Macaroni and Cheese. 7-Eleven Iced Tea.

Today was about a whole bunch of nothing other than going to TWIGS. Because of that, more of this post will be more about two prevalent thoughts that crossed my mind today. One's about the South End and the other is about control.

The first item occurred when I was walking to Andy's place for TWIGS. On my way to Tremont St. from my place, I look at the cars on the street. There must be at least a million dollars worth of value, out on the curbs, packed bumper to bumper. Ranging everywhere from motorcycles and Vespas, to Beamers, Lexuses, luxury SUVs and other high-class sedans, I stopped and wondered how much wealth there really is in the South End.

Most of the money in this area is actually in personal wealth, which lies the problem. There is much Americanism in the mentality that what you work for and what you earn becomes yours. Folks plug in 40 and 50 hour work weeks to get the money, pay the bills, and have a little something for themselves to spend. As such, they use it for flashier clothing, faster cars, adorned households, and even clothing for dogs. I myself was not born into a wealthy family, but I learned the value of wise spending, and definitely the importance of investment.

What pains me the most is that most of the personal wealth spent is indeed only for the persons in question. If you spend money on a nice car, it only benefits a couple of people, like your immediate family. It does nothing for the community, and cannot be passed on easily. This custom of keeping the wealth within the families is not unlike the idea of certain royal families that were marrying each other during the times of Eugenics. Although I am not saying that this practice does not compare in severity, the general idea is an air of selfishness and a contempt for "lesser people".

That's not to say that one shouldn't spend their money in their own way. It's more to say, please be prudent and caring towards others, and implicitly, stop consuming conspicuously.

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Something else struck me tonight when we were in discussion and it had to deal with faith. Apparently, much of our prayer requests fall into three categories (RED) Relocation, Explanation, and Destination. Relocation is for moving away from our current situations and hardships to another more comfortable area. Explanation is seeking the answer to a question or perplexing problem. Destination is honing a focus or direction to or for an activity or attitude.

In all three of these categories, we are seeking stability and an element of control in our lives. We are looking for our lives to be manageable, and oftentimes it comes to a point where simply we either manage it ourselves or someone manages it for us.

There is a difference between control by our own hands, and having things controlled. The problem is that in practice, they look very different, and so too are our mentalities when they occur. One could see it in the example of cooking. By making your own meals, you run the risk of making mistakes, but you get the option of personalizing to your own tastes, and having a greater degree of control. When someone else makes your meal, you are depending on their expertise and effort to make it right. They may or may not take your input into consideration, and subsequently this may affect the final product. At any rate though, less work is for you.

Ironically, this is the reverse in prayer. Many of ask simply ask God to do things, and take care of the big issues one at a time, and then return back to our own lives. The problem is that prayer is not a one time stop and shop. It is supposed to be a growth, a building of relationship, a transformation of character. It is much better to let God take control of our prayer and our lives, rather than for us to take it for ourselves. That is not to say we sit on our butts like bumps on a log, but we take the emphasis away from ourselves.

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Right now, I think my prayer is being answered, and it's blowing my mind.