Staying in your lane

I hear the phrase “stay in your lane” a lot lately. Usually, it is thrown insultingly at celebrities who speak out on political issues, or some such thing. It’s often used as a belittling admonishment to stamp someone down and put them in their “place” so to speak.

Boundaries

I hear a lot of talk about boundaries these days–especially on-line. It has become one of the latest buzzwords, but it is an important subject. One of my favourite Reddit sub-reddits is called AITA (Am I The Asshole?). It is filled with stories of people having their boundaries violated, as well as some coming on to seek redemption when they violate someone else’s boundaries. A story in the summer of 2023 that floated across the flotsam of my Facebook newsfeed, involving actor Jonah Hill and his former girlfriend Sarah Brady, a professional surfer and model, caught my attention and brought to the fore for me the whole idea of how some people weaponize legitimate psychological terms, in this case, boundaries.

Mortals and Immortals

This is #24 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Mortals and Immortals”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“.

Probation After Death

This is #23 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Probation After Death”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“.

Just because it is old…

Recently, I was going through the last few bins from our recent move, deciding what to keep, what to toss, and how to store what I am keeping. One of the bins I went through is a catch-all bin where I packed unsorted stuff that my wife and I knew was important to keep, even though it was mostly stuff we would almost never look at: folders with important papers, documents from my parents’ estates, tax records, educational certificates–stuff like that. It is the kind of stuff you need to keep, but you pretty much never look at it.

The bad stuff is actually OK…

Image credit: Elise Gravel (http://elisegravel.com/en/)

I came across this image on-line the other day, and it speaks loudly to me as a former Christian Scientist. I think I’ve written on this subject deep in the early days of this blog, so this may be a bit of a re-visiting some ground I’ve covered, but now I want to do a bit of a deeper dive. This meme illustrates an issue that cuts deep for most of us former Christian Scientists, and it never really goes away. It is what I call the “bad” emotions and feelings.

Something to see!

There’s a new video series, featuring a number of former Christian Scientists sharing their experiences. Check out Leaving Christian Science Podcast.

Antibiotics are wonderful!

According to the historical record, modern antibiotics, as we have come to know them, were discovered accidentally in 1928 by Dr. Alexander Fleming. He had returned from a holiday to find mould growing in a petri-dish containing staphylococcus bacteria in his laboratory. He observed that the mould was able to defend itself from the bacteria. He discovered that the mould produced a chemical in self-defence that could kill the bacteria. He named the substance penicillin. However, practical ways to produce antibiotics on an industrial scale did not come about until 1946, after many years of research.

God the Preserver of Man

This is #19 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “God the Preserver of Man”. Look for other posts in the category Lesson Sermon Subjects.

Decluttering

As I write this post, I am in the middle of relocating from a community I’ve lived and worked in for over thirteen years to a new community in a completely different part of the province I call home. It’s a bit funny to realize that, as I write this, I’m in the midst of decluttering and packing for our move, but once this post goes up in about three months, we’ll be settled into our new home, and I will hopefully be in a new job. I’m moving for a few main reasons: one, my partner transferred to a new job; we are moving to a smaller more laid-back community we have wanted to live in for several years now; and we have family in the area that we want to be closer to. My partner has been there for over two months, now I will be following her there. My last day at my previous job, that I had for nearly twelve years, was yesterday. Big changes are afoot.