Notes from the Underground

Lately many of my posts are about a TV show from Showtime (Dexter) or movie reviews and various odd pop culture references. Okay I don't have any odd pop culture references because I don't know many and I just wanted to write about in the last sentence.

I enjoy reading and usually read mindless sci-fi, true crime, self help books, books about finance & spirituality. Every now and then I pick up a classic and I just finished Notes from the Underground. Notes from the Underground is a story about shame and how people can live a life marred in shame & narcissism so much that it can ruin one's reputation, debilitate them so they cannot reach their goals, and cause one to push other people away. It is to see where someone else has shame & how they are letting it destroy their life but it is often difficult to see it in one's own life.

The same week I was finishing up Notes from the Underground the message at the church I attend was also about shame and how shame can keep us from fully living. I began to wonder where in my life do I have shame? Is it really shame or is it guilt? Is there something to be ashamed of or is it something that I have been holding on to and letting myself feel trapped in what looks like shame when there is none. The more I look at my life I see the later.

I think most people are like the character from the story Notes from the Underground. The only difference is our stories are supposed to be different. I believe God can take any area of a person's life where there is crippling shame and turn that in to strength and a powerful identity. From those events that could lead to shame which would cripple someone's ability to live there can be something different. There can be a sense of purpose found in one's identity and that purpose will lead one to take risks, live, and pursue life with passion.

The problem with shame in our society is it is difficult to find something to contrast it against. The obvious opposing idea would be honor or nobility. We don't see many examples of honor or nobility in our culture. As I ponder my life and how I live I wonder how can my life be an example of something honorable or something noble?.