Bright and Shiny

Given the predominant tone of what I have written so far, you might think the name 'Bright and Shiny' isn't actually that appropriate for me. As it happens, I AM bright and shiny; my outlook on things generally tends towards being optimistic, although there are some exceptions. Part of the reason for this is my person belief in Christianity, which specifically emphasizes the role of hope.

Hope is important to me: hope that God will look after me; hope that things will work out right. Hope is, in fact, all we really have to go on. In deciding whether or not something that happens to us is to our benefit, we cannot, for example, try to vary all the different factors that led to things happening the way they did in order to find whatever 'route' optimises happiness (however we choose to define that... even assuming we use happiness as a measure of how successful some situation is). Some things that lead to short-term happiness also lead to long-term unhappiness. Other things that cause short-term pain and sadness can lead to long-term fulfilment, and so on. We've just got to hope that the path we're on is the best. We're not really much in control of it.

There have, of course, been quite a few films on this kind of theme. Think Magnolia, or Run Lola Run. Small changes in a situation can lead to a large difference in the outcome. In this sense, even mundane things can be viewed as miraculous as hugely unlikely 'coincidences', since they all go to shape what is currently happening.

Not that I'm trying to use this as an argument for our fates being predetermined, or our destinies shaped in every way by a Devine hand. I believe there is some mixture of 'God's will being done' and our own freedom to make decisions taking place; similar to how parents may choose what to do with their toddler during a day - where to go, when to eat etc - but allows them the freedom to run around in a field, or make a mess of themselves while eating ice-cream.

Getting back to writing, however, the trouble is that lots of my writing is inspired by the darker and twistier side of things. Sadness. Unfairness. Loneliness. 'Death'. These things have often been my stimulus to write recently. Actually however, even in these postings I think there is often an element of hope - athough I leave it to you to figure out where :)

In any case, don't give up on me. Happiness counts as well. And hopefully my writing will reflect that, even if such posts aren't hugely regular...