Time to live up to the random part of this blog.

I wonder about people. Not how they’re doing, but why they’re doing it. I hear about kids I know asking why they get disciplined when they do something wrong. They often complain about the punishment because it isn’t any fun.

I have heard of people testing the spark on their lawn mowers by holding the spark plug wire and cranking the engine.

I have noticed kids getting to be “older” than I am. I’m almost 30, and held down quite well by gravity, but I can generally stand up and walk up and down stairs with silent joints. Teenagers I know pop and crack at will, seemingly. They have more joint and muscle pain in a month than I suffer the whole year.

I know I have my faults, I know I have my problems. But when I compare what I’ve gone through, and what people go through now, I wonder how much of it is brought on by their actions (or my actions when I look at myself). How much of the trouble we face is self-inflicted? Why are we so quick to blame someone else when we did it? I know the short answer given most often is that it’s human nature, that’s how we are. That may work fine for when I’m talking out loud, but when I’m wondering, I want more details.

Let’s run with the body pain for a bit. Nearly all of my pain is caused by my doing something I shouldn’t have, or not doing something I should have. Carrying a 200 lbs load because I got it up on my shoulder is not smart. I will hurt later. I will pay for trying to hike back in our field on a whim without preparing. My twisted ankle will be sore for a while if I don’t look where I’m going and step in a hole. The thing is , I cannot get upset when I did it to myself.

I’ve noticed that we will try to pass the blame to others, and even God, instead of accepting it ourselves. Sometimes worse, we won’t even do anything to resolve or prevent the problem. Back to the “old” teenagers. Just like anyone, lack of movement will lead to that. I experience the same pops and cracks if I remain sedentary too long.

I know this didn’t answer any questions, or fix any world problems, it’s just been bouncing around in my head for a while.