Sock Test For God's Existence

Last night in a dream I devised a test for the existence of God. In the dream I was struggling with doubt, questioned whether God existed at all. I decided a test was in order, and settled on praying for a miracle. If God acted according to my request I felt it would be sufficient proof of the divine presence.

As the dream unfolded, I debated with myself what would be a reasonable request. I wanted a definitive miracle, but didn’t feel I should demand one of epic proportions like peace in the Middle East or a resurrection from the dead. Even a disappearing melanoma seemed too audacious to request simply as a proof of God’s existence.

In the end I settled on a curious ‘miracle.’ I decided simply to ask God to keep a pair of my navy blue dress socks from slipping down for a whole day. In the dream this seemed like it would be both (1) reasonable and (2) truly miraculous. Not long after this I woke up to wonder what prompted this particular dream and if it had any significance.

Any thoughts?

There is a postscript to the dream. When I reached in to pull a pair of socks out of my sock box this morning, the pair on top was a navy blue pair—the only navy pair with decent elastic in the tops—and they did stay up all day.

Hopelessnes And An Electric Car

I am not a activist or warrior by personality, but I am competitive… very competitive. Not that realized this about myself for years. I don’t act particularly competitive. Yet the truth is that in any situation I immediately (and often almost unconsciously) assess my ability to win or succeed, and in the past if triumph wasn’t almost guaranteed I simply didn’t even try.

I’m concerned about huge political, social, economic, and environment issues, but you won’t find me out on the picket line and I confess that I rarely write my congressional representatives. A huge part of this for me is hopelessness.

I’ve unconsciously looked at my chances to ‘win’ and then short-circuited my anger or concern because I suspected my voice wouldn’t matter. This little internal cycle kicked in again this past week when I watched a movie I’d ordered from Netflix. This particular flim strayed from my normal action/adventure or romance comedy choices; it was a documentary entitled Who Killed The Electric Car? Exactly the kind of film I'm SUPPOSED to appreciate as an thoughtful, over-educated faith leader type.

I confess it sat on the table much longer than most movies, and I almost returned it unwatched. Just the title suggested a Don-Quixote-charging-a-windmill moment.

I was right, but I was also stunned (especially given the current price of gas) at how impressive a battery-operated car could be. The movie chronicles the life, death, and apparently concerted effort to cover-up the potential a completely electric car, the GM EV1.

I was mad when I finished the movie and hopeless at what did appear to be huge economic interests that would put current profits over long-term good. Granted, this might well be only part of the story (watch the movie yourself and let me know what else I might need to consider), but my question is how do I… how do we… as individuals far from the centers of political and economic power engage in big issues without living in constant anger or hopelessness?

In the past I’ve simply avoided issues too big for me to tackle on my own (which is most of them). I’m no longer satisfied with this approach, but I know I need help discovering new ways to engage that are not dominated by anger or crippled by despair. Any ideas?