The Changing Landscape of Human Sexuality

I thought this was an insightful message about human sexuality presented in an entertaining format.  (Clip from season 5, ep. 2 of Nip/Tuck.)




"Sex is like politics. You label yourself Republican, Democrat, straight, or gay and then one day you cross party lines because you have strong feelings about a particular candidate...and then you don't know what you are."

"Labels are for cans of tuna, not people."

-Liz Cruz (lesbian [or 'nonlesbian'] anesthesiologist on Nip/Tuck)

"Love is not these belongings that surround me though there's meaning in the memories they hold..."

I heard this first on Nip/Tuck's Season 4 Finale, so I'm embedding that montage here. The song is by The Submarines called "Brighter Discontent."



I think it's very fitting that they had the Nip/Tuck characters lip sync the words to this song since they are living the good life so to say in Miami, but are still chasing after that elusive notion of bliss that they can't seem to find in objects and relationships.  (There are two mistakes in the closed captioning of the music video, but overall I'm just glad someone posted it on YouTube.)

"I think I might know what I want really want, but is a brighter discontent the best that I could hope to find?"

(I think this is the unspoken mantra of the vast majority of modern Americans today.)

Beautiful Rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

This is Jeff Buckley's melancholic and moving rendition of the song:  "Hallelujah."

Psalm 23 (King James Version)

I know this one of the most quoted passages from the Scriptures and despite the fact that some may feel it has been read or said to ad nauseum, personally, I still find solace in these hallowed words.

Psalm 23

 ¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
 ³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
 ⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
 ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
 ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Contentment is a Divine Attribute

The Scriptures continually remind us to stop worrying about mundane things or anything at all and to be focused on matters of the spirit and on being grateful.   Earlier I had posted a passage from Matthew 6 about this same topic, but speaking from my personal perspective, I think it's always good to be reminded of these things, since we reside in a world that tells us to do the complete opposite.


Philippians 4:6-9

⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Letter from Chris McCandless

Ron, I really enjoy all the help you have given me and the times that we spent together.  I hope that you will not be too depressed by our parting.  It may be a very long time before we see each other again.  But providing that I get through this Alaskan Deal in one piece you will be hearing from me again in the future.  I'd like to repeat the advice I gave you before, in that I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt.  So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.  The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure.  The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.  If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy.  But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.

[...]

But for some reason incomprehensible to me you wanted nothing but to bolt for home as quickly as possible, right back to the same situation which you see day after day after day.  I fear you will follow this same inclination in the future and thus fail tot discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover.  Don't settle down and sit in one place.  Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.  You are still going to live a long time, Ron, and it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize your life and move into a an entirely new realm of experience.

You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships.  God has placed it all around us.  It is in everything and anything we might experience.  We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.

My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new kind of light in your life.  It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it.  The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances.

Ron, I really hope that as soon as you can you will get out of Salton City, put a little camper on the back of your pickup, and start seeing some of the great work that God has done here in the American West.  You will see things and meet people and there is much to learn from them.  And you must do it economy style, no motels, do your own cooking, as a general rule spend as little as possible and you will enjoy it much more immensely.  I hope that the next time I see you, you will be a new man with a vast array of new adventures and experiences behind you.  Don't hesitate or allow yourself to make excuses.  Just get out and do it.  Just get out and do it.  You will be very, very glad that you did.

Take Care Ron,
Alex



(Excerpt from the letter from Chris McCandless aka "Alexander Supertramp" to Ronald Franz from the novel by Jon Krakauer, Into The Wild.)

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This passage really affected me.  I think if you simply replace Ron, with your own name you can see the universal application and perhaps better capture the full import of his posthumous wisdom.