quick words

"for the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." hebrews 4:12

i always viewed the Bible as a lifeless book full of promises apparently meant for other people. where was all this "quickness" that was so life altering? what was it about GOD's promises that made the george mullers of the world test their limits? something in me wanted to prick GOD's word just to see if it would bleed.

it does. there are times when i find myself cutting my name it it's pages, and every time it oozes enormous drops of redemption.

multi colored wisdom

"he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." -gandalf

spoken after saruman declares his disdain for his former rank of "white." "white light can be broken," he says, to which gandalf replies: "in which case it is no longer white." which begs the question: is there value in "breaking a thing?" as an artist of sorts, my first reaction is: no! you destroy the artistry and impact of a thing by breaking it down into its strands of DNA; but the scientist in me (of which i must confess is *not* legion) says: but the strands of DNA are equally as beautiful as the body they compose. let's consider our town shall we? a beautiful treatise on the complex appreciation of simplicity. am i aided in my appreciation of the "live every moment" theme by understanding each character's individual lines? when i follow the spine of emily's development as a human, and my own identification with her plight (simple though it may be), am i more satisfied with my our town experience? (is the fact that i'm even having this schizophrenic, sybil-like dialogue with myself an indication that "breaking a thing" is indeed profitable?) yes, i have to admit, it makes the overall aesthetic experience more satisfying. i can step away from the analysis, sit in my seat and revel in the message thru salty tears. but what happens if i define that aesthetic experience only by it's component parts? what if i "watson and crick" emily's double helix? what if when i sit and observe our town (note: i used the action of the scientific method) am i only amused or wryly facinated by the helixy curve of her character's spine thru my electron microscope? it seems to be less of a satisfying experience. it lacks artisty as only a distant observation of the adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine that form the building blocks of the play.

so, do i agree with gandalf? yes: to break a thing (and leave it broken) is most definitely folly. and no: to break a thing (and put it back together) is wisdom. white light broken is many colored (and saruman of many colors is definitely not what i'm going for here), but who would want to miss the varietal shades that make up white?

summering

1. a little-lady bird built her nest in my garage last week when i left the door open. do i leave the door open and let her finish, or do i keep the door closed so she won't be lured into a hopeless situation?

2. to get a screen for my windows or not? the aforementioned little-lady bird tried to fly in the house the other day. she was perched on the window sill trying to tell me she needed in the garage to finish her nest.

3. i can get in a good swing at the park if i use "american pie" as my time-guide: all 8 minutes and 28 seconds of it.

4. the library is a wealth of words. how can one get bored when there are still words to be read in the world i ask you!

5. the library is also a wealth of documentary dvds: i await the medici family (it is the original "family" after all).