A Lesson from Phineas Nigellus

I've been reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and the other day I came across this interchange between Harry and a former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Phineas Nigellus, whose portrait hangs in Sirius Black's childhood home:

     Phineas: I have a message for you from Albus Dumbledore.

     Harry: What is it?

     Phineas: Stay where you are.

     Harry: I haven't moved! So what's the message?

     Phineas: I have just given it to you, dolt. Dumbledore says, 'Stay where you are.'

     Harry: Why? Why does he want me to stay? What else did he say?

     Phineas: Nothing whatsoever.

     Harry: [Loudly] So that's it, is it? Stay there? That's all anyone could tell me after I got attacked by those dementors too! Just stay put while the grown-ups sort it out, Harry! We won't bother telling you anything, though, because your tiny little brain won't be able to cope with it!

     Phineas: You know, this is precisely why I loathed being a teacher! Young people are so infernally convinced that they are absolutely right about everything. Has it not occurred to you, my poor puffed-up popinjay, that there might be an excellent reason why the headmaster of Hogwarts is not confiding every tiny detail of his plans to you? Have you never paused, while feeling hard-done-by, to note that following Dumbledore's orders has never yet led you into harm? No. No, like all young people, you are quite sure that you alone feel and think, you alone recognize danger, you alone are the only one clever enough to realize what the Dark Lord may be planning...

I was struck by that last bit from Phineas. This must be the way we make God feel sometimes. Harry is super annoying for most of this book, constantly whining and acting super self-centered, especially complaining about Dumbledore's actions.

I've been noticing recently how much of a "God"-type character Dumbledore is in some aspects. He seems to always know what's going on, but he allows Harry to face most challenges on his own, giving him what he needs to get through, but allowing Harry to grow instead of Dumbledore doing all of the work himself. It's good, however, that J.K. makes it clear that Dumbledore is not perfect. It makes him a more intriguing character. But my point is that we can learn from this, recognizing that we are given what we need to get through and even to thrive. We can remember that there is Someone who knows much more than we, who is aware of us and watches over us.

We Always Have Help

Listening to another podcast the other day ("The Tim Ferris Show" this time), I was led again on an enlightening train of thought. Tony Robbins was on, and he shared a little meditative practice that helps him a lot. Think about some unfinished business you have, or something that may be worrying you or causing some stress. He said to put both hands over your heart and just focus on it. It probably helps to close your eyes, but I suppose you don't have to. Focus on your heart and "breathe into your heart," he said. Obviously we don't really breathe into our hearts, but it can sort of feel that way, so just forget science for a minute and "breathe into your heart." Relax, and just focus on your breathing. He said to "feel the strength of your heart." It's strong. As you do this, realize that your heart knows the answer to whatever may be troubling you. Realize what that answer is.

The answer I got is pretty general -- universal -- so I figured I'd share it. I realized that I always have help. I'm never alone. In fact, I have an abundance people -- family, friends, coworkers, etc. -- around me who would be willing to help with anything I might need. Not only that, but I believe that we have access to (and receive, usually without knowing it) a ton of help from the unseen world. We always have help if we're willing to ask for it.

As I thought about this, I was filled with confidence and peace, and I recognized the great strength we have when we work together. It's cliche, but it's true.

Mistakes of the Past

I was listening to Malcolm Gladwell's podcast, "Revisionist History," this morning. The episode is called "Generous Orthodoxy." In it, Gladwell talks about a recent situation at Princeton University. Students have been protesting the use of Woodrow Wilson's name in connection with the University, specifically as the title of the School of Public and International Affairs, because of the racist ideals that he held.

I had not heard about these happenings at Princeton until today, but the issue brought some poignant questions to my mind. What are we to make of the past? How do we balance an appreciation of the sacrifices made by our forbears with a healthy criticism of their mistakes? Do we suspend all honor bestowed upon great contributors of the past when we find out about troubling beliefs or ideals that they held?

I don't believe we should ignore such troubling aspects of their character, but neither should we let those aspects completely overshadow the good that came as a result of their efforts. We should also remember that troubling beliefs and ideals are usually caused by ignorance. A classic example that comes to mind is the conventional wisdom hundreds of years ago that the world was flat.

If we could transport ourselves one or two hundred years into the future and look back at this time, what would we see? How would we view the conventional wisdom, the widely held beliefs and ideals of our day? How many of those beliefs and ideals would be appalling to future generations?

I believe we often judge past generations unfairly, and such unfair judgment, like many troubling aspects of the past, is the product of ignorance or misinformation. Let's not pretend like we're so much wiser and better than they were. The progress we've made has come because of them. We should recognize and appreciate that, and learn from their mistakes.

Pokemon

One of my greatest childhood fantasies was that the world of Pokemon could be real. I would have loved nothing more than to travel around, catch pokemon, train them, evolve them, and battle them. That was the dream.

"Pokemon Go" is a counterfeit dream. It was sort of fun and novel at first, but it has quickly lost its appeal to me. My favorite thing about the Pokemon GameBoy games was leveling them up and having them learn new moves to use in battles, but you can't level up your pokemon in "Go." You can evolve them, but it's not the same. There's not much strategy to the process of procuring high level (high CP) pokemon in "Go," it's just a matter of spending lots of time playing the game and catching lots of pokemon (lots of the same pokemon...) so your character will level up and higher CP pokemon will show up, and the process continues.

Boring. I want to choose my starter pokemon and level him up, not wait until I find and catch 20 more Charmanders (I haven't seen another one since the first) before I can evolve one into Charmeleon. That's lame. I want to come across a Ghastly and be stoked to battle with him and level him up to eventually evolve into Gengar. Instead, I just have to catch a bunch more Ghastlys. I was pumped when I hatched one of my first eggs and an Onyx popped out, but it was like 136 CP. I haven't seen another one since, so he sits forgotten at the bottom of my pokemon inventory.

Pokemon Go is a cool idea, but for all of its grand claims to "augmented reality," it's not even as immersive as an original GameBoy game. It is a shell of what it could be.

So last weekend I found an old GameBoy Color that was lying around our condo and started playing Silver and Gold Versions. Similar to my experience reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the new stuff just wasn't the same. It only made me remember and want to re-experience the original.

Sunday Scripture - Alma 34:31-32

"Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.

"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."

The word "immediately" in the first paragraph is significant. We don't have to wait before receiving blessings for turning to God; the change in our attitude, humbling ourselves and placing our trust in Him, brings blessings of hope and peace immediately.

I know this is true because I've experienced it in my own life, and the blessings are available to anyone who will "harden not (their) hearts any longer," and turn to God.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I finished reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child last night. I was a little bit disappointed, but mostly I wasn't expecting it to be a true continuation of the novels. The fact is, it's not a novel. It's a play. And because it's a play, it's not meant to only be read in book form. I understand that a lot of people are very disappointed in it, saying that it reads like bad fan-fiction, but, again, it's not meant to be read. It's meant to be performed. And from what I understand, the performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is getting rave reviews.

So cheer up, Harry Potter fans, and for those of you who haven't yet read the play in book form, educate your expectations a bit. The play has some scenes that are pretty cool just being read, insights about characters and events that we don't get in the books, so I still think it's very much worth reading (and it doesn't take very long). But Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is not a continuation of the novels. If you need some of that magic back in your life, go re-read the series. That's what I'm gonna do. If nothing else, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child reminds us just how good the original story is.