I thought this week’s readings were a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed most of them very much and this one made it to my top two. It’s becoming rare for me to read about God from a Western standpoint and be moved. But the God described in this passage had many qualities that I could appreciate.
“God loves to give, and freely bestows good things on all people, even the imperfect…” It sounds like this God would love me for me. In fact, I don’t think this God would even exclude my wife and I from the rights and privileges associated with marriage.
“For all the beautiful things in the world would never have been what they are if they hadn’t been modeled after the archetype of true beauty, the Uncreated, the Blessed, the Imperishable.” This passage was pretty powerful to me. All beautiful things come from a model that was never created, always blessed and indestructible. It’s especially interesting to think of an archetype that has no beginning or end, and is solely responsible for all beautiful things. It makes me wonder what is responsible for all of the ugly.
“…the goal of wisdom is laughter and play.” This is my favorite, hands down. I think laughter is a fantastic goal to have for attaining wisdom. It usually seems (from a western religious standpoint) the more knowledge you have about the world, the less playful and happy you are. The saying is, “ignorance is bliss”, not wisdom. But maybe we’ve had it backwards all this time. Perhaps laughter and play do follow true wisdom.
About Me
- tnt77
- I am Teira (pronouced Tear-a). My mother named me after a character on All My Children in the 70's. I lost my mom last summer and realized life's too short to take anything for granted. The biggest thing I've learned not to take for granted is Tomorrow. I've lived in Rocklin for 4 yrs with my wife of 10yrs, 2 dogs (Maximus & Hercules), cat (Simba), and fish (Lebron ~ like the b-ball player). My wife and I have been married 3 times in 10 yrs. 1st, we eloped in Las Vegas, 2nd, we stood in line at S.F. City Hall for 8 hours when gay marriage was legal for 10 minutes, and the 3rd time we renewed our vows in Vegas. We're considering a 4th now that it's legal in California and this may be a great opportunity for me to finally get a band and ice sculpture! I haven't decided on a major, but I'm leaning towards the social sciences. I listen to a ton of left & right talk radio, and find that I'm always outraged at the ignorance of others. I hope my education will prepare me to work in a field in which I'm able to promote tolerance, understanding and an appreciation of our diversity.
2 comments:
I like what you wrote toward the end there, "...the more knowledge you have about the world, the less playful and happy you are."
I occasionally share with people a similar sentiment: When I tried to control my drinking, I couldn't enjoy it; when I tried to enjoy my drinking, I couldn't control it!
My guess is that the type of wisdom one seeks has a great deal to do with the amount of joy and playfulness one finds. I know a lot about many things that never brought me an ounce of pleasure, but I also know a lot about things that bring me great joy. Wisdom comes in many forms...
Thanks for a wonderful blog!
Woody
I really like what you wrote when you said "It usually seems (from a western religious standpoint) the more knowledge you have about the world, the less playful and happy you are." I couldn't agree more. It often seems that people with wisdom are portrayed as serious and rarley happy. In reality the wise should be more happy then anyone else because they should be able to find joy in all aspects of life. great blog.
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