I came across an old fountain pen while searching through my father's table. I was in need of a pen to sign something really quickly, and his was the closest table to me in terms of displacement, as my own table and pens are up on the second floor.

    This old pen was a Parker Jotter, and according to the story I was given, it was a promotional item given at an old conference he attended to many years ago, hence the old faded printed BASF on the side. He gave up using it after the free cartridge ran out, as he did not have time to find out where to find the ink could be bought. Considering that I inherited my father's pragmatic nature, I understood what he meant: if it takes too much time to find, it can always be replaced.

    It would be safe to assume that almost everyone on the face of the planet has had at least one sort of non-lazy activity that they've done. Something that does not involve sitting around in the house, eating chips or Nutella or watching television all day. It would have to be something that involves other people, an activity or something of the kind.

    Perhaps it was a sports game, where the crowds were riveted to their benches trying to figure out which player on which team would have the chance to break the deadlock. Or perhaps it is you taking the time out to take a walk through the park. Or maybe it is as simple as clearing out some of your old junk gathering in the corner of your room, out of sight and out of mind.

    You'd actually be surprised at how much intelligence and common sense grow further and further apart in the supposedly most-educated era of human history. People educate themselves, and knowledge progresses at such an astounding rate. Most people you meet in the street today have had far more schooling than many great men in history, and yet, despite the rising levels of intellect, you also find a disturbing and glaring lack of common sense.

    Let's suppose a book was written by some middle-class continental European citizen around two hundred years ago. This book contained certain ideas that were so drastic that some considered it scandalous enough to radically change society in one way or entirely. A few years pass, and the book has inspired a whole movement of people who read to subscribing to the ideas presented in the book and have managed to gain some considerable political power.

    "You can do it."
    We have heard those words repeated over and over, in various shapes and forms, that it has turned into some form of unholy platitude or Litany of Encouragement. Be it any sort of test or challenge, physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual, philosophical, clerical, gastronomical or even petty. A charge meant to boost your willpower enough to convince you that your abilities will be more than a match for whatever challenge it is.

    As should be fairly obvious at this point, I am a Christian. Every week, I encourage the men I meet with every week to pray; to lift up their concerns to the Lord who knows all things. But this past week has been particularly trying for me and I seem to have much to wrestle with regarding the habit of prayer. I often second-guess myself and ask whether I am praying enough. And, yet, we pray.