A Call to a Conversion of Gumpism...

One of the first paintings that Vincent van Gogh created was a portrait of the home life of peasants. A bold and courageous statement, nonetheless. He captured in that moment, the heart of poverty, working class, and reality; all at the same time, encasing it in beauty and expression.

I want to be a lot like Van Gogh. Except of course, for that whole ear thing. (Women. Go figure.) Although, most of us know that my ears are pretty much just for decoration anyway, so maybe I can still aspire to be like him in more ways than one.

But what I mean is that before Van Gogh even had his start, he was striving to portray truth in an unapologetic, brash, and engaging way.

We could all learn a lot from this highly emotional, strung out drug addict. (Yes, that’s pretty much what he was. He was just really really really good at coloring and stuff.)

Truth should be unabashedly proclaimed. It should not be something to be skirted.

Yes, there are times when it must be dressed up in rather appropriate attire, such as love and tactfulness. But really, as long as you're proclaiming it, do it shamelessly.

For some of us, the proclamation of truth comes in the form of vocally expressing our ideas and thoughts to all who listen. To others, it can come in the mode of music, drawing, and maybe, just maybe, athletic endeavors.

For me, nothing rings more true than the laughter of good friends. It is when I'm surrounded by the billowy guffaws of those closest to me that I'm reminded of the pace of life that I should be taking. A pace that takes the time to reflect and enjoy the mundane.

Seriously, there's a lot that should just make us want to break it down and dance.

But aside from the joyous aspect of truth, there's the less-enjoyable portion of it. The portion that makes us wish that people would just lie to us. The side that makes us just lie to people. Or not give the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

In this world, there is so much to grasp and comprehend without cluttering it all up through negative means.

Famine. Disease. Cheating. Lying. Divorce. War. Death.

It's easy to lose a sunny outlook on life when there's such a promise of pain.

It's not difficult to forget that this wasn't how things were supposed to be. No, there was a Great Deception, and we are reaping the "benefits".

I do not blame God.

Sometimes, I do not even blame myself.

One of my favorite scenes from Forest Gump involves the protagonist running (literally) across the United States just because he "felt like running". Along the way, a man runs beside him and proposes the idea of a business deal to make merchandise with a special slogan. The businessman notices that Forest just ran right over a steaming pile of crap without even flinching, and brings it to his attention. When told, Forest replies, "Well, it happens." To which the businessman replies, "What? Shit?" In a moment of infinite wisdom and clarity, Forest answers, "Yep."

Shit happens.

And not always for a reason.

Hallmark would lose out on a lot of money if people started accepting that truth.

There isn't ALWAYS a purpose. True, there are times when God intertwines Himself with time and space and intervenes in some way. In fact, my life alone is full of examples of such moments.

But...what about the pain and death? Did God ordain that? Was that a part of the predestined existence we were all created to live?

My hope is that you are able to come to what I believe to be the proper conclusion, not because what I believe is true for me, but because I firmly believe that it is true for everyone.

Unfortunately, you may not be able to come to that conclusion. You may still be blaming God for past tragedies, and perhaps are looking for more justification to pin a present one on Him.

I've been there.

And it's the easiest thing in the world to blame it on God. It really is.

The hardest thing in the world, is to accept that these things just happen. Sometimes there was an unseen force behind it all, but more often than not, it's just a reflection of what was never intended to be.

That's not what would be called a "tough pill to swallow". It's more like trying to digest a rock.

But most importantly, I don't think we should give into fatalism. I don't think it's good to tip toe the line of shoulder shrugging a bad moment and just allowing the cookie to crumble the way it may.

We are active participants in this messed up production. In fact, you could even say that, because of the Great Deception, we are the producers, but I'll digress from such a cheesy statement.

We should not sit by when injustice prevails. We should not turn our eyes at the unsightly. We should not deafen our ears to the cries of the voiceless.

We can not run FROM the chaos, rather we must run TO it.

We must run INTO it.

We have to get not just our hands dirty, but our feet, legs, backs, foreheads, etc.

Maybe getting them dirty isn't even enough. Maybe they'll have to get bloody.

But we must be WILLING in order for it to happen. We can't wrong every right, that's not our place. But we can attempt to address it.

We can't do it alone. God has given us a task that is far greater than us as individuals, and even as a collective. It is a task that is temporal, yet carries with it the weight of eternity.

Eternity starts now, not when we die.

Jar