Category Archives: Creative writing

By Faith not by sight

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This picture is a composite of two images: an eye and a collection of five intersecting lines. The eye reflects the view’s momentary interest. It appears blurred. The blurred reflection is the reason I am reminded of the phrase – live by faith not by sight.

The prevalence of iPod™, iPad™, computers, books, movies, and driving automobiles raises our eye- the organ of sight- to an exalted position in making decisions. More clearly, after seeing another live a certain lifestyle, many desire to live the same life style; seeing a certain car race by, many desire to drive that model or a better one; seeing another sporting a sculptured body, many are driven to so sculpture their body, etc. Some actually get what they seek. A time later, the appeal of their  acquisition fades and what appeared to be a sure entrance to happiness proves to be an illusion. Hopeful to find happiness, the seeker continues the search but meets the same failed fate. After many  futile recurrences, he learns the senses reveal only the appearance of happiness – never happiness. To avoid the endless search for happiness that sensual input promises, live by faith.

Living by faith

To live by faith, adopt a well defined life plan, a plan that is not dependent on sight or worldly things. Each day, determined to live all aspects of the plan perfectly. Each step towards perfection serves you a bit of the sought after happiness.

Isaiah 28 reveals an invitation to embrace a life plan free of chases leading in dissatisfaction. Click to read. Properly interpreted, the lines in the second image illustrate the invitation. Below is my interpretation of of the lines.

The second theme: the collection of five lines

Three of the five lines in the collection intersect in a point to the left of the eye. One of the three lines is horizontal. A vertical line intersects the horizontal line to the right of the eye. The vertical line is the fourth line in the collection. The fifth line rises from the picture’s center-bottom to intersect the vertical line near the top of the picture.

Each line represents  the trace of a person’s life journey. Call it a life path. All possible life paths cannot possibly be shown, so only those having a certain defining qualities are shown. The actual trace is of lesser importance than its direction.

The horizontal line describes balance. It represents temperance, self-control, among other things, treating everyone with respect etc. It’s the life path of a just person. The vertical line has no deviations. It is a plumb line. It represents the life path of a righteous person. This is the good life promised in Isaiah 28. (A righteous person is also a just person)

The Isaiah theme

Begin the interpretation with a person positioned on the intersection of the three lines (life paths). Movement along a life path to the right advances the person towards the good life. Remaining in the same position or movement to the left is a failure to advance towards the good life. A person who moves on the horizontal line to the left is a just person but is not a righteous person. But a righteous person is a just person.

Why start at the intersection of the three lines? 

Beginning the interpretation at the intersection of the three lines, means at any time a person is able to choose: to be just, to remain at the present life state, to move away for the good life or to move towards the good life. The choice is for the person to make. The fifth line in the picture is a reminder that all life paths can end in the good life.

Conclusion

Michael Pick presented this two images picture as a writing assignment in WordPress Daily Post, February 18,2013. The blurred reflection in the eye characterizes the nature of sense information, in particular sight. Information from the senses, (sight) is never complete. Life concurs this.

Isaiah 28 is a revelation. Revelations are better guides by which to live than responding to sight information. The lines in the second image represent the choices in Isaiah 28 hence they promise a good life, a life free of disappointment.

A New Order

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This photo ushers forth three significant themes from my memory. The streetcar ascending the hill (I choose to interpret it to be ascending), the embracing couple, the passengers departing the streetcar and those allowing them to depart before boarding: each is a chapter in a dream-come-true story.

Let’s focus on the streetcar. It represents the train of life that slowly advances humanity to a higher awakening. The departing passengers are the old guard. They are at the end of their life journey. The passengers waiting to board represent the new order that is to be tried.

This scene symbolizes my patience to board the life train and ride it into a long awaited new order.

Soon I will depart for my home state to attend the investiture of a high school classmate to be Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.  This is a historic event.  It begins a new order.

My classmate is not the first female to lead this court but she will be  the court’s first African-American Chief Justice. How can I describe the significance of this uphill trek?

When we graduated high school, Louisiana was among the segregated states in the South.  Its legislation and culture prohibited African-Americans from attending LSU and Tulane, the premier educational centers of the state. Education in Louisiana was separate but  seldom equal. Although Louisiana segregation laws have long been set aside, this investiture makes her one of the sworn to guard exclusion based on racial designations in Louisiana.

The streetcar is advancing  up the hill.

I see myself as a passenger patiently waiting to board the streetcar to this historic investiture.

My great grandparents were Louisiana residents. They dreamed of this day. They died hoping for a new order, but they never saw it. They died in hope. With my weaken but proud eyes, on February 28, I board the life train to witness what they hoped for.

The embracing couple symbolizes a new responsible humanity. It is educated. It knows humanity’s past fears. Education is its only defense against the  pitfalls and lies that ruled previous generations. More importantly, the couple’s education is its only protection against threatening things yet unseen. But they embrace. Their greeting is warm and they whisper into  each other’s ear a vow to never let the sun set without throughly addressing a division between them. They know, all too well, an untreated wound in their relationship is the beginning of a slow death to society.

Their embrace shouts the arrival of the new order, a dream come true – at last!

Isaiah 28 For The Second Millennium

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A true cornerstone

The Lord Almighty said:

I have placed a special one among you.

He is tested and has my authority.

For those who rely on him,

your concerns are covered.

If you follow him,

your interactions are just and

I will declare you righteous.

Those who rely on him:

Your ungodly alliances with associations and worldly things,

I void.

Your lies and falsehoods behind which you hid,

I annul.

In my special one,

there is rest, repose and peace for your soul.

His rest will completely wraps you in justice,

His righteousness and  His strength

will support you during troubled times.

Pay attention to His faithfulness, His proven faithfulness;

to do his work, his strange work,
    and perform his task, his alien task.

I  permitted his death on a cross.

I permitted the curse

to compensate for your return to the Divine.

Then I made him My throne of mercy,

through which I dispense grace.

My Fellow Travelers: In times of crisis,

The Lord Almighty wishes you to remember

the beauty and the mystery of His work –  His strange work;

and that His alien tasks create what seems alien to His nature

though, it is good,

all the time.

 

REFERENCE:

For an NIV translation of Isaiah 28, go to:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2028&version=NIV

For a friend with an advancing degenerative condition

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Coming to the end of a journey can be difficult.

During these moments, we are inclined to make decisions

that opens voids we feel needs to be filled.

Uncertainty pops up then  anxiety, and in some cases fear.

Scripture tell us that these conditions are the children of punishment,

the lack of knowledge and the  lack of  love.

But you ARE loved,

by Jesus, your family, your spiritual associates and by me.

My prayers for your heart

Remember your pools of love;

Rest in therm.

Each of us pray a quality of life in which you can prosper.

May Jesus continue to bless you in the way He deems the best.

Always for you.

Rain in Sacramento

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Today it rained: not a drizzle, but a nice wet rain. By the end of the day, an inch will have been reported. For New Orleans that’s the equivalent of an hour downpour. This is Sacramento. An inch downpour is a day’s activity for our clouds.

 I drove to the shopping center  in the rain. The slouching sounds from the tires on the wet streets and the swoop-swoop  sound made by the wipers blades are music to me. I love to driving in the rain.

Along the main drag to the shopping center, the 60-feet sycamores are budding; the flowering plums – in full bloom, stand on a circular carpet of white petals; and the weeping willows are awaking. The clouds completely cover the Sacramento, casting a white light from the blocked sun rays.

Redwoods line the main drag to the shopping center. Their shapes, forever pointing upwards, display the majesty of this statuesque species.  This is a relative young neighborhood, but the heights are well over 50 feet. They are approaching their maximum height  for the valley floor. Along the coastal strip where they thrive, it is not unusual to point out one in excess of  340 foot tall and over 900 years old.

Typical lays out for redwoods

Returning home, I exit the main drag. The camellias are in full bloom. At my corner the double blossom pink camellias and the single blossom red camellias in my neighbor’s garden enjoy the rain. A few yards away then I am at home. Along my driveway, the double blossom white camellia bushes are burdened but happy. To me, they hail, welcome home.

Along my driveway

Rear Your Child For Success: A Sestina

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instruct a Child: Society Will Praise You

Everyone wishes the best for his child.
At birth he is wired to accomplish it
in all that he undertakes;
provided he has been properly nurtured;
given guiding principles;
and knows how to keep clear of distractions.

Your child will realize his best when he learns to manage distractions.
Teach him those skills. Society will designate him a worthy child.
In him, cultivate positive principles
then, life will usher him through it.
Vary his experiences, he will be nurtured
by them and they will help him to appreciate all he undertakes.

Teach your child self-love. It will drive all that he undertakes
and will protect him from distractions.
Love him with your time and attention, then his self-esteem will be nurtured.
For what loved child
thinks ” I’m not worthy?” Confidence he shall possess it.
For love from others and self, will build self-esteem and moral principles.

As guardian, in him instill accepted principles.
And give him many diverse experiences. They will prepare him for life’s undertakings.
When such an event arrives and it
will, he will recognize it and be able to avert its crippling distractions.
One-on-one talks, sports and cultural events will develop your child
for a life that is well nurtured.

In your ways, do you wish him nurtured?
Children love imitation. It is their best teacher of principles.
So, be a good example for your child.
Good behaviors he undertakes
having learned from your examples. Life is always threatened by distractions
but your good training will keep alive his desire for it.

Rewarding projects await solutions in IT.
IT problem solvers, nurtured
by disciplined concentration, level their programming distractions.
Their focus is on principles
that ensures success to a user who undertakes
to teach an application to a highly motivated child.

So teach IT to your child.
Having been nurtured in disciplined ways, in all projects he undertakes
he will master their distractions and use the correct principles.

REFERENCES

http://voices.yahoo.com/helping-children-develop-their-talents-709021.html

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5792

A Villanelle: On Integrity

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Integrity is more than a word; it’s a state of being,

Possessing it is analogous to handling a precious bird.

Nurture your hold, you’ll come to love it; otherwise lose it to fleeing.

 

Squeeze too tight, with all your might, ends its well being,

Relax too much or take it for granted, escape is likely incurred.

Integrity is more than a word; it’s a state of being.

 

Firm gentle grips, loving caresses inhibit desire to fleeing,

Tightening destroys coexistence; boundaries become blurred.

Nurture your hold, you’ll come to love it; otherwise lose it to fleeing.

 

Mark my words without integrity, consequences are easily foreseen.

Forsake it is regret your companion; your peace is soon interred.

Integrity is more than a word; it’s a state of being.

 

Regaining integrity is indeed difficult for many human beings,

Faithfully guard it, then saying I sorry is easily hindered.

Nurture your hold, you’ll come to love it; otherwise lose it to fleeing.

 

Observe lessons past, they’re full of wisdom, insightful instructions, and guaranteeing,

For humans, the loss of integrity assures morals deferred.

Integrity is more than a word; it’s a state of being.

Nurture your hold, you’ll come to love it; otherwise lose it to fleeing.

Resourses: www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5796

Feet Planted, Arms Reaching Skyward, Strong Hands

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Feet firmly planted,

Arms reaching 746 feet skyward,

And hands gripping my raison d’étre.

I am a sight to behold.

Up close: not easily apprehended,

Afar: easily recognized, although seldom the focus.

Absent: chaos and inconvenience.

My twin is 4200 feet away.

Together we enable commerce,

support security and

provide convenience to transportation.

To the spiritual man,  

I am evidence that

The Creator now creates through humanity.

A Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge