Friday, September 19, 2008

if it ain't broke, don't.....change it?

how many things do we do, simply because we've always done them? maybe at some point the activity or action filled some kind of need or inspired some type of response, but as time marched on....the need and / or the response, just weren't good enough reasons to continue anymore.

i used to go deer hunting with my dad when i was a kid. there were too many (as my dad used to say) "...drunk people with guns" during rifle season, so we always went for archery season. you know...bows and arrows. are we up to speed? ok!

now, before i go any further, i have to say please don't send me any animal rights, inhumane, you killed bambi, pita activists comments....ok people? i'm just telling a story here.

so, we would go up into the mountains, wearing our best camo gear, and search the mountains for deer. after the deer was shot, my job was to track the little spec's of blood until we found the deer. then we'd finish it off and take it back to camp. i learned a lot about nature and animals, life and death....good stuff for a kid to know. seriously. we always skinned the deer and would make jerky and stuff....yum, yum. have i lost anyone yet? well, the last half or our last day of the trip was always reserved for cutting wood to bring home to burn for the winter. this was the suckiest part of the trip...it involved a lot of work, and getting dirty, and stacking, and un-stacking wood. not fun. well, as years went on, it seemed as if there were less deer and as a byproduct, less time devoted to hunting deer. it seemed that our hunting trip had turned into a "wood getting" trip. but we kept on going. do you see what i'm getting at?

sometimes, we keep doing stuff, over and over....and over again. even though the initial intent has been lost or forgotten, or just plain unnecessary. maybe it's time to turn over a new leaf. maybe it's time to end something that just needs to end. be brave. make the move. the time is now. thoughts?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

what are you ending? Are you going to stop blogging?

np

Sharon said...

I have to think about this one...
I guess I don't feel like I do this. I could completely be wrong. Maybe I do and just don't know it. And maybe that's it... those who are trapped in a cycle may not know that they are, and need someone to stop them. So, in which case those who see the cycle need to "be brave" and step up and "make a move" say something.

Chelle said...

I was totally thinking along the same lines as Sharon. I don't think this is a super big issue for me... but then again maybe I just don't see it in myself. I can notice it in others and their lives, or at church, or whatever... but it's harder to see and apply it to our own lives.... to MY own life. I'll think about this one for a bit J. Thanks.

Monika said...

YOU KILLED BAMBI!!!!!

:-D Sorry, I couldn't help myself...

Sharon said...

Not Bambi Monika... just his momma.

Lauren said...

Yeah, what are you ending?

I'm not one who tends to get glued to tradition, usually when I hold too tightly to something like that its more of an over-correction, over-compensating for my inclination to go too far the other direction.

My sister is more like that and I've seen it work out in her favor with some things, and not so well with others. All things in moderation :)

Cheryl said...

I'm not sure I can identify with this one either... unless excessive blogging counts????

Natalie said...

I just had to stop by and say thanks for letting Ligia & I borrow your brand new 5 series & your ipod touch! (-;

Gena said...

Great post Jeramy. Everyone needs to look inside and find the areas that need some "spring cleaning".

Change isn't easy, but stepping outside our comfort zone can allow us to see God's glory from a whole new perspective. thanks

Anonymous said...

Is this story about hunting?

james said...

so was the hunting just a ploy to get you to gather fire wood with your dad, or was gathering the wood a good idea whille in the woods?....I have to know the motivation before I can sift through the profound nature of you reflective blog.

Anonymous said...

James brings up a good point. Its not like the trip became pointless, unless you were gathering wood you didn't use. I know families who do annual wood gathering trips, it's nice that for a time you had the added fun of hunting! And if you still had use for the wood, it didn't need to end really huh?