Three Stages of Day
I.
During the earlier part of the day, I thought about this quote:
“Boredom is the root of evil.”
I searched the Web for references to it, and inevitably found Soren Kierkegaard’s Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Philosophy_of_S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard is famous for having said the quote, “Boredom is the root of all evil—the despairing refusal to be oneself.”
After reading a bit of what Kierkegaard and other writers have said about it, I think I know what it means, but it’ll probably take years before it really sinks in.
This other part was interesting, called the Three Stages of Life:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_S%
C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard#Three_stages_of_life
Craig Ferguson sometimes mentions Kierkegaard during his nightly monologues, when he wants to appear sublime and scholarly, before he reverts back to a joke that mentions a party at Elton John’s house. The last time Craig mentioned Kierkegaard, he rambled on about existentialism and theories, then stared at the camera and sarcastically said, “You don’t know me!”
II.
During the middle of the day, while I worked on an Excel file and Kristie worked on putting together a rosary as a gift for my niece’s First Communion, we watched the movie Black Snake Moan, with Samuel Jackson (Lazarus) and Christina Ricci (Rae). The climactic scene happens during a thunderstorm. Lazarus plays his guitar and sings to Rae the blues song “Black Snake Moan”, about the evil that creeps into a life and drives that life into a bad direction. Lazarus is recovering from a betrayal, and Rae is recovering from sex addiction. As Lazarus plays louder, the storm grows louder, and the room’s lights flicker and the guitar amp falters. Lazarus plays and sings even louder, defying the storm. Rae sits on the ground, afraid of the storm, and hugs his leg while he plays louder and louder. The storm ends and Lazarus finishes the song.
I pointed to the TV and screamed, in my own geeky way, “That was an exorcism!” Kristie said, “Yup.”
III.
At the end of the day, I checked my voicemail. One was from my local church, whom I had contacted and offered my services for whatever they need, whether it’s to run errands or drive supplies to wherever or food to whomever in the community. They’re looking for someone to bring holy bread to those who can’t make it to church, while the eucharistic minister goes on vacation for 3 weeks. According to the voicemail, it will be taking the eucharist to a rehab center.