How many stories?

I have many stories.
I have lived in each story.
Some I should not have built.
Some I should not have written.
In some I should have stayed longer.
Some should have been longer.
Some were very good.
Some were not so very good.
Some were bad.
Some were very bad.

Not exactly a skyscraper.
Not exactly a tome.
But, rising to the sky.
And, already inked.
How tall will it go?
How many chapters?
How tall should it go?
How solid will it stand?
How solid is the bibliography?

It depends upon the quality of the foundation.
It depends upon the quality of the thesis.
On what or whom is it built?
Who is the ultimate editor?
He will keep the light on for me.
He controls the margins.

A pent house in the sky not made by human hands.
The final manuscript fused with grace.
Better when the Master Builder is in charge.
Better when the Word directs the writing.
I meddle.

Richard L. Brewer
08/12/2018

String Vacation

On the beach.
String bikini.
Thong suit.
Correct wear?
Yes, butt.
Sand grain.
Spirit grain.
Numbed brain.
Sunburn pain.
Who figured this kind of toast.
Bring on the balm butter.

Richard L. Brewer
04/18/2018

 

I am always learning. It is often quite difficult. Sometimes I absorb information like a sponge, without conscious awareness. But, for the most part, accumulating knowledge takes a great deal of effort. It is painful. Wisdom is the ideal outcome of accumulated knowledge. The bible makes it clear that it can be vexing and sorrowful. Consider Ecclesiastes 1:18, “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”

Knowledge has been defined as: “the body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time”, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/knowledge?s=t. Wisdom has been defined as: “the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight”, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/wisdom?s=t.

An example of the difference between the two: Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

How much do I know? How wise am I? Let’s consider some information. I have been called an expert. Okay, so what does that mean? I surmise I was once something and no longer am, like an ex-con. I was once a pert and now I am an ex-pert. Pert is defined as being “lively; sprightly; in good health”, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/pert?s=t. I wish I could still be a pert.

I was recently described by a practicum student as being a legend. Leg: the lower limb between the knee and ankle. End: the part at the end of an extremity. I am a foot. How disturbing is that?

 

Apart from God, there is no objective reality. Each person has his/her own reality that is not shared by anyone else, at least not completely. “Reality” may be shared in part by a family, community, or culture. Otherwise, there are as many realities as there are individuals. In the words of Gustave Flaubert “There is no truth. There is only perception.”

Alfred Adler stated: “More important than innate disposition, objective experience, and environment is the subjective evaluation of these. Furthermore, this evaluation stands in a certain, often strange, relation to reality.”

A bit confusing? Let me put it this way. Assumptions and presumptions supersede one’s “reality”. We do not see things as others see things, but through our personal experience, prejudice, and woundedness. Selfishness and pride also obscure our ability to be truly objective.

Implications? Number one: Before we judge, it would be wise to see to the other’s reality to the best our ability; to walk in their shoes, to look beyond our own reality and conclusions. Number two: develop a community. We are meant to be connected. Number three: Love. Practice the second greatest commandment.

As we read in Matthew 22: 35-40: “And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets’.”

The best way to “get” another’s reality: Walk in his/her shoes, develop community with him/her, and love. Quite the powerful triad.

When I was a boy our neighbor had an old car that no longer functioned beyond being a sophisticated toy for us kids. It was spectacular fun. We turned dials, shifted gears, mashed pedals against the floor, turned the wheel, honked the horn (battery long dead), cranked open and closed the windows. We “smoked” candy cigarettes and flicked the imaginary ashes in the ash tray or out the window. We travelled the country and never once ran out of gas. The biggest impact might have been the spit spatters on the windshield left behind using our motor-making sound lips. True enjoyment!

To misuse the line of a once well-known song: “Take a trip and never leave the farm!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyQi-1Z2tN8).

I recently found myself reminiscing about that car. Great memories. Imagination is still wonderful. Fantasy is still a great entertainer. Escape into play is still a wonderful respite. Play has been considered the child’s work. I like that description. Obviously, I worked a lot as a child. Great fun!

Imagination was a great friend. And, it still is. Imagination/fantasy is wonderful distraction, best if managed and not allowed to be the manager. Yes, a grand resource. Yet, it can also lead to excessive avoidance and even lead to self-delusion. I wonder how much time I have spent splattering the windshield of my life without having left my driveway—and yet believed I have done more than simply distributed my spit. Worth a pondering. I do not want to miss out on constructive, restorative fantasy, but neither do I want to miss out on reality.

When one is directly under the Son, one casts no shadow.

 

I am always over my head when I am hanging by my feet.

 

Carnival Discombobulation

Tilt-a-whirls, Teacups, Rollercoasters. Distorting mirrors.
All representing and distorting our realities.
What we “know” for the moment is not necessarily truth,

 

Sometimes the answer is right before us. We fail to see the forest for the trees.

Consider the following.

A woman had five children:
The name of the first was January.
The name of the second was February.
The name of the third was March
The name of the fourth was April.
What was the name of the fifth.

and

How Long is a China man’s name.

Knot or not?

To be or not to be.
To agree and knot to be!

Am I a fit-pitcher?

Moses pitched a public fit.
He struck the rock,
And, lost his front row seat.

 

Evan did not wish to go to Disney World for his graduation gift. “I want to see the Aurora Borealis with you dad.” He died before he graduated. He has seen it. I was gifted with a foretaste. I see the colors of the Northern Lights when I close my eyes. Better than Disney.

Better Than Disney

We did not see the Aurora together back when.
I did not understand it then.
I do not understand now.
I know not the rationale or how…
Yet, I find peace in spite.
And, I see the Northern Light.
Some five years ago, the colors came.
What a blessing,
Evan saw the Aurora before I did.
I was given a foretaste.
And, I see in a glass darkly.
We will see the Borealis together—in His timing.
Sounds foolish to some. Maybe many.
I am blessed, the only meaningful option to me.

Richard L. Brewer
01/07/2018