I hold a splendid job in the university dish room, which I would like to point out that it is not as bad as it is made out to be, but I could think of far better ways to earn money. One of the (few) things I enjoy from doing this job is that it provides mindless work, which gives my mind time to wander into the pathways of itself. Tonight offered such an opportunity, and my brain tends to see everyday items of the world and create either imaginative scenarios or applicable life lessons, depending on the mood I happen to be in. Tonight the dishes began to form themselves into people, while the conveyor belt portrayed life which slowly drifts along while pulling the willing and unwilling at the same, constant speed into the unknown. The conveyor speed in this illustration represents time, of which clocks remind us that it always goes at the same rate, but depending on the circumstances, time might seem to move faster or slower. Time flies when you are having fun, which is probably why my one hour and forty five minute shift of painfully sweating in the steamy dish room might seem like forty five hours and one minute. What I would not give to get a fan blowing on me as I stand there.
There comes a time in my shift where I am comfortable enough with what I am doing to think of other things. My shift on this particular night saw the plates become as people to my minds eye. I realized, as I so often do when I decide to journey out of my shelter (physical and mental), that behind every colorful plate lies a story. Why did a normally healthy person decide to get pizza and ice cream on this night? Why did this person get a salad? It is questions guided under the phrase "dig deeper" that prods myself to ask more questions. Is this person eating good tasting food because they are upset? Which prompts the further question as to why are they upset? There is always an explanation for things, and anyone who does not think so is as dull as the steak knives used in an insane asylum. There is always some story behind the daily lives of everyday people, and whether the stories are humorous or serious, important or unimportant does not matter so much compared to the weight of knowing other people.
The idea of deeper meanings becomes important when faced with challenges in meaningless toil and actions. "The benefit of the doubt" seems to, in a cliche way, summarize what I am trying to say, but the problem with cliches is that they lose their meaning when thoughtlessly uttered, not so unlike saying "in Jesus' name, amen" at the end of prayers, but that is another topic altogether. "The benefit of the doubt" is attempting to reign in in a few words the thorn in the side to the moral justification of humanity: patience. To give the time to think through why someone was speeding past you, or cut you in line, or did anything that ever has yanked your chain, is to already be doing better than seventy five percent of the world (this is an educated guess, and by educated I mean up to the education level of a freshman in college). To put it plainly, you would want someone to be kind to you when you are having a rough day; and even when you are having a not so grand day, there are a great deal of things happening in the world to far more morally innocent people that are much worse than your circumstances. I am treading into territory I was not planning on going into, but I need to clarify. There are times when what life throws at you is harsh and undeserved in the sense of whether or not you did anything morally bad, but life is not driven by a force dedicated to making things fair for all, I know just as much as anyone. Some days you are having a bad day, but do not think by attempting to bring others down to your level you will gain any lasting satisfaction. Tread on this earth lightly.
The cups drew the attention of my wandering mind as well. The thing with all of the dishes, especially cups, is that they all go through the same dishwasher and are cleansed equally, but some look dirtier than others. This too is similar to life, particularly the lives of Christians saved by the grace shown on the cross by Christ. Each cup has its own disenchanting past, from being filled with only life bringing water to some repulsive creation induced by a peculiar yet brave college student. No matter how many times a cup is filled with water, or something addictive like Dr. Pepper or coffee, one time of being filled with a polluting substance might forever change the hue of the cup; so too with people. One experience might corrupt the perception of a person to the point where outwardly they look disgusting; the refuse of the world. Like the cups are still clean after washed, no matter how brown they look; people are able to be cleansed by Christ no matter the deeds they have done. As I have found though, the color does not change, but you are clean. Once Christ forgives you, it does not make your memories of the foul past disappear into oblivion. Your past is tattooed onto your soul and etched painfully into the rock of your mind, it will not leave you until the day you die. The beautiful truth about all this though is that you are still cleansed, the Bible goes so far as to say you are whiter than snow.
Learn to be aware to the sufferings of others, and if you are not in a position where you can encourage them, do not heap on more troubles. There is more to the earth than what is on the surface; dig deeper, learn patience and practice forgiveness intertwined with understanding.
