One Thousand Words

I believe that pictures and photography are beautiful things. Art tells a message; it impacts the consumer. It delights. I love everything about the art of photography––the skill, the techniques, the efforts involved, the creativity, the options. I am impacted by the art as I attempt to capture it, myself. It is said you can say a thousand words in a picture. 

I believe that you can say much more than that. I believe there is an emotion and an energy that is communicated that is much stronger, much deeper than words. Here, I share three thousand words. I hope you enjoy them. 

Here are some pictures that I took with my Nikon in Ohio. I really enjoy photography, and I hope to share more with you as I get the chance to. I edit with LightRoom. 

This is on the exterior wall of my favorite small coffee shop in Ohio. 

An alley down the street from the coffee shop...

I love collecting vinyl records, and this is from when I visited my favorite store in the area. 

Sundry Satisfactions

Comfortable. Satisfied. Encouraged. Thankful.

I am all of these and more. There are specific things in my life that make me happy, daily.

I want to lend a glance at these sundry satisfying things in my life.

To start, an honest, stout cup of coffee is required. I always start my day with coffee––black, like oil. I love it recently roasted, freshly ground, and perfectly steeped in a French press.

Coffee is special to me; it is not just an energizing drink. I appreciate the process of making coffee. The smell; the warmth; the taste––marked by fruits, nuts, earth tones, and the perfect bite; I love the radiating rush as it warms my insides and invigorates my brain.

To me, coffee is a special art form.

Music, oh, music… That is a loaded issue. I am unable to be brief on my preferences and appreciation of music. I’ll just say that music compliments every aspect of my emotions, encouraging them, rebuking them, and highlighting them. I am always listening to music.

Frank Sinatra. John Mayer. Mumford & Sons. The Avett Brothers. The Beatles. Lydia. Manchester Orchestra. Ben Howard. Sea Wolf. The Lumineers. Louis Armstrong. Nat King Cole. Jack Johnson. The Postelles. I digress.

I must also add that I prefer music on vinyl record. There is something about the mood when putting on a dusty record––old or new––and sitting down, listening to the needle bump over the grooves the recording studio pressed into it. The sound does add more parts to it that are not always noticed in a digital recording. There is an apparent emotion to vinyl records that never ceases to make my heart encouraged and happy.

Seeing nature at work, moving and growing, without thought given to man makes me happy. I feel insignificant, but I feel connected. I feel like I do not have any control over the movements of nature, but I feel that I belong within it. Seeing a bright royal blue sky in the morning makes me smile. I take my energy from weather, from nature.

Quite in contrast, my favorite activity has happened in Snow Shoe, West Virginia every January for the past three years. Snow shell on, ski boots clipped, ski goggles down, I clip into my skis, and off I go.

Skiing is euphoric.

The frozen air stings my face. I fly down the slopes, carving a path as I slice into the mountain’s powder. Honestly, words fail me. There’s not quite anything like skiing.

One of my deepest loves is the arts.

Books––I quote Longfellow: “The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books.”

I love reading. Sherlock Holmes, Les Misérables, The Book Thief, Rebecca, The Count of Monte Cristo. I love so many books.

I love the thrill of the plot and character development. I love analyzing the work of the author––his or her message and the way in which they deployed that message. I love looking at the elements of each piece of literature. A good poem analysis and close reading makes for a great afternoon for me. I could talk about books and criticism for hours, honestly. I have many times.

The same is applicable to movies, videography, and photography. All are different variations of art. If videography and photography were not so difficult to make viable careers out of, I would pursue them professionally. I love them. I have a secret love for the short film. I love movies in general, and everything that goes into them. My favorites are too many movies to list. I can hold a long conversation about what makes a good movie (to me) and what I love about any particular movie.

Art––movies, music, photography, literature––all make me who I am. So much of how I am living today and how I think is anchored in the arts. Art makes me alive, and satisfied, and motivated.

I love many things. I am thankful. I am the result of many things and their influence on me. I am impacted. I am satisfied. 

Living Creature

Nature is a creature on its own.

It is a home, yes, but it breathes as a whole creature breathes. It lives, self-sustaining. There is a palpable energy. It flows out of the Earth.

Here, on a beautiful day, I feel the presence of Nature––this energy.

I hear the groans as the sun pushes up over the zenith. The cold breeze wafts over my cheeks; the afternoon sun then toasts my cheeks––refreshing libation provided constantly by the environment around me.

The swing of Nature is a comforting rock. I find the inspiration I seek in my life in Nature’s routine. I see optimism in Nature.

Nature is inherently wild, raw. Upon observation, though, a feeling of positivity and reassurance is found. Things of the human world are geocentric: Creations are built to compliment the provisions of nature or to utilize them. Nature is seen as a positive, good thing. Man looks to Nature as the ideal; Man yields to Nature.

Man also yields to the idea of a deity.

Nature is often mistaken for the deity; it is easy to see why.  

The beauty and perfection of Nature––especially the Nature I see around my area––is undeniable. Nature is a direct link to God. I always feel, hear, see Nature’s power and energy on days like today: The sky, blue as the deepest oceans, glows overwhelmingly overhead. The largest blanket ever made, so dark, but so vibrant. I feel content in this living blanket.

The routine and image of Nature lend a feeling of optimism to me through their observation. I feel motivated and satisfied.

Nature is God’s gift to man––a living, growing home, an encouraging home. As I grow in my academics, I aim to grow closer to this living creature, this Nature. 

Truly Flourishing

Life is hard and often frustrating. People are frustrating.

Life, though, is really worth living.

In one of my classes, we are spending a lot of time talking about flourishing. I love it. I get it. I wish I could say I have mastered it.

Flourishing, specifically, Human Flourishing is what you might call a life well lived. Flourishing is developing substantive relationships with nature, other people, ourselves, and God.

There is inherent holiness in everything. The concept of “secular” is a bad joke. Religious people often shy away from things secular. Having a “holier than thou” attitude towards “secular” things will only lead to discrimination and disrespect. The proper, flourishing attitude is to seek out a redeeming relationship with the other, the “secular.”

People take the “us vs. them” perspective and fail to understand flourishing because they have been given a shallow view of the Gospel. They fail to see that true human flourishing means loving everyone and seeing the holy evidences of God in every part of creation.

That’s right.

Every part of creation is holy.

“…miraculous is not extraordinary, but the common mode of existence.” – Wendell Berry, in Christianity and the Survival of Creation.

Try looking at the other people of the world with that perspective at heart. See if you are not able to work with people, accept people, love people on a better, more comfortable level with that viewpoint.

I wish I could say that I am.

The goal of religious people is not to spread the word and proselytize every “secular” person they encounter; people should focus on creating a flourishing relationship with each person, recognizing the good in each people.

Monsieur Madeline said in Les Misérables, “My friends, remember this, that there are no bad herbs, and no bad men, there are only bad cultivators.” (by Victor Hugo)

Spread your religious seed by showing unbiased love. Set a good example that will cause people to question their own values. That is how you spread the word.

I am not perfect. I do not think anyone is perfect.

I think about that a little too much sometimes. I am working to look at others as I would like to be looked at, myself. I am focusing on establishing solid, loving relationships with others. I like this life of flourishing; it really is worth living.

True Human Flourishing––I think I’ll try it.