The ruined wall is in Cuba, Kierkegaard lived in the early 1800s, and truth remains elusive.
Tag: Photography
Washington Wisdom
I’m referring to George Washington, of course. A photograph I took several years ago at a gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico seemed to me a good host for the powerful sentiment written by our first President. I can only hope that the same celestial spark is alive and well among those who work on our behalf in the city honored with his name.
Holding Pattern
That’s what January feels like to me. I like it actually, and feel lucky that snow and sleet and misery are rarely part of my winter experience. Even so, it takes several days of compelling sunshine to motivate a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Spanish missions near San Antonio post-holidays as a change from dark mornings and quieter days.
Operated by the National Park Service, the lesser known missions are short distances apart, several miles south of the Alamo. Spanish Franciscan missionaries worked to convert those who arrived for protection and food in the mid-1700s, building communities for “New Spain”. Each mission, crafted by Mexican artisans with Indian labor, has its own story of hardship, success and failure. In varying states of restoration, several are still used as active parish churches. The mission compounds must have appeared as mirages to weary frontier travelers; I found them beautiful.
Reset Time
Up a Tree
I took a walk with a friend this week, among old pecan trees, and the Gospel passage our priest spoke about on Sunday came into mind. It’s a tale about Zacchaeus the tax collector, described as a short man, who climbs a tree in order to see Jesus over the crowd. (Luke 19:1-10; Jesus sees him, calls him down and stays at his house; there are additional details to the story that offer other fruitful opportunities for interpretation.)
It occurred to me that I have been up a tree (in a metaphoric sense) as an escape, and not as a place from which to see more clearly. Sitting in a removed space offers a good opportunity for rest and reflection, but life is conducted for the most part on the ground. I’ll come back down one of these days.
Control
Humans and words are not in control. There is sanctuary in ordinary things and a theology in nature. At present I’m taking advantage of my back yard, where today I am shown what a grace-filled letting go can look like.
Blood Pressure Meds
My TV is off, I have removed all news feeds and social media links from my phone and computers, and I’m going to make a daily effort to look more closely at the truly irreplaceable things in my life.
Diversion
I need a little beauty in my life today, and a focus for gratitude; maybe you do too.
A Capital City
With a backdrop of the lovely Royal Palace at the top of the hill, Oslo sets its stage for a very good show. Whether looking for a busy seaport, traditional or contemporary architecture, tree-lined promenades, culture (the national theater and new waterfront opera house with a floating stage), museums (the Viking Ship Museum with preserved ships and artifacts dating from 800 A.D. is particularly interesting), the outstanding and controversial Vigeland sculptures at beautiful Frogner Park, busy sidewalk cafes and flowers lining every street, you’ll find it in Oslo. While laying claim to having become the most expensive city in the world recently, Oslo can also lay claim to being a capital city. It’s great, and a wonderful place to end our Scandinavian journey.
Cold without Snow
We left the land of fjords, and passed by deep valleys and waterfalls as we drove south to Bergen, a charming city on the western coast, and the rainiest in Norway. I include proof. The long drive to Oslo followed, through high plateaus of harsh, windy, barren land, and the only part of the country we saw where I was sure I could not live. It was cold even without the deep snow due very soon.
My Time Too 