Laundry Day

Lately it feels like I’m carrying a big load of laundry from the dryer to my bedroom without a basket. Little things keep slipping out from the bottom and if I try to pick something up I lose five more things.

In the last week I have managed to lose my car, my dog, and my peace of mind. And my relationship is dangling on the edge of my pile of responsibilities.

So far being an adult has just been one load of laundry after another.

On Thursday I got a (rude) letter from my landlord threatening to evict me if I don’t get rid of my dog within 7 days. Apparently, not only are there ridiculous breed restrictions at this rental company, but dogs aren’t even allowed to VISIT unless the company gives consent.

On Friday I attempted to drive to my parents’ house to get supplies for a backpacking trip and to drop Olive off for a couple weeks. In between two distant exits on I-95, my car completely gave up. Olive and I waited in the dark for my parents to pick us up. The next morning I scoured the internet for a reliable car repair place. In the end, the repairs were going to cost more than the car is worth and we left it at the repair shop to be junked.

So I spent Saturday and Sunday being harassed by car salesmen. One offered me a 30% interest rate and then asked me how he could make it a better deal. Another saw me looking at a used car and tried to convince me to buy a brand new car almost 10,000 dollars over my budget instead.

Monday I looked for a psychiatrist to see if Olive can qualify as my Emotional Support Animal. I hate doctors and looking for one online was almost as uncomfortable as sitting in a Lysol-coated waiting room.

Tuesday I looked for lawyers because I thought maybe my rental company would still have the right to evict Olive, even if I could prove that I need her for emotional support. Lawyers’ websites are as annoying as car dealership websites.

I’m writing this on Wednesday. Tomorrow I leave for a backpacking trip and I haven't packed at all. I don’t even have a backpack to pack yet. I watched 5 episodes of How I Met Your Mother when I got home from work and I’ve probably watched 15 more since Thursday.

But then I got a text from my sister:

How could something so tiny make all of my problems seem so small?

God/Science

Have you ever heard of a false binary? A binary is made up of two opposing ideas. Obvious examples include: black/white, male/female, even/odd. So the best example of a false binary, and the one that irks me the most, is God/Science. I haven’t encountered too much debate over the matter recently since we’ve had better things to talk about (e.g. racism, tragedies, marriage equality, police). However, recently my niece, in typical soon-to-be-eight-year-old fashion, blurted out something that her best friend told her, “People who believe in God don’t believe in science.” I calmly explained to her that it’s important not to listen to everything that other people tell us and that plenty of people believe in both.

This is something I hear somewhat often and unfortunately it does have a taste of truth to it. But here’s the problem I have with this way of thinking: It’s small-minded. The God/Science binary may seem logical based on the news, some loud-but-ignorant people, and American politics but if we took some time to think it out it really doesn’t make any sense. I’m not denying that it is ridiculously common to find people who ignore scientific concepts in the name of God, what I’m denying is that this is a correct way of thinking.

God: A concept that varies between different religions but the general idea remains the same. God is mysterious because it is beyond human intelligence and understanding. A god is larger than life, incomprehensible, incredible, unexplainable, unattainable, all-powerful, and whatever other hyperbolic superlative you want to use. God is an abstract concept and one that simply cannot be proven or explained or put into a little human brain box. People who believe in a god use their logic and intelligence in their spirituality but they would be fools to say that they completely understand their god. That would go against the very nature of the word.

Science is nothing like a god. Science can be explained. Actually, science is almost literally synonymous with explanation. Science isn’t just this overarching, over-general term of  “science” it’s biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, all those classes I almost failed in high school plus a thousand more that are studied by smarter people than me. It’s not as if the ideas of science aren’t as powerful as the idea of a god, it’s that they aren’t even in the same competition.  It’s dangerous for us to refer to “science” as “Science.” We can’t give science God status, because it doesn’t and shouldn’t work like that. If we let people worship the idea of “Science” instead of studying the actual concepts of science, we risk the same ignorance coming out in the name of “Science” as comes out in the name of “God.”

Science is not an abstract concept; it’s complex. There’s a difference. Let’s not over-simplify science. Let’s think more, experiment more, and question everything.