Saturday, April 5, 2008

Life is Ironic...

I wrote this a while back (January 6th) before I made a blog, but I'm going to post it now. It's not really edited, just my thought pounded out into a word document.

What is it about life? It's so...ironic. Whoever came up with that word should have been awarded, or something. Because that one six-letter word sums up this entire existence. It's just the way it is. Call it whatever you believe in - karma, coincidence, luck, chance - there's something going on here. Why is it that we find ourselves so often in situations that you can't think about too hard or you will get a headache because it's just not something you can figure out? I've felt that way so many times. The most common situation is when I really don't want to do something, and then I do it because I have to and I have a great time. Then I think, What if I hadn't done that? I would have missed out. But I did do it and thinking about what if's doesn't change it.
Situations like that aren't the only examples of irony in life. There are many more instances that are probably humanly impossible to explain. Some of these situations are almost (often actually, and sometimes extremely) frustrating. Recently, my friend and I snuck away from a party to her house around the corner. We stayed longer than we should have, and when we were leaving, we got "intercepted" by some friends. We stopped in at their house for a minute because they wanted to show us something. Suddenly, we had a perfect excuse for not coming back as soon as we should have, if we were to twist the truth the slightest bit. We went back to my house, confident in our "alibi." Of course, no one asked why it took us so long to get back.
In books, irony is one of the biggest magnets. We - well, I'll speak for myself - I like stories that are unpredictable, or even predicable as long as there are some unexpected events along the way. I read a book the other day in which an unpopular "urban rebel" was just trying to get through life without causing much of a scene - until one day she "accidentially" saved the life of the president and became a national hero, not to mention the teen ambassador to the UN (whatever that means). In about 2 hours, this girl's existence went from virtually unknown to celebrated nationwide. And the biggest goal she had in life was to pass German class. If this isn't irony, please tell me what is.
I'm not sure how much sense this all makes, so I'll stop now and leave you to chew on my nonsense. But I have to say this before I end: given my beliefs, I have come to the conclusion that God has a sense of humor. And I for one am glad of it.

Isn't it funny?

It's so easy to do something when we don't have to. I can only give examples from my own life but I'm sure other people have experienced this, just not in the same ways I have. For instance, I enjoy writing stories and even essays for fun, but when I have to write a paper for school, I procrastinate and think about it with dread. When I have to write something, I'm hard pressed for ideas. But when I'm just writing in my free time, I have too many!!
No matter what the circumstance, I really never like the thought of cleaning my room. I do have some willpower though and I can make myself do it when I need to. When I don't have to do it, it can almost be fun sometimes. If I'm forced to do it, it's just another chore I despise.
Why is this? Maybe it's just me, but is my human nature so twisted and willful that I often dread tasks assigned to me that I would love if I was choosing to do them on my own? Is it rebelliousness or just lazy unwillingness? I don't know. What I do know is that I'm a flawed, sinful being and I need the help of an Almighty God.