Daily pages of reflection...for knowledge, understanding, to wisdom
Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Oceans

March 16, 2019
Year 4, Day 75 | No Comments
Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

It is important, vital to the reality of the order that we settle matters with God personally, and thereafter to give directed attention to matters that include our part in the world and its societies.  It is, again, an emphasis of these Pages – the one and the many.  The personal (one person, self) is key to understanding and living with society (many persons).  The individual draws upon divine grace (personal) that includes common grace (social).  Society is dependent upon common grace available to all persons, with the evidence of blessing and cursing within its order, partly built into the natural system of creation – in air, water, earth and life.  This is a creation by God of elements and… Read more

World Perception

March 15, 2019
Year 4, Day 74 | No Comments
Section of The Taking of Christ, Caravaggio, 1602

It is interesting to follow the human and divine perceptions of the physical universe, principally in the context of the earth’s place in it all – what has been, is and will be.  The informed person is interested in all this, to the degree that information of meaning is available, but it may not have the same compelling interest for all persons that it holds for scholars and information seekers.  We are awesomely addicted to observations of the physical universe, sensing the mighty beauty of a Niagara or Victoria Falls, of the Grand Canyon or the Sahara Desert, of Mountains like the Alps or Everest, like a volcano or tornado.  We are so addicted that many men and women risk… Read more

Good Ol’ Days

March 14, 2019
Year 4, Day 73 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

I was born in January nearly a hundred years ago and out of danger by late March, after a difficult birth and too few family resources for medical care.  My mother was pressed into establishing a boarding house by her husband whose life style required more dollars than he was making at the rubber shops in Akron, Ohio.  She, a girl from the sticks of Georgia and no experience in homemaking was to become housemother to a batch of adults, a new baby, and somewhat irresponsible husband.  The house had no electricity, but was illuminated by gas lamps that required regular tending.  It was heated with coal which also required regular tending including the removal of ash.  Mother washed clothes… Read more

Communication

March 13, 2019
Year 4, Day 72 | No Comments
Section of Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

If I were to list the ten most neglected factors in human life, communication would be high on the list.  The omissions, distortions, evasions, variances, attitudes, and prevailing ignorance are pernicious barriers to effective communication.  Communication implies that a message has been sent that either the sender wants to emit, and/or the receiver wants to gain.  It is presumed that the communication makes sense to truth about some benefit (desired objective) for the sender and/or receiver, but likely meeting something both sender/receiver desire to register.  Communication suffers often with the common practice of violating its meaning to send messages desired, needed, useful, educative, and generative to intellect and emotion.  Much of what is called communication is noise registered on hearing… Read more

Convictions

March 12, 2019
Year 4, Day 71 | No Comments
Section of Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

From Scripture I first learned of the meaning, power, and fulfillment of personal conviction, a conviction that becomes the person gaining and working for it.  That conviction must have appropriate motive to it, and the person faithful to invite others to it, not intimidating.  Convictions of my life become invitations to the feast, not bludgeons to the judgment.  Hitler was a man of convictions born of revenge (for WWI defeat of Germany), of prejudice (for hatred of Semitic people), and of pride (to join in degrading of a man to human deity).  All this is ugly in the extreme, and a distortion of conviction. He was a Judas to his nation. There is more than inspiration in Lincoln committing himself… Read more

Lightness of Being

March 11, 2019
Year 4, Day 70 | No Comments
Section of The Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist, Guido Reni, n.d.

For me the sense of being is partly perceived mindfully and felt actually from the context in the best poetry in the world.  Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a favorite of mine in much of her poetry, as is also felt in the poetry of excellent writers – religious or pagan.  I am currently touched by the poetry of Maya Angelou, an African-American in biographical background.  I pause in whatever else I might be doing to listen to her voice quoting her own poetry.  Her presence and voice add nuance to the words that inspire thoughts to agreement above the partitions of nationalities, races, genders, languages and cultures.  There is usually a sense of peace, breadth, healing, furtherance and the future. … Read more

Give/Takeaway

March 10, 2019
Year 4, Day 69 | No Comments
Section of The Crucifixion, Pedro Orrente, ca. 1625–30

That given is taken away – is sometimes a pattern in earth life.  Like so many factors in life, there are at least two sides to a matter.  There are more, of course, but the multiple does not fit our cherished saying: There are two sides to a coin.  We need a coin with at least three sides: affirmative, negative and neutral.  The analogy is only useful when the answer is only a clear choice between yes and no.  For most matters the coin should really be diamond shape, able to rest on several facets – all at once.  We tend to make of life as a stew made up of ingredients that are quite good on their own (individual)… Read more

Methodolgy

March 9, 2019
Year 4, Day 68 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

We commonly miss our way by failing to become activists for the future.  We fail in many ways, and never really put the blame where it belongs – on self.  We may believe we set goals when we only set purposes.  Purposes announce what we want to be or achieve, goals make purposes specific.  Purposes are dreams that may stay with us unfilled into old age.  Many men and women do not discover goals as necessary until middle age, and end up with a half-life professionally, perhaps also personally.  There is need, for example, a goal related to the schedule and person I want to marry.  Goals turn purposes into reality.  If we gain our purposes without goals, which may… Read more

Intellectual

March 8, 2019
Year 4, Day 67 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Benedetto Luti, 1715-20

There are various communities of identity and preoccupation for persons that must be understood in the complexities of life if mankind is to be managed well, make laws fair for individual rights, accept multi-cultures, provide for citizens and live in peace.  Even then, in favorable environments, it is difficult and some believe is impossible in the long view.  Management becomes even more difficult in modernization where diversity dilutes and may stall majority rule.  Further, we need to remember that truth is not based on majority conclusions, but on the facts that lead to understanding.  Understanding leads to wisdom, and from that wisdom we find action (conduct) that serves societies if wise proposals are activated. The individual alone (the one) is… Read more

Bonding Friendship

March 7, 2019
Year 4, Day 66 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

On Friday, June 26, 2015, America received the announcement that by a vote of five to four the Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage is approved by the meaning of the Constitution of the United States. The approval was strongly attacked in published statements, both legal and emotional in the languages of persons against the ruling.   The only option remaining for the restoration of the biologically factual meaning of marriage in the United States rests with gaining an amendment to the Constitution of the United States – highly unlikely.  Permission of slavery in the original constitution changed in 1865, giving men of color the right to vote before women of any race were given the right – which omission… Read more

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