It upsets me a bit to see that the question “can ‘real’ Christians be depressed?” is even something we need to address. Do we need a full 10-paragraph article? I was almost expecting Onion-esque satire with a one-word article: “Yes.”

Why would anyone, in this day and age, expect that faith protects us from the same sicknesses the rest of humanity is plagued with? Or do people just not know that depression is just as much a physical/chemical issue as it is a spiritual one (if not more so)? I guess I thought better of people. That’ll teach me.

While we’re on the subject of psychology and willing the future, can we talk about names?

The other day I was wondering if people tend to live up to the name they are given. Like, the fact that my name is Josh, is that going to affect the way my life plays out? Would my personality differ if I were named Gary?

I look at most of my friends and for the most part they seem to fit the names they were given. Gretchen is definitely a Gretchen. Craig is such a Craig. Reba wouldn’t be herself without her name. And when I meet someone that doesn’t match their name, other people tend to agree. Otherwise I’d say that we just connect a person’s personality to their name, no questions asked.

Speaking of Gretchen, when she first met me, she told me I looked more like an Arthur than a Josh. So that’s what she called me, and it stuck. Is there something similar about how Joshes and Arthurs live their lives that made that happen?

I read somewhere once that when a person writes their goal or dream down and repeats the idea aloud often, it’s more likely to come true. I also read somewhere once that people who date more people before getting married are more likely to get divorced. I wonder if that’s the same psychological effect at work.

So here’s a thought: what if we could convince everyone to write down “avoid divorce” or “stay married” or “live happily ever after” on a piece of paper every day? What if we constantly reminded ourselves to speak in terms of an entire lifetime together when talking to our significant other? Would our embarrassingly high divorce rate go down?

Just a thought. Pass it on.

Recently I’ve noticed that when someone tells me a story, thought or idea about him or herself, my most natural response is to tell a story, thought or idea about myself that relates somehow. Ever since I had that realization, I’ve been trying to figure out if it’s a personal problem I have with being self-centered or if that’s how most of us relate to each other.

So what’s the verdict? Am I selfish and have friends who quietly deal with that particular character flaw of mine? Or is it human nature for us to respond to another’s experiences with a personal reflection of our own?

I should start paying more attention to how other people respond to me.

This book just jumped on my “to-read” list.

Music doesn’t represent any tangible, earthly reality. It represents things of the heart, feelings which are beyond description, beyond any experience one has had. The non-representational but indescribably vivid emotional quality is such as to make one think of an immaterial or spiritual world. I dislike both of those words, because for me, the so-called immaterial and spiritual is always vested in the fleshly — in “the holy and glorious flesh,” as Dante said.
[...]
I intensely dislike any reference to supernaturalism, but I think there can be profound mystical feelings which do not have to call on fictitious agencies like angels and demons and deities. The whole natural world is bathed in wonder and beauty and mystery. The feeling of the holy, the sacred, the wonderful, the mystical, can be divorced from anything theological, and is conveyed very powerfully in music.

Oliver Sacks

Maybe Sacks’ atheistic views will help to provide some perspective on my search for reconciliation between art and faith. I don’t think any belief can be fully understood without understanding its major opposing beliefs.