Often when I am attending an event of some sort, my eyes and mind wander, intent on pondering details of something (not someone) nearby. Sometimes it takes away from the benefit of my attendance and the good the event may bring me, or sometimes further elaborates or is part of the happening itself.
Last night, as my wife and I attended a weekly service at a local parish church, one that calls for concentration and understanding of its concept regarding belief and faith, we sat a few pews behind a grand white pillar. I have many times sat in this same seat, but never noticed the artwork carved in the pillar, in this case a tiny cross and what appeared to be a vase overflowing its brim with fruit. I said to myself, "That's amazing. Someone -- an artist, sculpture, mason -- dreamt that, made that." I then looked at a few neighboring pillars, and they were home to the same décor, equivalent in size and style to the one in front of me. And although it did for a few moments "remove" me from the activity around me, it concurrently wrapped its arms around me, cementing my knowledge that all good -- the service, the pillar, the artwork -- are all found there, in the church. It's the same with reading. Sometimes during a library or bookstore visit, a book cover or dust jacket preview will lure me to check out or buy a book, I seeking to be diligent in not only starting but finishing the reading of it. But there are those times when a sentence, an entire chapter perhaps, moves me with such eloquence or importance that I'll read it again and again, thinking, "A mind dreamt this up" or "Someone has lived this." I'll find it amazing that someone with "heart" -- yes, a beating one but also one with emotion and passion -- was able to get that down on paper with feeling, with such talent. Nature walks also lend to creative romance, and reveal the talent of our Creator. I have on warm days walked through arboretums, much grandeur and green with lawn and trees, eventually finding a flower beds of different colors. Yes, they may be admired from a distance, but closer inspection by the eye reveals budding activity or full flora atop its stem that takes breath away, maybe even causing one albeit briefly to forget the "vast expanse" of arboretum in lieu of the tiny art. Silence is made for times like these, and so is pausing and admiration. Steve
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Steve Sears is a New Jersey based freelance writer
Archives
February 2024
Categories |