Black gold. Oil, that is. North Dakota tee.
What? We won't see any new Beverly Hillbillies, but I am forecasting a number of Phoenix Farmers.
I actually did live in western North Dakota for a summer during the last supposed oil boom, which turned out to be a bust. In the summer of 1982 when I was 14, I lived with my grandparents, worked at my Aunt and Uncle's drive-in restaurant, The Twist, and played baseball in Watford City. Stanley was one of the teams we played, so I've been there. I couldn't tell you the first detail about it though.
I'm just hoping that when it's all said and done, everybody remembers that you cannot serve God and money.
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Material Girls and Boys in the Spiritual World
Remember the Police? We Are Spirits in the Material World. They were too cool. Isabelle got me a DVD of all their videos the Christmas before last. Walking on the Moon, So Lonely, etc. They perk me right up.
But how about it? How often does anyone really recognize either of these paradoxes (Being Spirits in the Material World or being Materials in the Spiritual World)? It's so easy just going along being material in the material world.
Last night we went to Target, and I browsed the Blu-Ray selection, which I last visited before Christmas so we would have a few good flicks for our new Blu-Ray player that we got for Christmas to go along with our new HD TV. Most movies were 24.99, 29.99 or 34.99, which was OK for Christmas, but more than I wanted to pay. Then, there it was: T2, $14.99. That's Arnold. Schwarzenegger. In his prime. #73 on imdb.com's top 250. I already have The Terminator, on DVD (#188). A no-brainer, right? Less than the price of 2 tickets to the actual movies for a high-def version of one of my favorite movies of all time, which we can watch on a projector with surround sound.
$16 (with tax). So we can stay home and watch it for 2+ hours, every once in a while. Oh and so we can watch the first one for 2 hours also just prior, most likely, also.
Does anyone else have a budget? We do. That's our material contract with ourselves. But it's a bit preposterous, isn't it? How many people in the world never see $16 at one time? That just slid right into our disposable income. I don't want to think about it.
Oh, and that time we spend watching our movies, that comes from our calendar, which is another contract with ourselves. And (gulp!) it's more spiritual than material! I really don't want to think about this one.
It's so much easier being reactive than pro-active. What must we pay? Bills! What must we do? Change diapers! But wait--why am I watching TV?
But how about it? How often does anyone really recognize either of these paradoxes (Being Spirits in the Material World or being Materials in the Spiritual World)? It's so easy just going along being material in the material world.
Last night we went to Target, and I browsed the Blu-Ray selection, which I last visited before Christmas so we would have a few good flicks for our new Blu-Ray player that we got for Christmas to go along with our new HD TV. Most movies were 24.99, 29.99 or 34.99, which was OK for Christmas, but more than I wanted to pay. Then, there it was: T2, $14.99. That's Arnold. Schwarzenegger. In his prime. #73 on imdb.com's top 250. I already have The Terminator, on DVD (#188). A no-brainer, right? Less than the price of 2 tickets to the actual movies for a high-def version of one of my favorite movies of all time, which we can watch on a projector with surround sound.
$16 (with tax). So we can stay home and watch it for 2+ hours, every once in a while. Oh and so we can watch the first one for 2 hours also just prior, most likely, also.
Does anyone else have a budget? We do. That's our material contract with ourselves. But it's a bit preposterous, isn't it? How many people in the world never see $16 at one time? That just slid right into our disposable income. I don't want to think about it.
Oh, and that time we spend watching our movies, that comes from our calendar, which is another contract with ourselves. And (gulp!) it's more spiritual than material! I really don't want to think about this one.
It's so much easier being reactive than pro-active. What must we pay? Bills! What must we do? Change diapers! But wait--why am I watching TV?
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