Be longing ... and Martian Child

Weird.

It's an odd word, isn't it?

To be honest, I think we're all just a little bit weird ... in some way or another. Maybe maturity comes when you realize your own quirkiness or try to embrace what makes you uniquely you..

But the funny thing is, I think most of us don't want to think of ourselves as weird. We just want to fit in--to belong.

Tonight I saw the movie Martian Child. I had wanted to see the new Steve Carrell flick instead (I love "The Office"!) ... but apparently, so did everybody else. So I ended up spending the evening with John Cusack and a quirky kid who thinks he's actually from Mars. It was kind of a sappy movie, but it made me think about the oddity of all of us and the basic human desire to love and belong.

(Yes, one of my odd quirks is my analytical mind, so I'll let you in on a little bit of what I thought about as I watched this movie...without giving the plot away, of course!)

In my life (so far), I've had the opportunity to actually get to know people leading all kinds of different lives ... multi-millionaires, people from trailor parks, models, beauty queens, geniuses, jocks, punks ... you name it. And no matter where they come from, what they have or what they look like, they are all wanting to belong.

On the outside, some of these people can look like they've got it all together--but when taken to extremes, their desire to belong can drive them to buy things they can't afford, take up hobbies they don't actually enjoy or spend time with certain people simply because it can help them maneuver their way toward power or belonging to a specific social circle.

And then there are those on the other side of the spectrum who have embraced their oddity so much so that it has become a self-protective mechanism for keeping others away. Their "secret" is that they actually care what people think--they actually do want to belong. Like the Martian Child in the movie, they just might have a hard time trusting people to actually love and accept them.

I can't help but wonder what God thinks as He looks at all of us people trying to belong. I bet He would tell us something like, "Be longing ... for Me, for what I've called you to be, for community with others. That's what I created you for."

Hmm ... so maybe I'll make that my mantra for the week--to be longing, not just trying to belong.

Keeping it Personal

Connecting in Seattle: Where Two Definitions Collide...
Picture the scene: It's a gorgeous sunny day in Seattle. I'm in a cute funky neighborhood with three of my friends chilling at a cool independent coffee shop (note: I still love Starbucks!).

It had a great vibe--dark wood, open spaces, comfy chairs, outdoor tables (which we picked to take advantage of April sun). It was overflowing with other twentysomething people like us.

But what were they doing? Typing away on laptops (I counted at least 15). Listening to iPods. Reading.

There's nothing wrong with any of the activities I mentioned above...it just seemed totally ironic in a place obviously designed for connection and community for people to be...connected by wires and Internet technology and not to each other. Especially on a sunny Sunday April afternoon.

The weird part? My friends and I were talking and laughing and having a great time. But I almost felt the glares of people who probably thought we were loud and obnoxious. It seemed ironic because we were the ones doing what the whole place was designed for--connecting with each other, having fun and relaxing.

In Praise of the Personal...
I have no problem with technology. But for all it's worth, online "community" seems like a shallow substitute for the real deal. I love that I can connect with my friends around the world online...but they are mostly the friends I've also connected with in person.

It seems sad that for all of the "connections" people in society (or chic indie coffee shops) have, many are missing out on the personal connections of really knowing people, caring for them and growing together in friendship and life.

I guess I hope I can keep up both kinds of connecting--I love that technology keeps me connected to friends thousands of miles away. But there's something powerful about also having real relationships with people who really know me in my day-to-day world. And even though you're reading this online, I bet you probably feel the same...