To Infinity and Beyond

When it comes to remembering dates and things, I really am not as good as society says I'm supposed to be.  So I won't be able to tell you exactly when my fascination with superheroes and science fiction began.  The one thing I can tell you, is that it was long after I left school. 

I skipped the comic-book fase and went straight for the series and movies.

It may have been Jessica Alba as Dark Angel that made me want to be a super-powered, highly skilled, genetically engineered soldier (all the while rockin' the sexy like it's the most natural thing on the planet!).  But I've always favoured Superman.  Always.

So, I got to thinking: IF (and it's a big "if") I get chosen by the Universe to receive awesome ass-kicking powers, what would they be? How would I use them?  And more importantly, what would I be called?

This is why I decided to submit a list of the powers I'd most like to  possess, in the hope that the Universe would glance at it and decide to surprise me for Christmas (or my birthday...I'm not picky!)

Top of my list would have to be the ability to fly.  How amazing would it be to zip around the world, seeing everything from high up above?  And I honestly don't care about the lame, real-world excuses that scientists have been making for why flying is a skill we'd very likely never explore.  I want to fly!

Next, I'd defintely want to be super strong.  Yes, I'd lift things off people and animals to save them, but...the satisfaction of seeing the look on some beefcake's face when I effortlessly match and top their skill...well...that's all the reward I'd need!

And then I would love to be extremely good at learning new skills.  As in, REALLY good.  Do I even have to explain how freakishly awesome this would be?

But then I realised, I already had a superpower!  I know, I know, it's just one, but I'm working on it.

Hold on to your chairs, your office desks, your hover crafts; here it is:

I'm really good at organising; and the more work you give me, the more I get done.  *THUMP*...that's the sound of coolness, expectation and hope hitting the floor.  Yes, I have the lamest superpower on the planet.

I have managed to find myself a name though:  Snowball; because snowballs move faster when they gather more snow.  Get it? Get it? Ah, forget it, even the name is lame.

Maybe I should try timetravel...control the essence of time?

Right, back to the drawing board.

Afterlife

In danger of sounding patronising (and very much like a broken record), I have to state the following: We live in a world where it's completely normal to wish your life away by focusing so diligently on what lies ahead, that we completely forget that the only thing we are able to tangibly enjoy, is the present moment. And I'm definitely one of the biggest culprits.

Let's take my iPod as an example. In total, it has approximately 7 gigs worth of music on it, so when I have it on shuffle, any one of a few thousand songs could be playing at any minute. But I get impatient and I skip ahead to the next song, and the next song, and the next song. This in itself is not a bad thing, because we like what we like, so we want to hear what we like, and we have a choice, so we choose what we like.

Unfortunately, as a result of the above-mentioned "world we live in", choosing and owning something has become near instantaneous. Yay. And by "unfortunately", I meant the following:

We're always wanting the next thing, the next moment, the next experience, next...next...next...hoping the next glittering piece of bling will be "it". And we apply this to our view of the Afterlife as well. As Christians we have to be extremely careful of concentrating so hard on the Afterlife, that we have no idea how much fun we are supposed to have in the during-life.

I'll leave you with some Switchfoot lyrics (which was obviously the inspiration for my short little blog up there!):

"I'm ready now, I'm not waiting for the afterlife."