I have been meaning to write something new, however, these quiet winter mornings have instead created opportunities to revisit familiar views from new vantage points. Photographers are well aware of how the perception of familiar terrain can dramatically shift when viewed through a different angle or enhanced by a new dispersal of light.
“Dispersed Reflection”
I wrote a piece some time ago and shared on a temporary blog that I had used to gather and share thoughts. For some reason this piece keeps coming to mind. Perhaps, it is because I have returned to a more metropolitan area. There is so much beauty here but there is also a lot of work to be done. There are individuals pushed to the margins; there are individuals in need of healing. Interspersed with these needs there are hopeful avenues of progress. However, progress requires the dispersal of Christ’s light; His Love. In the essay that keeps coming to mind, I wrote:
“Our strength lies in the fact that we are created in the image and likeness of God. This drives us to create, curate, and communicate. But the value of the human person is intrinsic to their very existence and is especially present in the vulnerable. This is a truth that needs to be spoken aloud again and again. This is good. Vulnerability is good. It is a part of our humanity. Fragility necessitates community.
Stories that present a dystopian future always invoke the flourishing of one group of people at the expense of another or at the expense of what makes us human. Often, in these imagined futures man becomes less man and more machine. I suppose this is what we fear in the visionary that is not tempered by pragmatism. Historically, this seems to be a common tendency of man.
What is to be done? I believe we can try to do better. We can be visionary and pragmatic, by seeking to truly see others. We can practice the beauty of humanity by speaking to others, and we can practice charity by speaking for the good of others who share the vulnerability of our humanity to such a degree that they cannot speak for themselves. Ultimately, we can let ourselves be led by a Divine King who embraced and offered up the frailty of our humanity. His love, Christ’s love, is capable of reaching and healing all. His love is that which must be shared through each of us.”
The full essay can be found here. I suppose I am taking my own advise and speaking this truth aloud again. These words have been spoken by many and heard by many. Progress has been made, however, we are not yet living in the Kingdom of God, and so I will speak these words again and hope they shine light on a truth sometimes forgotten.