Godspeed, Neil Armstrong

Honestly, I'm kind of shocked that Neil Armstrong has died

Somehow, I always assumed he was immortal.

A followup to the "what genre is your life?" question

I realized something else about myself, which that question brought up.

See, as you probably can tell, I've got a lot of really, really interesting friends, with really, really interesting lives. I mean, even my friends with what might SOUND like ordinary lives tend to live them, and conceptualize them, in really interesting ways.

And so, I tend to look at people's lives the way I look at art. As stories.

I really hope this doesn't offend any of you. When you go through tough times in your lives, I'm genuinely sympathetic for you -- but I'm also noticing and appreciating the dramatic and story twists in it. It's not in any way detachment, or lack-of-caring, or ANYTHING like that -- but I see it in terms of "story" -- I'm seeing you as a protagonist, as well as a friend.

As you might expect, this has effects on my philosophy and theology.

"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
"Dramatic irony."

Deep in my heart, I believe that. Horrible things happen to people because the fundamental nature of life is "story", and "story" involves loss, pain, tragedy, horror. That stories aren't guaranteed happy endings.

And I truly rejoice when my friends DO have happy twists in their stories. And I truly feel it when my friends have tragedies. But they both make sense to me, because that's what stories are.

Does that make sense? Is that disturbing? Is it offensive?