything I do affects someone.  This idea, along with many others has brought me to where I am today.  I have not always made the right choices, but I've remember what my parents taught me.  The consequences in part were the guilt I felt to have disappointed my parents, as well as feeling that I had marred my story, the story I knew that others were reading.  Knowing that our self is based in part on what we are taught by our families, should make us realize that what we teach our children will help shape them as well. 

The article, "Narrative Identity and Eudaimonic Well-Being", adds to the points of the previous article.  It says that, "narrative identity is closely tied to the subjective interpretation of oneself as happy."  This idea looks at those things which we think gives purpose and fulfillment to our lives.  This is based on our perception of what makes us happy.  This is multi-dimensional in that it looks at the many facets of what pleases us.  This can include our long-term and short-term goals, what our friends want, what our significant other wants, and what our moral beliefs tell us. 

The self is a complicated being that incorporates all those things that are encountered in life.  The stories that are told around us are compiled to make up our story.  Some parts are bigger than others while some have been smothered by the dominant parts of our story.

Question:  Which parts of your family's story are dominant in your own story?  Which ones are not?

Characters: Toolan Chp.4 & McAdams Ch. 5 & 6

Character are the story.  It's their perspection from some angle.  They tell about the plot and are affected in ways that cause emotion in us, whether pity, anger, love, laughter, etc.  The characters are what draw us to the story.  Toolan describes a character as mere words written on a page that our imagination gives body and presence.  The unique motives and personalities of the characters draw us to read on, to see what the outcome will be.

The reader is like an insider, a co-conspirator with the characters.  He sees into the mind of the character.  However, the reader partially creates the characters' personality.  He draws from his own perception of the text and even what he wants the character to be.  Sometimes the character I envision is totally different from the one depicted on the cover or that ends up in the movie.  We make our own reality for the "actors."  This is representative of the Asian movie we saw in class Thursday.  The "relative" reality is determined by each character as well as the reader.  We see this by the fact that we, the viewers, are the judge.  We decide who to believe.

In McAdams' chapter 5, he quotes Walt Whitman:

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes)

McAdams explains that the modern world requires us to be many different people.  We are expected to play a different role in different situations.  I have a hard time with this.  To say we are a mother, daughter, lover, etc. is acceptable, but in some cases, we should not have to stand so far off from our real personality.  For example, why does the business world have so many set rules and equations for how we should dress, talk, and think?  Companies want a diversified workforce who can be creative and adaptive, yet it forces us to blend in.  We wear the same suit, have the same manners, the same office space, the same dictation, the same education (on the same level).  How can we be creative and unique when we're shoved into a bottle of "acceptable business protocol?" 

Imagoes are all the personalities we take on and are in constant conflict to make the story progress.  This story within ourselves is the plot.  We are essentially the antagonist and the protagonist.  We are the shy and the charmer, the beautiful and the ugly.  Our roles are played out by our desires and those things that come up against us everyday.  We unthinkingly choose one character to handle each situation.  That character determines how the story progresses.

What do you think of Whitman's "multitudes?"  Do you contradict yourself?

Toolan Chp. 3 & WriteRight

In chapter 3 of his book, Narrative:  A Critical Linguistic Introduction, Toolan’s discussion is focused on time and focalization.  While he describes many aspects of these terms, I will only include the ones that stood out to me.

 

Toolan begins the discussion with order and defines it as “any departures in the order of presentation in the text from the order in which events evidently occurred in the story” (43).  To illustrate his point, Toolan describes the terms analepses and prolepses.  These terms describe how events are recounted in the story.  They occurred at a certain time in the inner story, but are being told in a different sequence.  For example, the movie “The Notebook” begins with an analepsis, where the story begins with the present and flashes back to the past.  The man characters, Noah and Allison, are elderly.  Allison is living in a nursing home and cannot remember her family most of the time.  Noah reads her own diary to her in an effort to encourage her remembrance of their many years together.  As he reads, the real story begins.  At times, a prolepsis will occur, and the past reverts back to the present for a while.  

While this doesn’t literally happen in the movie “The Matrix,” it is symbolized by Neo’s movement in and out of his prior life in the matrix.  When he is on the ship, he is in the present reality.  When he goes back into the matrix, he can see people all around him living the life he once did.  He is on the outside looking into the world which doesn’t truly exist.

Another aspect of time Toolan describes is duration.  This term is hard to define.  If we watch a movie or play, we can hear/see the story at the author’s intended duration.  However, when presented in text, the duration is based on our own speed.  Each reader reads at a different pace and may even read different parts of the story differently.  Maximum speed is labeled an ellipsis.  This is when the story jumps from one period of time to another.  An example of this would be a page or subtitle between periods that informs the reader/viewer of the current time period without actually including it in the storyline.  Inversely, the minimum speed would be a descriptive pause outside the story.  This occurs when a narrator or other character puts the story on hold to describe the scene or further elaborate on an element in the story. 

In “Avatar,” this would be relative to the times Jake records his reports.  He has just come out of the Avatar and his feelings and memories are most vivid and meaningful.  These descriptions help to reveal Jake’s character in ways that would not otherwise have been seen.  This is also an example of point-of-view that Toolan implies in his section on focalization.  The WriteRight handout also addresses this topic.  Here, Jake is using first-person point-of-view to include himself in the plot.  He is the main character; the events are happening around and to him.  He can address his own outlook as well as that of the other characters.

The Bible incorporates each of the aspects described by Toolan and the handout.  When viewed as a whole, each story within the story of the Bible and Jesus’ life uses different aspects to knit the story together.  Each book of the Bible is written by a different author who uses a different point-of-view.  The authors mostly speak in first-person narrative, placing themselves within the story.  Job uses this when speaking of his anguish over losing his entire sustenance.  He asks God why this has happened to him, and he explains to the reader how he feels but that he still will follow God.  God and Christ are a third-person, second-person, and first-person narrator throughout the work.  Jesus speaks directly to the reader at times, as well as the characters in the story while also relating to his purpose and his life.  

The Bible also addresses the many facets of focalization, the major three being perceptual, psychological, and ideological.  Throughout the story, Jesus is the main character, yet he is not limited in his perceptual view as are the other characters.  He has his own perceptions about the world, but he knows those of others.  His cognitive focalization is not separated but his emotive is.  He is the outside teller as well as emotionally part of the story.  These elements are hard to describe, but the understanding comes with looking at how Jesus relates to each character.  He is involved in their stories.  The Bible even states that God is the author and the finisher of all things.  Like all authors, he has the final say, but he works to mold the characters to evoke specific feelings with the reader.  Each story, each character is used to tell its own separate story within the context of the whole.

Toolan’s book, as well as the handout, explains the many aspects of storytelling and writing that make the story come alive.  It is the details of each plot that engage the mind of the reader and encourage him to read on.