Why We Laugh

Last night I went camping with some friends, and after gathering wood and starting a nice crackling fire, setting up our tent and laying out our sleeping bags, we sat down to relax and talk. After a while of just talking about this and that, the recent happenings in our lives, we started talking about religion and society. We delved into salvation and morality, materialism and happiness, evangelism and human relationships- pretty much anything that came to mind. It was an amazing conversation made even more special by our surroundings. It also made me realize, like Hobbes, that so much of what's really important in life just doesn't make sense and is beyond our ability to comprehend. And that is pretty scary, for sure, but I also realized that although I was coming to see I knew less and less about the world then I thought I did, this didn't make me sad or scared. It made me happy.

There is a sort of freedom in understanding that much of the world is beyond control and so completely unknowable- it's the freedom from needless worry and the huge fragile framework of materialism and societal definitions of happiness. To me it is, at least. So that whole structure of thought kind of stemmed from my conversation last night with those guys. I'm sad that fall will soon be over and winter will be here, but at least then these Asian beetles that are infesting my room will go away (honestly last time I counted --like 10 minutes ago-- there was over twenty and they were all concentrated in the corner of the ceiling right over my desk).

So now I'm a writer for Chips, the Luther newspaper. I guess I've been writing for them for a while but now I am an official part of the staff, which is a really big honor. The more I write and interview with people on campus the more I feel like journalism could be a definite possibility for a career. Luther, however, doesn't have a journalism major, so I don't know how I'm going to swing that one. The newspaper is online, though, if you want to read it.

Things are going well, otherwise. I'm getting into a rhythm here and starting to find a niche. I think it's going to take a long time to really find a home for myself here, but I have faith now, because I see it happening. Friends are getting closer and the campus is seeming more familiar. For a while at the beginning of the year all I could think about was the college in my hometown, Augustana, and how comfortable I'd be there. But that's a story for another time- suffice it to say I've grown to accept Luther and am coming to thoroughly enjoy it.

Take it easy,

Danny