My Own Private Challenge

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster.com and NYT on the Web)


As the new year approaches, people generally begin to think about ways they can improve themselves. For some, it's weight loss. For others, it's reconnecting with their talents or ambitions. For me, it's developing my sense of the world. I've never been able to sustain a ritual like diary writing or dieting on a truly daily basis, and I'm imagining that the same will be true when I tell you that I'd like to continue this blog as a daily account of my progress in learning about my world.

This challenge will include learning more about world affairs, learning about cultures, learning about the science that governs the world. It will also be about learning about religion, learning how to be a good friend, learning to contribute.

My first step happened just this morning. Just past midnight. I had returned home from a church meeting and spent a few minutes talking on the phone with a friend. Then I directed my attention to my looming curiosity over the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Usually, upon hearing of an event like this, I would read an article or two and leave it at that, without really understanding the depth of the politics and warfare the events could portend.

I'm no scholar yet, but as I read the latest article describing the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan's most probable next tactical moves, I did something I've never done before. I googled a map of the region and looked through it as I read the article. My goodness! You cannot believe how just that simple act opened up doors of understanding for me. It's something they teach you to do in elementary school, but how many people really apply that to their daily lives? Don't know a word? Look it up. Don't know where a country is? Find it on a map. I now know that Pakistan is bordered by Iran and India, and Iraq is just one country to the West. And the coast! I never realized how vulnerable thses countries were (and powerful) because of their geographic positions.

The meeting of my challenge has no prescribed regimine. Whatever I choose to explore in the world and however I choose to explore it is entirely up to me. We'll see where the Lord takes me from here.

ewe