Inspiring Jake Allred: Calvin and Hobbes

     I usually introduce my inspiring media by talking about what it is, and then usually go into detail about the rich symbolism, meanings, and interpretations that make it something special. Usually the messages are deep and almost abstract, conveying human emotions in their most raw form. But today, no such deepness is required. Today, we keep things simple and beautiful, allowing a break from the rather deep and extreme parts of my consience.

     Introduced decades ago, Bill Watterson started a small comic about a boy and his stuffed tiger. It became a gigantic success, and is still used and featured in many comic papers today. It is affectionate, humerous and just human. Everything about Calvin and Hobbes is just awesome, and though it does have some rich symbolism, I will let you find that out.
     When I need to be cheered up or to have a great laughing session, I break this stuff out, and it has never failed me. Calvin, in all of his hilarious six year old glory, runs around with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, going through life with a surprisingly rich (though narrow at times) experience, questioning things we normally take for granted, or taking things for granted that we now question. It is simply a way to think and to laugh, a way to be deep if you so desire, or to just lay low and soak up the hilarity of his antics.
     I do not want to continue writing about this, simply because there is nothing I can say that would help you understand it more, just go and read it. I would post some, but that is illegal, so I have some of my favorite images, and then I ask you to go to Barnes and Noble and start reading some soon.

Inspiring Jake Allred: Doctor Who

     Ahhh, yes, one look at a title and you might as well label me a hipster nerd. It is totally okay though, I am a total nerd and I have embraced it many LOTR midnight releases ago. Back to the Doctor, I actually do not regularly watch Doctor Who, and believe it or not, I am only referring to a couple different episodes on my list.
     In fact, that is the way with most Television series, is that while the series is well done usually, it is only an episode or two that really stand out to me. Usually these are referred to as "standalone episodes" or episodes that do not require very much knowledge of the plot in order to comprehend the material. For me, two episodes come to mind when I think of Doctor Who and what has really helped me be able to understand life an emotions better. The first one is very popular, for a good reason, it has a great combination of intense, frightening crazy stuff combined with a fun relationship and some really good character development. It is Blink. If that title does not ring a bell, Weeping Angels should.
     Why is that episode so popular, and why do I like it so much? For multiple reasons, some of them simply because it is told very well, while others are much deeper, a connection with myself and our universe. No I do not believe that the Angels are real, but I do believe that we have very real foes who want to harm us and make us unhappy, however they can. And I also believe that they have weaknesses and can in fact be beaten if the right power and authority is used.
     I will not say what happens or why I love this episode so much, you should look it up, it is on Netflix, and I think Hulu, so really no excuse not to. I love it, it is absolutely incredible, so please do. It is titled "Blink" and is on season three? I don't know that, but when I learn I will post it in the comments section.
     The other one is "The girl in the fireplace." It is a little less known, it still has David Tenant as the Doctor (excuse any hashing of celebrities names) but it is a very different story than Blink. I would highly reccommend watching it if possible, it too is with Netflix and Hulu, maybe even youtube. Either way, The girl in the fireplace deals with some very interesting decisions and morals. It has a very creepy foe as well, though not nearly as insane as the Angels.

Restoration.

RESTORATION.

     The act of bringing something back to its original state. To restore is to repair, to improve the current state of an object, situation, or even a person. Restorations are only possible when the thing has fallen from its original state. My blog, for example, is a rather messy muddled journal of my thoughts and progressions/recessions from life. I have been unable to keep it up, however, due to my obligations as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There are a few changes to that obligation, however, and now I am again at the opportunity to be able to restore my blog, and to continually increase upon its potential effectiveness and possibilities. Restoration, however, goes far, far deeper. 

     Lets start with an old car. It is rusted and decayed and has no real purpose anymore, except to get in the way and be an eye sore to the owner. It cannot run effectively (if at all) and is not attractive. It is in a sad state, to say the least. If we were to compare ourselves to this awful rusted automobile at first we would double take. What? Me? I am no rusted car, I have a purpose and I am not an eyesore to my maker! I am trying my hardest, I am working hard and have friends. I am loved, and I love. Sure, I may have my follies, but who doesn't? 

     I think though, that as we start to look a little deeper into the situation we will see the rusted out parts, the functions that have been neglected and abused. It might be rather scary at first, we may wonder how on earth this happened. We may think that "oh, it is such a small thing, drastic action needn't be taken on such a small part of me. To change myself is to not accept me for being me."
     Looking back to car, carefully study its sorry condition. As you do so, the question may come to you about how did this happen? It couldn't possibly have just woken up one day like that, could it? Science says not. Logic says not. God says not.
     No, the automobile did not in fact rust out and die in one day. The owner may have come to his senses and realized in one day of its obviously worn out and ineffective state, but by no means did the car magically corrode and rot and rust. No, it started by a simple and small oversight on the details of the car, such as a minor scratch on the trunk that started to peel and rust a little bit, or the innards of it slowly start to slow down, fade, and break. The small things. It may even started as small and simple (not to mention easy and cheap) neglect to fix the windshield wipers. Think, a whole car basically abandoned simply because the wipers where worn out and where not thought of to be fixed. You may think to  yourself, "Nonsense, I would never abandon myself for rust simply by needing regular maintenance. The comparison is absurd and offensive."

'Cause you told me that I would find a hole

within the fragile substance of my soul

and I have filled this hole with things unreal

all the while my character it steals

     The comparison may indeed be a little absurd, any comparison of something as beautiful and infinitely possible as us has to be a little ridiculous. Nonetheless it is important to see the moral of the story. Let me explain through example:
     Larry likes to play basketball. Simple enough right? He wants really badly to succeed at this sport, and though he may not aspire to become a professional he at least wants to be recognized as a great basketball player. As he starts to play more and become a recognized player, he gets confident. Of course this leads to him boasting of his abilities, as well as stopping to regularly recognize his strengths and his weaknesses. He starts to lose, naturally, which wakes him up from his little blind spell. Being forced to see his faults, Larry gets a little angry and stubborn, saying his obviously relaxed and lazy shooting form is just 'his style' and that he is just down on his luck. That is like trying to paint over the rust of the car, the problem is now 'justified' and out of sight, but it certainly is not gone, no, it is still very much alive and destructive, just ignorantly so now. To excuse yourself of any such acts is to dismiss that you are a human being, it is a blatant lie and a thief to your character.
     Larry will never retain his recognition of being a great basketball player because he refuses to alter the corrosion of his great style. If he continues his justification, it will eat up his talent until it is nothing but a hollow shell of the useful machine it once was. The car is no different, justifying even the smallest crack or fade in the paint is justifying it becoming a useless piece of garbage.
To apply this to ourselves is to condemn us. Our cracks and fades are innumerable. Our faults are infinite. Damnation is complete. Such a depressing thought, such a negative and a dark way to see one another, and yet it must be. We are fallen, and because of this we cannot be infinite, we cannot be immortal, we cannot be that person we so desperately long to be. We need... We need a restoration.

Darkness is a harsh term, don't you think?

And yet it dominates the things I see

     Yes, a restoration. We must accept that our car is rusted out. It may still be drivable, and indeed may arguably still be in relatively good condition, but the fact must be accepted that there are things wrong with our car. Once we see that we are imperfect, once we note the fact that rust does exist, we immediately see that we need a change. It may be small (usually) or it may be big changes (sometimes, though not as often as we may think) we need to see that we must change. No matter how unique, 'beautiful' or pleasing to the eye that bit of rust or queerness of function may be, it cannot be attached to our character. We are children of God first and foremost, more so than we are a good soccer player or a terrible singer, more so than we are a beautiful artist or a an awful speaker, more so than we are a depressed person or a happy person. To take away our faults from our character is to see them for what they are: something less than us. Why on earth would we keep a corroded battery in a remote control saying "well it makes it special! It is a part of the remote!" NO! It is not there to help accomplish its purpose at all, but instead to simply destroy it any and all usefulness. How is a negative attribute in us any different?

Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine

Together we will see what we will find

     Get the facts straight: we are imperfect. We need help. We need something or someone higher than us to help us. but who?

Don't leave me alone at this time

for I am afraid of what I might discover inside

     We need help.

Restoration.

Absence makes the heart grow stronger...

Sorry, it has certainly been too long.
And after this, it will be far longer. In my usual long winded dramatic fashion I want to thank all of you. This has been a part of my healing, and now I need to leave, to be healed and heal in ways that I cannot imagine, ways that the Lord my God only have known and prepared for me. I will not continue this blog after this post, for a couple reasons, one of which I will not be in a position to explain.
   
     My mission to God requires me to sacrifice my worldly connections in ways that are completely impractical and silly to the world, but are just what I need in order to keep the understanding that this is not real life, this is merely a test, a probationary life to learn what we are made out of and how we will be able to cope with doubt and fear. This life is simply a test. Nothing matters in this life except what we do about it. Our actions are the sole reason we are here. Therefore, to "give up" the world by not having being able to phone or see my loved ones, not being able to listen to every kind of music and not being able to see any kind of television or movies, they are necessary sacrifices.
     I will not have access to internet so I will not be able to keep up this blog, sadly it will go on inactive for a good couple years.
     A couple years is no short period of time for a nineteen year old. I honestly cannot comprehend giving up so much for so long.

     Until I saw people come back changed.

     That interested me. I saw everyone come back totally new and changed, knowing who God is and what He wants His children to know: that they are loved. For these two years all I am doing is spreading good news, that is what "Gospel" is translated to from Greek. Happiness. Focusing so much on helping people become happy is an incredible thing, something that undoubtedly has changed others before me, so how can it not happen to me if I do not put in the same effort and work that they do?
     It works, just as gravity works. God works in patterns that we sometimes cannot have the consistency to behold, nor the time. Happiness is no different. There are eternal truths about it that we may never understand completely as mortals but one day will make perfect sense to us just as gravity does. The only problem is if we wait till then to accept them it will be too late.

     A leap of faith is required.

    Just as I am taking a leap of faith by sacrificing these next two years, we must trust our unseen but nonetheless existing Heavenly Father. He will help us, though not always how we think we need to be helped, or when we think we do. There are many cases and examples that we cannot understand, but fear not, He does, and He knows us enough that He creates situations to make us stronger. We cannot rely on anyone or anything else except for HIM, because everything and everyone is bound by the same mortal limits shared by you and I.
     Nothing lasts, lest Father lets it. Not even us, as we have seen for untold amounts of time. Death is the perfect plague to our imperfect selves, sealing our fate as mortals and weaklings, unable to save ourselves, let alone another soul.
     But Father can, and even has. He sent His firstborn son, Jesus Christ, to die and conquer death that we might be able to as well. How does this work? Well, honestly I do not know the details, except that it is a divine law that we may or may not have to proper time-frame/consistency to be able to comprehend. I hope to come to a better knowledge of it soon, but that will only be through sincere prayer (faith in word) and then to live like Christ and know Him and His works through the scriptures (faith in action).
     I know these things are true. I know that my God has a plan for me, and that with His help and guidance, I can come to know what this plan is (to a certain degree) and then to get the necessary strength to then go and DO IT.
     Friends, family, brothers, sisters, neighbors, this is real. I am truly grateful that I know this and I ask everyday that I can help others know it too. This is my goodbye to you and your incredible selves. Please stay strong and have faith. I pray everyday that you might be able to come to an understanding, or a better understanding of the good news of our Father and Jesus Christ. I hope that you all will be able to return to Him with honor and clean hands, clean hands that have worked hard in His vineyard. I love you all, and if you ever need help or someone to talk to, "take your troubles to the chapel" as Elvis said.

    ...Goodbye, and may God be with you till we meet again!