Lion's Gate Bridge #2


Today in class we walked through the Noland trail. During this autumnal season of the year the trees are painted in a vibrant array of fiery colors. I was in awe of the beauty of this transitional time. Feeling myself resonate with the physical season  around me with this transitional period of my life. During the walk on the trail we were able to observe different types of plants. The smells of the plants reminded me of nostalgic times. I was reminded of sweet memories such as my time in Barcelona, Spain by the sweet syrupy smell of Honeysuckle. There was a similar plant that smelled like thick honey when I was in Spain. It was a scent that reminded me of adventurous and carefree times. Plants like Rosemary reminded me of my mother's garden, where she would grow rosemary and other array of plants. There is a certain sweetness and spice found in the scent of rosemary that differs from the syrupy sweet scent of the Honeysuckle. During this walk on the trail I was also mesmerized by the way the light rays from the sun would flow into the cracks of the trees. I was reminded of the power of light. Looking at the trees and the ways the light would illuminate the trees reminded me of John 1:5, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." I felt that this place was speaking of a beauty greater than what I was even seeing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Student Choice #1

This semester, I have found myself most Sunday afternoons feeling stuck. I don't want to use my mind and I don't want to move off my couch. Nothing seems to sink in past surface level and I would simply scroll through Facebook, not taking in any information but merely skimming. I heard someone once describe this feeling as the "fog of war." Battling with negativity, artificiality, and cynicism for too long leads to this lethargic state of in between, not giving up but not contributing, lukewarm in the truest sense of the word. I wonder if part of the solution to this "fog of war" is to simply be around something that is real. Something that is created. To feel the wind, even if it is bitter cold. To listen to a piece of music that is so beautiful or tragic that it brings tears to your eyes. To touch a tree or a blade of grass. To watch an ant crawl across the sidewalk. To see the sunset or to feel the rain fall. When I am surrounded by screens and walls and ...
Read more

Landscapes of the Sacred #2

In Landscapes of the Sacred, Ch. 10 discusses the tension between place and placelessness is Christian Spirituality. It discusses the two approaches to sacred place: kataphatic and apophatic.  Kataphatic rejoices in discerning the presence of God in the “thisness” of various places [place] while a pophatic: skeptical of an image’s ability to contain the mystery of the Holy [placelessness]. In one specific section, The Christian Imagination and a Theology of Place, Lane discusses how God is here, but not only here. He writes, “A theology of transcendance will never be comfortable with place.” He goes on to describe 5 “motifs by which the religious imagination is able to ‘create’ places or landscapes that become embodied means of experiencing the divine presence.” The first comes from John Calvin, he “spoke of the natural world as a theater full of wonders in which God’s glory becomes apparent..” The second is n ature as a ‘second book’ alongside scripture as a way to read the presen...
Read more

It All Begins With Praise - Phenomenology of Prayer

When talking about the elements of prayer, the author of The Phenomenology of Prayer claims that praise is where we need to start. Prayer is the "deepest decentering of the the self." Prayer should begin with adoration, acknowledging the power of the higher being. From the faith background in which I was raised, the idea of removing yourself from the center of the universe (humiliating yourself) and putting God at the center is how to live a spirit-filled life. Wholeheartedly yielding yourself to the Spirit is no easy feat, Galatians 5 explains that the desires of the flesh (personal projects) are against the desires of the Spirit (wholly other's projects). This ongoing struggle is the life of one who has faith in Jesus. The more time spent praising God in prayer, the more preoccupied one will become with God and submitting to his will, empowered by the Spirit, will then become our project.
Read more