After one week of classes, it is quickly becoming evident what my favorite classes are and which are the ones I have to struggle to stay awake in. As of right now I'd have to say that my least favorite class is SOC 302: Research Methodologies in Sociology. I mean....just the name sounds boring! On the other hand, my favorite class so far is the only one that I'm taking this semester that isn't required for graduation: Dance 160.
This is an introduction to various social dances. We are currently learning how to Salsa and we will eventually be learning a variety of other dances such as the Waltz and the Foxtrot. I like this class for several reasons. 1) What other situation am I ever going to be in where dancing with cute girls is not just an option but a requirement? 2) I find dancing to be very enjoyable even though I'm not very good at it yet. 3) It is a good break from the norm and monotony of regular class.
I want to focus in on the last two reasons (maybe I'll blog my thoughts about number 1 someday soon). First of all, I can hardly believe that the phrase "I find dancing to be very enjoyable" has ever escaped my lips. This is a testament to how different I am now as opposed to when I was in high school. It wasn't until very recently that I would ever be caught dead on a dance floor. In high school, I skipped out on all the school dances because it made me feel incredibly awkward and frankly- I was just too self conscious. After all, I had an image of a stoic, sullen young teenager to uphold and dancing somehow didn't seem to fit into that mold. I really can't pinpoint a specific incident that changed my attitude towards dancing but once I finally manned up and gave it a try, it was really liberating. I think the secret to not feeling stupid about my dance moves (which would be a reasonable thing to feel about them if you've ever watched me bust a move) is to simply look around and realize that 95% of everyone else out there with me looks just as bad if not worse. That knowledge alone can really catapult you to the next level of dance mastery!
Second and more important is the fact that this class provides a break from the norm. For 50 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday, I can forget about all the stupid readings on sociological research I have to do. I can push aside in my mind the fact that I forgot to pay the meter and I'll most likely have a parking ticket when I get back to my car. I am able to put all of that on the back burner, take my partner by the hand, and have fun entering into a mutually awkward dancing relationship with them.
In true Matt Paulsen fashion, I think that this raises an interesting philosophical question. Why do we need breaks (dance or otherwise) in our lives? After all, not even the most hardcore among us can go on living at a breakneck pace for the entirety of their existence. At some point we have to pause and rest. And I'm not talking about literal rest as in sleeping. I mean that we have to get away from the reality of life and do something to help us recover.
I'm going to postulate a theory which may not sit well with some of you and for others it will make perfect sense. Ready? Here it is: Life Sucks.
Wow. "That sure is pessimistic of you to say Pat Maulsen" you may say. But just follow me for minute. Think of your life, whoever you are. What are the elements that compose it? This should directly tie into my last post on your identity (you are what you do). I will use my life as an example and examine my 3 main sub-identities. 1) Christian 2) Cadet 3) Student.
The student one is easy to tear apart. I have to spend hours at a time working to learn things that I don't really have a whole lot of interest in learning (like statistics for example). That sucks. It burns me out because I am using my time and energy to do something that I am not passionate about. Admittedly, there are a lot of things that I DO want to learn and, indeed, enjoy learning. But generally I accomplish that on my own time outside of school.
The cadet is also easy to tear apart. No one really wants to be awake at 0530 to workout before school even starts. Plus there's plenty to dislike about a bureaucratic system with an inflexible chain of command and a culture that encourages all the wrong ideas about masculinity (real men cuss and yell like hell and generally make life difficult for anyone that gets in their way).
Even what I consider to be my number one identity has plenty of stuff to get me down. As a leader in the Salt Company, I have to deal with the problems that come with it. I have to deal with people's problems (and believe me, there are many- everyone is broken in some way). I have to deal with the people who say they want to live a life like Christ but then don't follow up on that statement with action and continue to live for themselves. And, of course, I have to be constantly on the watch against myself- I have to make an attempt to practice what I preach and that's hard as balls!
And you can apply this to anything. A vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs. People live in broken relationships with each other: friends fight, children rebel, co-workers gossip, neighbors nag, and on and on. Debt, disease, and death kill joy and destroy lives every day. Day in and day out we (people in general, and Americans in particular) have a tendency to work jobs we don't like to spend money we don't have to buy things we don't need so that we can impress people we don't like! Who can live in this broken world and not need a break?
And that, ladies and gents, is the world we live in: fundamentally flawed. For Christians, this makes us the ultimate oxymoron: a Pessimistic Optimist. Pessimistic Optimists (like me) believe that the world and all of humanity are not just flawed but evil by their very nature. That's the pessimistic part. The optimism comes from the surpassing hope that we have in the promises of Jesus. Jesus came to conquer and destroy Satan, sin, and death so that we can come into a loving relationship with him and allow him to "remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." That's why we, as Christ followers, have a dedication to service. True followers of Jesus (which is a much smaller percent of the total of "professing" nominal Christians) desire to see the Kingdom of God come on earth. To that end, we do as Jesus did: loving the poor, having mercy on the broken hearted, preaching and teaching the word of God so that all might come to be the kind of Pessimistic Optimist that Jesus needs- one that knows that the evils of the world and its inhabitants will one day be judged and that justice will be done for all!
So, knowing what we know about the nature of the world, how can we justify going on doing things like learning to Salsa? Well, I think it's just part of God's common grace to all people. If there were no opportunity for things like dancing or watching a football game every now and then, we'd all go crazy! On this subject, the late apologist and author C.S. Lewis has some insight to offer from his book The Problem of Pain:
The Christian doctrine of suffering explains, I believe, a very curious fact about the world we live in. The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.
So carry on with your dancing my friends! Let us, like the Psalmist exclaim to God "You turned my mourning into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy that my heart my sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!"
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