knowing your context

i've been distracted recently by the ending of my Trinity class, an e-mail dialogue with my brother, and several great books/DVDs/video games that have consumed my free thoughts...
The Triune God by William Placher is a great read... very philosophical understanding of the doctrine and articulation of the Trinity.
Band of Brothers - Tom Hanks' directed episode is phenomenal, and all of the performances (even Schwimmer) are great... all the interviews with the old men on whom the series is based make me want to cry
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - i'm more and more willing to publicly admit my fan-dom. we own the entire series, and have been watching from season 1, and since i NEVER watched the show before this past year, it's been an experience - i can no longer mock those who are obsessed, though i am not to the point of obsession. Joss Whedon and his cohorts sure know how to tell a great story, with sufficiently engaging sarcasm.

i have to admit, further, that these things are informing the way i respond to things. For instance - I'm in a dinner theatre that is a satire of a WWII story, but it's hard for me to joke about WWII because i'm currently drawn into the true story of the 506th, and there's nothing funny about what those men did.
Or, the fact that i'm reading Placher's very philosophical take on Trinitarian language has deeply affected the way i want to respond to my brother's most recent thoughts, but it presupposes a knowledge of Kant, Locke, Anselm, Aquinas, Eckhart, Levinas, Wittgenstein, and Kierkegaard that i feel like i barely grasp, so i'm wrestling with the thoughts of these men before i feel i can appropriately respond.
and... when i'm bored on the internet, i'm trying VERY hard not to give into temptation... you know, the temptation to go to imdb.com and read the plot synopsis for the Buffy and/or Angel series... it's hard waiting in suspense for time to watch the next episode when i KNOW that the answers are just a few wiki words away!

all that to say, this is my current mental context. there are a few relational circumstances that are also big factors in my mental make-up, but for the most part this is where my mind currently strives. And, it's very important for me to be aware of this, in the same way that it is important for YOU to be AWARE of what your context is. In order for me to really give the most of myself to a conversation, or to a debate, or even to listening, i have to be aware of what's swimming around in my head, and i have to be willing to take it all captive, put it under an umbrella of self-discipline, so that i might honestly give of myself when the opportunities arise. i also need to be aware of when i can use my current thoughts and hobbies to better engage the people around me! (any other closet Buffy fans?)

this may be a bit existential, but it is necessary for each of us to remember where we're coming from, and keep it in mind, as we relate to other people. true objectivity may not be attainable, given how messy a lived life tends to be, so even in debate we must be fair to the context of the other, and aware of our own messy context.

and now, to get back to my e-mail to my brother...