climbing the walls

I think it is good to push myself beyond my comfort zone and opportunities come at surprising times. Last weekend my family went out to our local Bible camp and conference centre as volunteers for their big spring clean up. Lots of maintenance and preparation was required for new equipment to come in. Yep, this is not kids camp as you remember it. This place is decked out with amazing toys! Situated on Ness Lake, the camp has the usual canoes, Kayaks, and cabins, but they also have a huge jungle swing, a zip line that runs high above the ground, an indoor climbing wall, and gymnasium. This year's big project was to clear treed area for the new high wire course that is being installed. These facilities are used to challenge kids and adults alike to physical and spiritual strengths they never knew they had. Once the work was done, we were able to check out the equipment. I have never climbed before so I was thrilled to be able to use the climbing wall. My kids and the dad-guy all climbed as well. Fun stuff!

in the moment

I spent some time 'in the moment' today. As soon as everyone had gone off to work and school, I took the dogs and headed down the road for a walk. It was cool out, perhaps only +3. The moon,  full and round was still visible in the west. We walked quickly in the crisp air and I could hear the panting of the dogs, my clothing brushing on itself, a few brave birds, and...what was that? Large rustling from the bush to my left. Thanks to the heavy winds of last week, the trees were bare and I was able to see a cow moose get up from her bed to look at me. I am always amazed at how big they are! Their ears are no less than 8 inches high. They looked like awkward teenagers with their long skinny legs. I whispered a silent prayer that she would not see me as a threat. We were so close together, her and I, looking at one another. She made no aggressive move toward me and I could enjoy her beauty while the dogs and I walked past. My large dog let out a low growl and I hushed her. It was a beautiful moment !

This cow was standing outside our dinning room window last winter. She looks very much like the moose I saw today.

peace in the middle east?

I was listening to a "rebroadcast" of Ideas on CBC the other night. The speaker was Ronald Wright. He was going on about the possibility of Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnons coexisiting peacefully in the area know as the Middle East, Neanderthals in the North and Co-Magnons in the south. The middle, he says, was sort of a meeting ground. Now, I don't know about you, but I was taught that the Neanderthals were big hairy bruits who walked upright but carried a big stick. But Ronald paints a picture of individuals whose brain capacity was much larger than Cro-magnon, and whose bodies were well adapted to the cold of the north where they lived. For example, sloping foreheads meant less surface area exposed to the wind, protecting the brain from becoming dangerously chilled. If those of you with these facial features today have now gained a new respect for your appearance, I have done a good thing. Of course, if you believe you were made in the image of a super-creative being, God, as I do, you won't have to worry where that heavy set of brows came from.

Time or Space?

"Man transcends space, and time transcends man... We all take part in a procession through its realm which never comes to an end but are unable to gain a foothold in it....Space is exposed to our will; we may shape and change the things in space as we please." - quote from The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel.

I think it is because man has no foothold on time that he becomes obsessed with shaping and changing things from 'time' into 'space'. When I create, I want to capture, preserve and shape a moment in time. By changing from time to space, I am able to do that. It is a similar desire when sports fans with a remote hit replay. Or when the 5 year old who loves the funny face you just made says, "do it again!" Or when we take photos. These are all ways in which we convert time into space. This has become a common exercise for people in the western world as they somehow have attached proof of their existence to things in space rather than ideas in time. My question then is, if time is eternal, and space is not, then shouldn't we be leaving a legacy in time rather than space? Through my art, I can work out ideas about relationships, life, longevity, morals and values. Art can be a catalyst, the way to open the door to more meaningful thought, especially thought about what meaning our lives have when we can only hope to occupy space for 80 to 90 years. I like to think about converting my existence in space to existence in time through a relationship with the Creator of all. How about you?