A Whole New You

Every seven years is a whole new you!

The Backgound:

Whenever I am working on something I tend to have my iTunes playlist on, being CDO (like OCD but in alphabetical order – the way it should be) like I am, I play my iTunes playlist in alphabetical order according to song. Today I was going through “E section” the “Elephant Love Medley” from the “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack started playing, which happens to be a favorite of mine. I posted a comment on Facebook about it, and several replied:



Yvonne kept bringing up whether or not I was in love, I brought up the fact that it is actually debatable if I am or not. Most of you consistent readers know I refer to “my own Dr. Cuddy” using the Dr. House analogy. So you would think that would mean I am right? Not exactly though… here is what I mean…

(Continuing on with the protection of identities, I will refer to the person in question as “Cuddy”.)

I have (off and on but fairly consistently) liked the same girl since the beginning of 7th grade. Nearly 12 years now. In that time I’ve like (to varying degrees) a number of other women, but always seemed to come back to Cuddy. Can’t say why I never actively went for her, no time ever seemed right I guess. Since college though, we of course have drifted apart, last time I could really truly consider her as one of those people I trust with everything was about when we were 20, nearly 21. Since then, truth be told, we have been fairly mediocre friends.

I have not actively pursued her nor do I plan to until attaining at MINIMUM the rank of E-5, and she has made it quite clear that she if perfectly ok with that and leaving our current status as “friends”.


The Debate:

So what part of this is a debate? 12 years of my 24 years so far I’ve liked one person, or have I? Have I really liked just ONE person? And what do I/we mean when I/refer to Edward?


The Science:

Every seven years is a brand new you! There is not one part in your body that is over seven years old. Or so the old saying goes. According to “MDinfo.com’s” answer to the question, “Does the human body regenerate every 7 years?” the given answer was:
“It is true that all cells in the human body are replaced over a period of roughly seven years (thecells in your bones take longest, some living for up to 10 years). It is perhaps misleading to say that your body “regenerates”, as it is not a whole process of actively renewing your body, but simply a result of the fact that every cell in your body has a limited lifespan and, when it dies, will be replaced.
This process of replacing cells, while remarkably complex and fascinating is not perfect. The replaced tissue damage (the rate at which cells need to be replaced) by such things as smoking, drinking, exposure to environmental pollution etc. all accelerate this process.”

Using this then for our basis, one can argue that…

From 0-7, 7-14, 14-21, 21-28, 28-35, so on and so on… are all different versions of you. I for example, being 24 years, 2 months, and 26 days old, am nearly at the half way point of Edward 4.0 and have had three previous Edwards.

Using this argument, allow me to present Josef Scheungraber:


Who is Josef? Well, Josef 12.0 is a 90 year old German man who has just been given a life sentence. Why?

Well, because Josef 4.0 was a Nazi officer in WWII who ordered the execution of 11 civilians.

But 1944 was EIGHT Josef’s ago?! He is a totally new person now then he was back then!

Even one of the witnesses at the trial talked about he would never go into details of what happened in Italy, but he seemed to speak with guilt.

Using Science then… It can be argued that just like Josef 12.0 did not order 10 murders and one attempted murder, this then can also be argued about whether or not I love:

You see, from 7th grade until 20 years old which is the height of my proximity to Cuddy, nearly all falls under Edward 3.0 just like if falls under Cuddy 3.0.

But I am Edward 4.0 right? Edward 4.0 has not had a lot of contact with Cuddy 4.0

That means that I am basing my opinion of Cuddy 4.0 on what I know of Cuddy 3.0. ALSO, is Cuddy 4.0 really refusing to give Edward 4.0 a chance? OR is she also refusing Edward 3.0 a chance which is affecting Edward 4.0?

I (Edward 4.0) honestly do not know what Cuddy 4.0 is like, so, do I really like her? Cuddy 4.0 does not know what Edward 4.0 is like (though thanks to this blog has a marked advantage) so, does she really not like Edward 4.0?

Or is she just like the jury who sentenced Josef 12.0 to a life sentence because of something Josef 4.0 did EIGHT Josefs ago?


Mental and Emotional Cycle:

There is OF COURSE a corollary. Not ALL brain tissue regenerates like the rest of the body does. Also, not ALL of your central nervous system goes through the tissue regeneration. Mentally then, your brain for the most part then IS the same that it was 7, 14, 21 years ago, at least in terms of tissue.

There is another argument that can be made by psychologist.

Rudolf Steiner the teacher of Anthroposophy, “The knowledge of the nature of man”, said that we as humans have a seven year cycle to our mental and emotional development. This is also where the “A child’s personality is established by the age of 5” thing comes into play. The Holy Roman Catholic Church says that if they can have the first seven years of a child’s life, that is all that they need to insure a lifelong influence.

Stage 7-14 is of course marked with physical and mental foundational growth.

Stage 14-21:
“The period is a time of adding maturity, dignity and poise to the person. If these changes have not occurred by twenty-one, then the person has in some way not covered necessary aspects of development, and both psychology and the law recognises that they are lacking maturity…

"…The emotional development at this age is possibly seen as initial uncertainty or clumsiness concerning emotional and sexual contact. It often involves desire to explore many relationships, unless there are forces of introversion or personal and social uncertainty at work. We are still finding out what our boundaries and needs are, and the sexual drive as at full flood.. Any partner we have at this time may be loved for ones own needs - rather than out of recognition of who the other person is. Great romantic feelings and spontaneous love which are often difficult to maintain in face of difficulties.”

To sum all of that up… usually Human 3.0 is an idiot. That though is what Edward 4.0 knows of Cuddy 4.0, what Cuddy 3.0 was. And VERY unfortunately, that is what Cuddy 4.0 knows about Edward 4.0, what Edward 3.0 was. We do have an agreement to see what the 29 year old version of ourselves are like if we are both still single. 29 will be the 2nd year of Edward and Cuddy 5.0.

According to this argument though, the terms “3.0”, “4.0”, and “5.0” do not refer to different people, but rather, different phase of the same person. As opposed to buying Office 98, 03, 05, XP, Vista, etc.; this is more like just downloading the updates and actually learning how to use the new features.

So what do I have to look forward to in the next three and a half years of development of Edward and Cuddy 4.0:

“The cycle that follows from twenty-one to twenty-eight, can more or less be called a process of enlargement and refinement. It is the period that we mentally and emotionally enter into adulthood. We start to build the foundations of our careers and intimate relationships with a driving energy that we hope will gain us entry and respect in the larger world.

“One of the most marked features is the developing sense of discrimination. The faculties of insight, intuition, judgement and understanding begin to come to the fore. The personality softens and begins to mellow. The sparks of interest that were awakened in the previous cycles begin to be developed along more definite lines. The abilities of the last cycle also flourish. The adult emotional age may begin to emerges if one has successfully grown through the previous levels. This shows as a growing sense of recognising needs of ones partner yet not denying ones own. It is followed by an ability to be something for the partners sake without losing ones own independence or will. One becomes more aware of the issues that colour or influence relationship, and meeting them in cooperation with others. Independence and connection can appear together instead of opposite ends of a spectrum. You move toward becoming caring sexual partners through discovering each others needs and vulnerability.

“In this period you will begin to confront the issue that you were either born with, or arose through the challenges and pains of your infancy and childhood. These usually show as the way you handle intimate relationships, whether you can really meet in partnership with the opposite sex, and how you respond to the external world, its challenges and opportunities.

“At this time what is revealed may not be addressed as a personal problem or issues to be healed or re-evaluated. They will be faced more directly later if they are not dealt with now.”


Lewisian Theology:

The above can also be grouped together with what one of my favorite theologians, C.S. Lewis once said,
“We don’t have a soul, we ARE a soul, we have a body”

This quote can be used with either of the above arguments to create its own that we do not change.


Either it is like a driver who drives various cars over a period of time and the driver’s technique stays the same but is adjusted only based on the model of car, for example, handles the new sports car different than the vintage muscle car different than the fried out combie.

OR

It is closer to the 2nd argument, where mentally and emotionally we are the same person who just has different stages, but we still don’t change, we simply develop different traits at different times.

In this case the use of the terms “3.0”, “4.0”, and “5.0” refers more to the stages of development of the exact same person rather than either a new person or phases of a person’s life.

By this argument, it does not matter what age Cuddy and I are in. I (as in the soul that lives in this physical body) like CUDDY (as in the soul that lives in her – beautiful may I add – body) and that does not actually change, nor does it change that she only likes me as a friend. By this argument, Edward 4.0 is an older, hopefully wiser, version of Edwards 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 as is the same with Cuddy 4.0.


Conclusion?

I suppose it comes down to “hard” science, “spiritual” science, and/or faith to determine if you are the same person that you where 7, 14, 21, or more years ago.

Being a person who follows Lewisian theology, I agree that our bodies are just vehicles for our soul. However, I also believe in psychology. Being one of the Christian’s that does not deny the amazingly great benefits that science can give us, I am also open to the suggestion that perhaps, we are different people as the years go by.

BUT!

I the writer would like to read what you the reader believes.

Are you one who follows the first argument and says that Cuddy 4.0 should give Edward 4.0 a chance and also allow Edward 4.0 to see if he shares the same taste as Edward 3.0 did or if the new version is different? After all, Edward 4.0 is a completely different and changed person from Edward 3.0.

Are you in the 2nd group who thinks perhaps waiting to see how the developments of Edward 4.0 and Cuddy 4.0 lead to the 5.0 phase of life. (For further reading on this group to see what is said about your and other phases see: http://www.dreamhawk.com/7.htm).

Are you and the father of Narnia in agreement that, “Well Edward, if you where a dick in High School, I’m pretty sure you are now, and always will be” and that if I liked her then, I theoretically still will now, and after becoming a Petty Officer I should stop this ridiculous wait for the right moment?

Or do you have a completely separate idea completely?


So… really, what do YOU think?