In sociology we’re studying why some people groups are still sticking animals (and each other) with spears while others are putting men on the moon. One theory goes that it has absolutely everything to do with geographic blessedness. Simply, if you live in a place where you can grow and store crops, domesticate animals, and devote more time to developing better methods…you’ll be putting men on the moon in no time. In contrast, if you live in a place where you can’t grow stuff, have no animals to domesticate, and spend all your time spearing animals (and each other), you’ll get stuck there and not be able to move forward.
After a little contemplation, it has become apparent to me that I really have three essential resources with which to propel myself onward…and pay for college…and buy Chic-fil-a. My personal blessedness shall we say.
- Blood.
“The blood of Jesus saves me, but the blood from my elbow pays me.” That was my mantra this summer to the tune of about 400 bucks. There’s this place in Clemson called Biotest Plasma Center where they’ll actually pay you good money to sit in a chair and watch Netflix while they take your blood, filter out the plasma, and fill you back up with saline. It sounds too good to be true I know haha. Sometimes it’s a little painful if the needle stick goes wrong, and the saline is always ice cold in your veins. But as of now, I’ve got a card with enough money to buy gas (or Chic-fil-a) till Christmas at least. Blood – a wonderful resource.
- Sweat
The curse of Adam: “by the sweat of you brow you will eat your food…” I had an office job this summer where I mostly answered phones and worked on a computer. So maybe sweat is a more general term here meaning work (although the A/C did quit for about a week). I’ve also started working a waiter job at a restaurant in town. So the ability to do labor in exchange for money to pay for college (or Chic-fil-a) – another great resource.
- Tears and Spare Change
I’ve grouped these last two, perhaps most beautiful, resources together because of my recent use of them for a common purpose. I don’t know if anyone else has this experience, but I become something of a different person late at night. Getting wasted would not be what I’m talking about here. In the hours after everyone else is asleep, I find I feel differently than I do in the day – like happiness and sadness both mean more around midnight than they do at 3 p.m. Sometimes I’m not afraid to say and do things I otherwise couldn’t. And it’s mostly in these hours that I write songs or letters or whatever else I write. A while back I took some of those songs and sold them on CDs to my friends. I used some of that money to buy a brown felt fedora.
More recently I found out I had a lot more spare change than I’d ever realized. My brother Luke rolled it all up for me one night while he was rolling his own. All told, I had something like $150 worth of coinage sitting in a box on my piano. I reasoned that it’d be better to use it now than to keep on saving till I was older, a deeply sophisticated line of logic some people can’t follow. So I pooled the spare change with the leftover song (tears) money and bought a messenger bag made from the hide of a water buffalo. It’s from the Buffalo Jackson Trading Co.. I carry it to school everyday, and I love it. Tears and spare change – beautiful resources.
Blood, sweat, tears, and loose change – what more could a man need?
javen.bear. 