The two Thomas Merton books came in the mail. A gift. Jon opened the package, took one book and handed the other, A Book Of Hours, to me. “I have a feeling this one is yours,” he said.
Jon has been reading and writing about Merton for years, yet he has always alluded me. Until Jon gave me “when the trees say nothing”, entries from Merton’s journals about nature.
I opened “A Book of Hours” to page 122 and read….
“The magnitude of the task cannot be allowed to deter us. Even if it seems impossible, me must still attempt it. This demands of course a spirit of faith. ”
Merton was writing specifically about war, but his words are universal and can be applied to politics as well as our personal lives.
Faith, like hope I understand.
I couldn’t go to my studio every day and make art without them. I couldn’t bring my camera out to the pasture and take pictures of the animals in the fog without believing that someone will look at them and see what I see in them. That they will believe my work is as meaningful and worthwhile as I do.
It’s harder for me to apply faith and hope to politics. But I know what they feel like inside of me.
It’s just a greater leap over a wider gap.
Believe, indeed, that your photographs convey meaning and beauty to your followers. The photos of the silky spider webs and flowers are fine examples of this. Never stop letting us know what you see and feel and create — and thanks!
Ah, Thank you for saying so Kaaren, it’s aways good to hear. :)