Escapism

This past weekend we went up to the Adirondacks. Becca's been under some work-related stress lately, but you could see a visible transformation in her countenance as we got closer and closer to Old Forge. She was arriving at a place that was safe, happy, and full of good memories.

I started to wonder if I had a "happy place" (no, not there you perverts). I tend to have an "escapist" mentality. I find refuge in books, or sometimes in movies, tv shows, or video games. Even in living vicariously through a sports team. I long for a world filled with meaning and significance, a world very different from this one filled with bureaucracies and petty people with overinflated egos.

I like to read about adventure, the more wild and fanciful the better. I like to read about love and sacrifice, good people fighting for what is good, fighting for justice. I like to read about broken people finding redemption. I like to read about goodness winning in the end, against all odds.

But isn't that what this reality is supposed to be about? Aren't we engaged in an epic struggle, the forces of light against the forces of darkness? Are we not involved in this clash between two kingdoms, a fight for the hearts of the lost? Have I not been entrusted to share with others a love that has existed before the beginning of Time? Is there not a King, and is he not wonderful and beautiful and glorious? Is he not kind and wise and generous? Has he not sacrificed everything to rescue those in captivity? And does he not invite us to share in this Life?

But how do I engage that reality while sitting in my cubicle, staring at my computer, doing whatever it is I do for 8+ hours a day? In a world filled with such petty and superficial concerns, how do I reorient myself to recognize the adventure and significance that surrounds me?

I planned on listening to my mp3 player this morning on the bus, so I didn't have a book with me. Of course, one of my earbuds broke, so I was forced to try to listen through only one "bud". I feel that's an apt metaphor for my life, listening with one ear to half of a song, trying to discern the meaning and rhythm. I watch life pass by, occasionally catching a glimpse of a deeper reality, but mostly just confused or distracted. How do I live?