Reading Problems

I am at the Kilton library. It's a dangerous thing to allow me into this realm. Libraries are my Kryptonite - they paralyze me. I want to bring home every book I see.

So far in my stack I have:

• Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr (currently reading)
• Algorithms Unlocked (for Hyrum and me)
• The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin
• Cyber War by Richard A. Clarke

I also picked out The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin but I handed that one off to # since he just finished reading The Oath.

In an effort to stop myself from checking out any other books, I came over to this table to write. My reading these days is painfully slow. I find myself distracted by reflection at every other sentence. I can't help it. It's the way my brain works. For example, here is a snippet from The Autobiography of MLK:

I was surprised to learn that many people found my dual interest in the NAACP and the Council inconsistent. Many Negroes felt that integration could come only through legislation and court action - the chief emphases of the NAACP. Many white people felt that the integration could come only education - the chief emphasis of the Council on Human Relations. How could one give his allegiance to two organizations whose approaches and methods seemed so diametrically opposed?

How many sentences was that? Only two but I stalled at the spot for nearly 30 minutes. The thought captures me - the misconception that segregation would have had but a singular solution - as if its conception had been apomictical. I shared his surprise that two groups with common purpose would oppose one another like enemies. Yet, this paradox continues to weave itself through generations of humanity, nowhere more evident than in Christianity where the common goal is to bring souls to Christ.

I enjoy attending Catholic Mass with #. Some people are offended by the fact I attend different churches. I am Mormon after all. "How could I give allegiance to two organizations whose approaches and methods seem so diametrically opposed?" It is as if people believe that simply attending a church somehow makes you one thing or another.

Perhaps it has to do with where I place my allegiance. My allegiance is to Christ. I view church attendance as the tool God uses to bring us closer to him. It's where I go to remember Him, to learn of Him, to draw closer to Him.

I find it interesting that our natural reaction is to focus upon differences when there are far more similarities. The language used and the rituals performed during a service may be different but the purpose and intent the same. I find it exquisitely beautiful and faith promoting to see humanity, in all its variety, still reaching for God. I have discovered that wherever there are people of faith, you will find God's footprints in the sand.

... I never found time to finish this post ...