Mystery of Sex

November 20, 2018

Year 3, Day 324 | No Comments

Section of The Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist, Guido Reni, n.d.

Our first concern for this Page relates to language and its search for meaning. As time passes and a language grows old it takes on considerable baggage and we have to work at getting the meaning of symbols as they either reflect important specificity, or wander about in the variant contexts in which we use and abuse the magnificent gift of language – by which we can express that which separates the human animal from the dumb animal. That difference is found in the ability to communicate reflective thought and act upon it. Certainly the dumb animals in the seas, on the land, and in the air have means of some communication, but that related to inward impulses related to… Read more

Felt Needs

November 19, 2018

Year 3, Day 323 | No Comments

Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

When does one know he or she is doing something good? Scripture informs us that we should serve the needs of others – of each other. The adjective (good) becomes a noun and contains verb (serve) qualities. In this context, it means doing, acting for purpose (contributing). The implication is that it is additive to whatever is present, and the additive is commendable. Thoughtful persons recognize that there is an underlying universal principle reflected in the simple command: Do something good. Give something that is not existent (creative). That underlying principle is found in the context of the oath of physicians: To Do No Harm. The ancients often accented good (affirmatives) in its opposites. We find it in the Ten… Read more

Humanity

November 18, 2018

Year 3, Day 322 | No Comments

It is clear to us or ought to be that there are ranges of differences between persons, differences that may be serious, and those that ought to be incorporated as both educational and flavorful for life. These last are in a neutral zone, neither to be given undo accent or concern between persons, unless made meaningful to morality or ill effect for life. They are present to offer some variety to life, so to keep us from being cookie cutter persons forming from the same private mold. If not varied we might find each other boring so to reduce the miracle of life to mechanical living, predictable in thought and conduct adding nothing fresh to what we are when we… Read more

Contradictions

November 17, 2018

Year 3, Day 321 | No Comments

Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

Scripture informs us that the little foxes spoil the vines. Our lives are full of little foxes. At this point I take advantage to reiterate that, in the holy perfection of God, anything that is less than truth, less than the ideal qualifies as sin. We commonly forget that sin need not be something gross, ugly and damaging at severe levels, but may be something quite human like a kind of pride, or a bit of prejudice, or evasion of duty. The list of sophisticated but wrong conducts can be made long and wrong. They appear differently to different persons. In 1854, Henry David Thoreau wanted his readers to think rather well of mankind. In Walden he wrote that: the… Read more

The Good Fight

November 16, 2018

Year 3, Day 320 | No Comments

Section of Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

We need to remember that every person begins life at ground zero. No matter the generation into which the babe is born there is no hunching life’s starting line. Socrates, Einstein, Johnny, even Jesus had to learn for self that 2 plus 2 equals 4, and 2 pencils plus 2 chairs does not equal four-of-a-kind. (Luke 2:52) Einstein got to E=mc2 after learning the 2+2 equation, while Johnny was still struggling with the meaning of 3.1416 (Pi). As one runner has longer legs and better coordination than the lad next to him will arrive at the agreed upon finish line at different times so the gifts of our lives, the coaching, the application, the practice, and the will may mean… Read more

Freedom To Truth

November 15, 2018

Year 3, Day 319 | No Comments

Section of The Descent from the Cross, Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1435

Mankind has a strong conviction favoring freedom (personal choices). It is a driving force for which some persons are willing to die. It is carried over into the social context so that groups are willing to unite to gain it for a group. Persons close to freedom in the context of their lives can be happier, healthier, and more successful to their purposes than those who are more distant from the ideal application of freedom. Our basic problem is that we may not perceive that everything of importance to the balanced life requires some yielding to the responsibility of life. In my view, life is the evidence of God. Wherever there is life that reflects the nature of God that… Read more

Life and Planning

November 14, 2018

Year 3, Day 318 | No Comments

One of the most important bits of life information that parents ought to impart to their children is to give some attention to what those children want to be and do when they have completed the responsibilities of their professional and family lives. Too many persons are bereft after their wage/salary days are closed. Not only do they miss the paychecks, but the job, the exchange with colleagues, and the feeling they are contributing in some way to the advancement of society, perhaps their communities. For many persons growing old is something like moving to another country with a different culture than they have known. Their own society sends a mixed message to them in both gracious and demeaning ways. … Read more

Media Madness

November 13, 2018

Year 3, Day 317 | No Comments

Section of The Crucifixion, Pedro Orrente, ca. 1625–30

Whatever the human context an analyst may decipher, that context is not simple – if it is real and speaks to the needs of persons. We rightly concern ourselves with what is right for the individual (self), and for society (all other persons, among whom I am included). There are too many variables to permit simple responses. We are not helped in the long range of matters by those who oversimplify the human condition. Complexity plagues us and invites combinations of proposals and presuppositions for belief and actions, as well as conflicts with other beliefs and proposals in conflict with our preferences. The conflicts invite emotional responses that often have their own way, overpowering any considered treatment of the issues… Read more

Logic and Life

November 12, 2018

Year 3, Day 316 | No Comments

Section of Adoration of the Magi, artist unknown

Much of my life has been used up in contexts relating to logic: teaching it, warning about it, finding it, doubting it, believing it, defending it, diluting it, even fearing it. I have felt the beauty of the logic of the Godon people of Africa, cast in parables, and hated the logic of the Nazis, cast in ugly presuppositions like the alleged superiority of the Aryan race. The Godon logic protects feelings, invites response in its open-ended ways, and leaves conclusions to each other. It is not practical, perhaps not usable, in a scientific world, but it serves a culture rather well for those who accept it and live in it. The Nazi logic might have served some people well… Read more

Alertness In Maturity

November 11, 2018

Year 3, Day 315 | No Comments

Section of Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Benedetto Luti, 1715-20

Have you noticed in growing older . . . . – that when persons smile they are beautiful or nearly so, and when frowning look ugly or nearly so? (Perception) – that when persons take responsibility within their families they are more loving, or seem so? (Attitude) – that when persons truly seek to solve problems, they are more gracious, or seem to be? (Maturity) – that when persons are not judgmental, they leave evaluation of humanity to God, or seem to? (Acceptance) – that when persons are generous, they have the better understanding of materialism, or seem to? (Giving) – that when persons love children, they are more like the children of God, or seem to be? (Humane) –… Read more

Monthly Archives: November 2018