Conferences and the Meaning of Life

So I'm at the Christian Community Development Association's annual conference. It's great to see old friends and hear inspiring speakers and all that stuff. One speaker even got me to cry, the bastard. Out of all the great stuff being said, one ridiculous thought keeps running through my head. You won't guess it, I promise. Here it is: What would this conference be/feel like if it were a gathering of the adult film industry? I was thinking about conferences and how they are kind of these weird phenomena. I can hardly stand them myself because they are so intensely focused on one general subject which is pounded into you through speakers, topical seminars, and friendly conversations. At the end of the week, I'm tired of hearing about it. This somehow got me to thinking about how deeply unsatisfying life must be if you are the kind of person who attends an annual confernce of the adult film industry. Can you imagine daily plenary sessions on current trends in adult film? What kind of smaller seminars would you be attending? I don't even want to guess. I could never muster the energy to participate in something like that and after a while, it must feel a lot like eating a cake made entirely of icing - kind of exciting at first, but thoroughly sickening in the end. I am just glad that I have found things in life that sustain me even after three days of information overload and social gymnastics. When it comes down to it, CCDA is about the gospel. Jesus changes lives and changed lives make changed communities. This stuff is exciting. I'm tired and probably won't feel like reading a book anytime soon. But I'm so glad that I'm not an adult film star. This is where you get to put on a witty smile and say "ME TOO!!"