Tag: spiritual
The fulfillment of the ark is everyday beckoning us to make the same ascent, Ourselves to rise toward Christ to make our heart a ready and acceptable ark for the Word of God, That we too may carry the Bread of Life as our daily life and sustenance, Shepherded by the staff of healing, which guides us to the restoration of our nature and the cure for death. on the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, 2016
O Strength of the Land, thou art gone. Bringing God forth through thy works And the abundance of thy lovingkindness for thy people, Virgin is the land again, purified through thy labors. Rejoice, mourning land; restore a smile to thy face O ye who hear tell ever new stories of thine Incomparable Power. Myrrh-scented bitterness of thy tears will rise as a Full incense of thy supplications for repose. Of what works do we begin to recall, for Grace bestowed from on high multiplied them beyond number. The land, yea, the whole world despaired of finding a Lord worthy of the honor bestowed upon him. Strength Is finally found in humility, and power With him who bends to touch the lowly. Thee, O land’s new strength, with thee, is power without compare. Blessed are they who lived in your time, for thou Art the blessing most unexpected, in that Thou…
I believe that we carry more within us than we know. The more I hear the monotonous drone of scientific surveys about the incredible untapped potential of the human brain, though they may be true, or how this or that little trait adapted in some ancient sea creature to allow it to walk up on the ground, the more I think about all the aspects of the human which science cannot tell us. Are feelings really just a mix of this and that pheromone? Is the human soul just a complex creation of our imagination? Truly, there is much more within us than we know. I believe we have common traits that reflect our creator. Have you ever noticed faces in the things around us? My favorite is the front of cars with headlights like eyes and grills like a mouths. And somehow the little coat hangers on the inside…
See how the grass stands, grown, without a roof, Four patches kept from sun to make them thrive, Their tires gone, yet imprints left in life Give ears to hear their presence clearly move. ‘Tis from a different time and now dull red, Its former brilliance faded through long wear; Though steering wheel and handles used till bare, Tires run long miles to change have often led. Not left to rot, a remnant of excess, Not rightly called antique, as some would say, But centered to the straight and narrow way. Last of a cohort, made for nothing less Than service true, for never did they stray The type by which the future could be built.
This is a little take-away from a wedding I helped shoot recently. The focus of wedding photography, fittingly, is the bride and groom, but there is so much more going on: relationships, history, feuds, and innumerable others stories in progress. As soon as I ran across this photo back at home when reviewing the whole set, I loved it.
Yesterday, I took the scenic route back to my parking spot. I was just running a normal errand and had my one-year-old in my arms. Sure, we accidentally parked a little too far away initially, but that had nothing to do with the scenic route. The mood, history, and culture of downtown Temple, Texas inspired us to take a slightly less direct path back to the car…just for the beauty of the moment. I was less concerned with taking photos than I was with enjoying a few extra minutes of the day. What I received was more enjoyable and eye opening than I expected.
The “Learning to See” in the title is a reference to Chris Marquardt’s Learning to See Workshops. Not that I have been to a workshop, but I have listened to his Tips from the Top Floor podcast quite a bit, and really appreciate his approach to photography. I could not agree more with his website byline: “learn to see”. How we experience life, what we notice, and the learned ability to switch perspective are key ingredients to the quality of photography we produce. I learned a lesson in learning to see on that scenic walk back to the car.