Why Source Your Quotes?

Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it. ~Dr. Laurence J. Peter

It is a gift for a writer to be able to create a one sentence quote which "is worth a thousand words."(1)  Occasionally, we will find these on Twitter, limited to 140 characters. More often, they are lifted out of blog posts, books, speeches or published articles.

Dr. Peter's quote is tongue in cheek and typical of human behaviour. With Google, it only takes one or two searches using key words to discover who truly was the first to speak a quote. To not give them proper credit is, at best, lazy. Since it's a violation of copyright, the terms "thief" and "pretender" come to mind. Perhaps, though, it is simply ignorance or lack of respect, both of which could be overcome. Give credit where credit is due or it discredits you. It might even save you a lawsuit.

Love? What's That?

Valentine’s Day has come and gone and I’ve watched a number of remarks on several social networking sites that affirm or dismiss the concept/presence of love.

As human beings, we often mislabel other things as love. A quote from Alexander Smith was posted on Twitter more than 140 times in the last day:

"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition."

Of course, we all enjoy connecting with others who are similar to us, who have characteristics with which we are comfortable. There is nothing inherently wrong in that, but this simplistic view falls far short of love and seems to border on narcissism.

For sake of discussion, I’ve been thinking that since God IS love, then all that is to be known of love is truly only found in knowing God. Everything else is a shallow reflection, seen through a cloudy glass. It then follows that what I feel, sense, accept or give in self-emptying love (see the example of Jesus in Philippians 2) becomes a revelation of Him.

I could intellectualize this until the cows come home but it’s a thin mask over my frustration in realizing that I know very little about expressing genuine love. It’s even more challenging to accept it when offered. I keep wanting to force the love-gift into the mold I’ve made in my mind: “It isn’t love unless it looks like this” or “that” or whatever I have defined as “love” in my mind.

This is a recipe for heartbreak and I’ve cried more than my share of tears over these scenarios in my life. The older I grow, the more I think I know nothing of love. Perhaps my greater challenge is to practice gratitude. To accept what is offered, in whatever form it comes and to apply myself to acting in the very way I wish to be loved.

Isn’t this the essence of Jesus’ words when he was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?”

Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

I cannot control how others treat me and I certainly can't control whether they love me or not. What I CAN do is exercise my own responsibility: to love God and love others in the same way I want to be loved.

Now to go apply this. How do I love? How do you love? What has transformed your thinking about giving and receiving love?

Why I Twitter

I twitter for the same reason I blog:
I'm an explorer.

I want to discover people. What they're thinking, reading, believing. Because those who choose to "follow" all have different reasons for doing so, I write what is interesting and impactful to me, just like when I share good news or new discoveries with my friends face to face. They can follow the links I share (or not). Their choice. If by one little tweet, I can change one life, I have changed the world.

I follow poets, philosophers, sages, preachers and helpful people. I unfollow those who are selling products/services. I block people selling their body. I try to manage my time. I blog, then I send a tweet with the link. Just like a referee or linesman, a tweet on a whistle means something. So I try to make sure my tweets do. "Stop. Pay attention. Here's where you're going out of bounds." In the woods, on the mountain, I use a whistle to tweet very loudly so that the bears know I'm coming. Not constantly, because that would be annoying to my hiking companions and defeat the purpose of being in the quiet of nature. In cyberspace, I tweet very loudly about my faith once in a while. Not constantly, because that would be annoying to my Twitter companions.

It's not for everyone, but we're called to be salt and light, people. Shake it around, turn up the lamp. Choose your place, choose your technology (or not) but be ready always to give an answer to those who ask the reason for the hope that you have. Make sure you've first filled up and fueled up in God's word and His presence. Without that, you really have nothing eternally important to share.

Time Well Wasted

I've spent 2½ hours online, reading blogs, posting my own, and catching up with friends/family on Facebook and Twitter. It's okay. It's Saturday morning and nothing else is pressing. I was going to sleep in today but this is Plan B for the insomnolent.

As I reviewed my Twitter feed over the last few weeks, I only have one word:

Diverse.