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| Photograph by George Angus |
Isness is God.
Meister Eckhart
~ v ~
Our faith imposes on
us a right and duty
to throw ourselves
into the things of the earth.
Teilhard
de Chardin
I am of the opinion that we do not take things seriously enough. Thing things –
stoves, forks, pipe fittings, plugs, brushes, string, door handles, cloth –
that type of thing. We use them, hoard them, discard them, forget them, ignore
them, neglect them, rule over them, buy and sell them. Rarely do we really look
at them and see them. Almost never do we listen to them and allow ourselves to
be deeply touched by them.
The world embraces us with creations – God’s
and ours. In all forms and shapes. With our creations being extensions of God’s
creations and with one creative energy flowing through every created thing
whether we acknowledge the fact or not. While we generally find it quite easy
to see beauty and even the spiritual in nature, the cosmos and art, we usually
do not have that ability where our own utensils are concerned. They are apparently
mere props acting as backdrop to the lives we live.
In essense I am saying that we must not live dualistic
lives with certain things being holy and reserved for God while other things
are profane, the stuff that people use. It truly is a matter of God in all
things (See the posts Gateway to heaven and God in all things).
Mine is a plea for the respectful appreciation
of things.
I want to pay homage to the vacuum cleaner when
for some reason or the other it is not working and I have to find the problem.
On bad days I am frustrated and curse it under my breath – a mere nuisance
wasting my precious time. On better days I am much more humble from the start
and approach the problem listening. For what? For what the machine is telling
me. How do I know what it is telling me? I’ll know listening to it. Right
before my eyes it will roll over on its back revealing its soft underbelly to
me. I’ll find the switch with the burnt contacts quickly and I’ll remember that
I have a similar one in a drawer that I can use. And even if it takes time to
repair it I find it much less frustrating and more fulfilling than when I
approach it fuming.
It is not for nothing that people baking will
tell you that on bad days the chances are good that cakes are likely to flop.
The flour and the sugar and the eggs know.
We are surrounded by things holy.
Consider the work of
his fingers:
Earth spinning round
and round its axis
so that the water laps
against all the sides
and the wind blows in
through open windows
rustling trees.
We spin past the sun
into the night.
Mily’s delicate ears
that are attached to
her head
where in cool and soft
crinkles
they fold under your kisses
causing her to hang
limp
in your hands.
Somewhere deep inside
her
there is a place
purring.
Images clinging to the
side
of the yoghurt tub
silently letting you
taste
its content
before opening the
lid.
Inkjet printers
leaving in Times Roman
amen traces
in A4 spaces.
I stand in awe.
Wow George! Excellent.
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