On Monday January 14th, 2008 I took the following oath:
I, Alexander Joseph Wilson, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of Idaho against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of Idaho and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God.
Training for me will begin on the 29th of April, 2008; and will not end until sometime in February of 2010. I hope that I get a chance to see everyone before then.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Hope
To what is hope?
Breathe in... Breathe out.
Where did we learn to do that? We breathe because we have found that not doing so leads to discomfort, and ultimately, to death. Breathing slows our approach to the end. With breath we find a renewal in the only thing we will ever truly know this side of heaven; life.
All we know is life. Our curious human nature wonders about death, because it is neither something we can control, or completely understand. All we can objectively know about death, is that it is the end of life; but only life as we've ever understood it. Breathing then, is a form of hope. The idea of death is a reminder, not only of life, but hope. And what is the answer? For what do we hope?
Since we are all called to a common end (death), it seems to follow that the human experience is one that is shared. Life, and all that entails, is the one thing that we all share. And essentially, death is something that we can all hope for. Because Life is a means to an end. It is our common and universal opportunity to decide for ourselves what we are living for. But since we can't objectively know that there is an afterlife, since those that have experienced death are no longer living how do we direct our existence?
We hope.
Hope is not blind, as it appears. It is driven by the very reality of our existence. Is it optimism, that draws the next breath? Or is it a reality that before we can breathe, we are sustained; that the moment we lack that sustainment we do not *learn* to breathe... we simply breathe. Breathing in the hope of the next breath, until the day that the heart stops. Before we could breathe, did we doubt that someday we would breathe? Now that we live, we have a higher state of mind that compels us to wonder what's next.
Death is not something we can stop... just like being born is not something that we do for ourselves.
Breathe in... Breathe out.
Where did we learn to do that? We breathe because we have found that not doing so leads to discomfort, and ultimately, to death. Breathing slows our approach to the end. With breath we find a renewal in the only thing we will ever truly know this side of heaven; life.
All we know is life. Our curious human nature wonders about death, because it is neither something we can control, or completely understand. All we can objectively know about death, is that it is the end of life; but only life as we've ever understood it. Breathing then, is a form of hope. The idea of death is a reminder, not only of life, but hope. And what is the answer? For what do we hope?
Since we are all called to a common end (death), it seems to follow that the human experience is one that is shared. Life, and all that entails, is the one thing that we all share. And essentially, death is something that we can all hope for. Because Life is a means to an end. It is our common and universal opportunity to decide for ourselves what we are living for. But since we can't objectively know that there is an afterlife, since those that have experienced death are no longer living how do we direct our existence?
We hope.
Hope is not blind, as it appears. It is driven by the very reality of our existence. Is it optimism, that draws the next breath? Or is it a reality that before we can breathe, we are sustained; that the moment we lack that sustainment we do not *learn* to breathe... we simply breathe. Breathing in the hope of the next breath, until the day that the heart stops. Before we could breathe, did we doubt that someday we would breathe? Now that we live, we have a higher state of mind that compels us to wonder what's next.
Death is not something we can stop... just like being born is not something that we do for ourselves.
If One Thing is Certain...
...It's that nothing is certain but life and death.
For instance, when I said that I was going to post another update soon, and it didn't happen. Go figure:) But I appreciate the fact that people might still read this blog despite it's tendency towards complacency.
And now, for the big comeback! I have some big news that might be shocking to a lot of you. On January 7th(two days before school started), I came to the decision that I was not going to follow through with the spring 08 semester of school. Instead, I will be leaving as early as Friday the 18th of January to go to Missouri for almost 20 straight weeks of training for the Army National Guard. The 20ish weeks is made up of about 11ish weeks of Basic Training, and 8ish weeks of AIT (Advanced Individual Training) in which I will earn the title of Construction Engineer.
What does this mean to me? Well, my motivations are somewhat complex, and not very easily understood. The simplest answer that I can give people is that I need the financial stability, but really, there's more to it than that. It's just not something that I can post about easily on a public domain. In the meantime, just know that I didn't come to this decision easily; nor is it easy for me to follow through with it. But I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel like it was the right thing for me to be doing.
What does this mean to you? It means that from the time I leave, you will definitely *not* see me for about 5 months. For some of you, that's how it would be anyway. Especially if you've never met me in the first place. I'm not entirely sure what kind of communications we are going to be allowed during training. But if possible I will be updating this blog as I'm able. And you can always email me, I just don't know if I'll be able to get back to you.
All this being said, I don't actually swear in until tomorrow (Jan 11), so in the name of uncertainty, things might still change. I will post again when that's done.
For instance, when I said that I was going to post another update soon, and it didn't happen. Go figure:) But I appreciate the fact that people might still read this blog despite it's tendency towards complacency.
And now, for the big comeback! I have some big news that might be shocking to a lot of you. On January 7th(two days before school started), I came to the decision that I was not going to follow through with the spring 08 semester of school. Instead, I will be leaving as early as Friday the 18th of January to go to Missouri for almost 20 straight weeks of training for the Army National Guard. The 20ish weeks is made up of about 11ish weeks of Basic Training, and 8ish weeks of AIT (Advanced Individual Training) in which I will earn the title of Construction Engineer.
What does this mean to me? Well, my motivations are somewhat complex, and not very easily understood. The simplest answer that I can give people is that I need the financial stability, but really, there's more to it than that. It's just not something that I can post about easily on a public domain. In the meantime, just know that I didn't come to this decision easily; nor is it easy for me to follow through with it. But I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel like it was the right thing for me to be doing.
What does this mean to you? It means that from the time I leave, you will definitely *not* see me for about 5 months. For some of you, that's how it would be anyway. Especially if you've never met me in the first place. I'm not entirely sure what kind of communications we are going to be allowed during training. But if possible I will be updating this blog as I'm able. And you can always email me, I just don't know if I'll be able to get back to you.
All this being said, I don't actually swear in until tomorrow (Jan 11), so in the name of uncertainty, things might still change. I will post again when that's done.
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