just jonathan

Blogging An Undivided Life

I am entering an experimental phase. One filled with thought and execution, trial and error, fun and games, arsenic and old lace…

Okay, maybe not that last one.

But, I have reached a point where this blog, as it is, may or may not suit my wants/needs. I like giving my perspective on things, as you can clearly see. I like the way having this blog and reading others often causes me to think differently. Yet, as stated in the Headline, this blog is about my life in Christ. My whole life. Undivided.

Obviously, a great deal of this life includes reflections on my faith, whether I write them here or not. And it will continue to be so. Yet, there are other aspects of this life that make up a great deal of who I am. Music. Technology. Literature. YouTube.

So, as fellow Orthoblogger Seth Earl ponders in his post “Complete Randomness“, I have reached a point where I might have to start another blog. If I went this route, it would be dedicated to just things I enjoy talking about, or things that strike my fancy that aren’t particularly spiritual in nature. Not that I want to compartmentalize my life, as that is not a good practice at all. But, I don’t like the idea of cluttering this mostly spiritually-reflective blog (for want of a better term) with random things about MacBooks, homemade screenprint t-shirts, or the missing pages of Lewis Carroll’s diary.

This wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that several of you read in order to get my perspective on things (as you’ve told me) as an Orthodox college student. So, as a solution, I may start a new blog and just post links to new entries on that blog here. That way you can tell from the RSS feed if it’s worth your time. Or, I might simply keep everything on here and have indications in the title if it’s out-of-the-ordinary. I don’t know. Personally, I think it’s better to centralize everything, both in writing and in life. If one says he is presenting himself, he should do it wholly. Otherwise, he ends up displaying only a fraction of the man he truly is.

Whatever the case, please bear with me. This blog will always be a place where I will wonder aloud at things I come across while on the path to salvation. It just might begin to include some things outside that scope.

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Father’s Day

The inspiration for this blog came, primarily, from Father Stephen Freeman. He demonstrated to me that it was perfectly acceptable to blog about theology and Orthodoxy and icons and Bob Dylan. He’s also my parish priest, and a wonderful man. I’m blessed to call him a friend.

However, this blog would not exist if not for my love for writing. The credit for that is primarily due to my own father, Jerry Bush. A former English teacher of all grades from sixth to college-level, and a life-long educator, he taught me early on that the English language is beautiful when used properly (sometimes even when used improperly) and that writing can be a very satisfying medium for expressing oneself. Thanks to him, I love writing of all types, though some more than others. I love putting thoughts into words, whether poetry or prose (though I can’t write lyrics, which always frustrates me). I also love the quickly-disappearing art of writing letters by hand. (In fact, if anyone ever wants one, just ask me. Seriously! I even have a Speedball pen, a bottle of black ink, and blank stationery, and they’re just waiting to be put to use. )

Beyond teaching me about writing, he teaches me about life. He’s also my go-to guy when I have a question about literature or education. I can’t think of anyone else I could randomly call up to have a very detailed conversation about Harvard reviewing their core requirements to see if they should be relaxed in the name of relevancy. (“If they do that, they cease to be a true liberal arts college; they cease to be Harvard,” he concluded.) And I’m very blessed to realize these things now when I’m 25. Mine won’t be a story of coming to understand somewhere around age 48 that my dad was cool and intelligent and would talk about anything that was on my mind, no matter how trivial. Which is good, because he’ll be 80 and senile, instead of just 57 and oddly silly. (Now you know where I get it. )

So, as Father’s Day winds down, I just want to give credit where credit is due. He was my first teacher, he’s half the reason I exist, and he continues to contribute to my mental instability like no one else.

Thanks, dad. I love you. May God grant you many blessed years.