What I Learned from My Night with the Phantom

Last night I went to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was beautiful, a story I know well but have never seen live. The cast was excellent and the music, perfect. Despite the comments of a few audience members, I thought it was flawless. As I soaked in the magic of it all, though, a thought continuously nagged at my mind. This play has something to say about bondage to the things in our lives.

It started the first time the main character, Christine, saw the Phantom after he brought her to his lair. How could she, I questioned, still want to have anything to do with him, after being frightened of him, after seeing his "true" face (and not the disfigurement, but who he really was). She felt like she was trapped there, and you see it in action, how his music lures her and casts a spell. How could she go back to him, or let herself be drawn in? My annoyance grew throughout the first act and into the second until I realized, she is me. Me, or anyone else, for that matter. Don't we all have things in our life that we know lead to bondage of some kind or another? Yet, we allow ourselves to be drawn in again and again. Depending on what it is, the consequence of enslavement to it may be minor. For example, you can be in "bondage" to chocolate ('cause I know I am!). The consequence there is minor, maybe a few extra pounds if you indulge, or the longing for it when it's not available. But sometimes the consequences aren't minor.

Sometimes we are enslaved to things, or people, that take control of our lives, whether we realize it or not. The "music" of whatever, or whoever it is, lures us in, holds us captive, changes us. And whether we want it to or not our lives show the effects of it. It makes us unable to be who we really are, who we were created to be. We become, in a word, ineffective, so wholly consumed that there is no room for growth or positive change.

So, what then, you ask. There is no simple solution, I have discovered. I only know that we need to be so focused on the face of our Creator that all other faces are blurry in comparison. We need to be so filled with the life we are meant to have that there is no room for the meaningless fluff of whatever could consume us.

Easier said than done, I know. All we can do in life is our best. We weren't meant to handle it all, and whether you believe in God or not, you know at least that this is true.

My entry into the world of blogging

So, I'm creating a blog. My roommate has been recommending it for awhile now; sometimes as I'm talking about an issue she'll burst out with, "You really need a blog!". Personally, I think she just wants me to have an outlet so she doesn't have to hear about the same things over and over again. Just joking. Kind of. :)

It's kind of a strange thought, the idea of your inner thoughts splashed across a page for all to see, but I kind of like the idea. I'm an introvert, for the most part, so most of my rants stay in my head. The idea of having a forum to put them out there, even if they remain unheard (or, in this case unread) by anyone makes me smile a bit inside.

I know this is rather a weak first entry, but better things can be expected in the future. I'm quite an inward ranter, so it is pretty likely that this blog will be updated often.

That's all for now.