Yes, that's him. One reason I like his writing so much is that his words bring concepts and individuals to life in a unique way. Peculiar Treasures, generally about individuals named in the Bible, and The Alphabet of Faith, about life in general, are slender volumes that smacked me right in the heart about such a variety of topics. His brief entry on abortion gives credence to individuals' rights to choose. It ends with "..and yet, and yet..." The picture he draws of Noah listening to God's specific instructions about building an arc is the first place I read about the holiness of feet -- because it's embarrassing to watch Noah's face, slack-jawed and perhaps drooling over the ludicrous idea, so it's more polite to watch his feet.
I hope you are enjoying Paris. Your dad sounded enthusiastic about his travels with Mindy. I looked at the resort on Google Earth (my private plane). The architecture is stunning. Hope he enjoyed it. Love you!
All great points, Kristin, elegantly presented. I understand them as speaking to our sense of losing our agency in this political moment. When Trump throws a whole pot of spaghetti against the wall, which strand do you pick up to deal with? How to retain our sense of agency amidst his chaos? Grab your own strand, engagé or not, and pursue it. I explored this theme, if i may refer to it, in my substack https://randyfertel.substack.com/p/improv-trauma-and-recovering-our
Thank you for your comment, Randy! Yes, that's a great Substack piece from March. I particularly like this line: "I argue in Winging It: Improv’s Power and Peril in the Time of Trump that we need, through compassion, to overcome the tribalism that roils our nation. But it is also true that we need no excuse for the anger we feel toward Trump and Musk and their champions. We will be dealing with the traumas they create for many years."
Not sure if it helps to know, but everyone I talk to in Europe (well, France and Croatia) is traumatized and freaking out just as much as the liberals in the U.S. are.
I guess we've all got to grab a strand of spaghetti and not give up our agency! 🍝
I'm thinking an awful lot about Alexandre Navalny's last words lately: "You are not allowed to give up." I don't think this has to apply to just politics either.
As always, thanks for sharing your deeply personal reflections.
Thank you for reading and replying, Greg! That's a powerful quote and applies to so much. It's very hard not to give up. But I'm grateful for everyone who persists in their art, passions, dreams, and vision of a better world.
There is some old quote about Nero fiddling while Rome burned, if I remember correctly. Art is very personal, often something we do for ourselves, not wanting others involved in the creation of it or the meaning of it or the consumption of it. Sometimes art consumes me. Sometimes I consume some aspect of art. A favorite theologian, recently deceased, uses words to make art. He is an author -- God's call surprised him as much as anyone. He writes about the holiness of feet and bank accounts. His words about Noah, hearing God's directions for boat building in great detail, have given me life, repeatedly. He speaks of the holiness of feet.A paraphrase -- If you want to know who you are, watch your feet. Where your feet take you, that is who you are." Noah could have said no.
I wrote a long response then pushed the wrong button and it went away... but yes, that's him.
Yes, that's him. One reason I like his writing so much is that his words bring concepts and individuals to life in a unique way. Peculiar Treasures, generally about individuals named in the Bible, and The Alphabet of Faith, about life in general, are slender volumes that smacked me right in the heart about such a variety of topics. His brief entry on abortion gives credence to individuals' rights to choose. It ends with "..and yet, and yet..." The picture he draws of Noah listening to God's specific instructions about building an arc is the first place I read about the holiness of feet -- because it's embarrassing to watch Noah's face, slack-jawed and perhaps drooling over the ludicrous idea, so it's more polite to watch his feet.
I hope you are enjoying Paris. Your dad sounded enthusiastic about his travels with Mindy. I looked at the resort on Google Earth (my private plane). The architecture is stunning. Hope he enjoyed it. Love you!
This is very thoughtful, encouraging, prescient and generous. Thank you.
Thanks for reading and for your kind words, John!
All great points, Kristin, elegantly presented. I understand them as speaking to our sense of losing our agency in this political moment. When Trump throws a whole pot of spaghetti against the wall, which strand do you pick up to deal with? How to retain our sense of agency amidst his chaos? Grab your own strand, engagé or not, and pursue it. I explored this theme, if i may refer to it, in my substack https://randyfertel.substack.com/p/improv-trauma-and-recovering-our
Thank you for your comment, Randy! Yes, that's a great Substack piece from March. I particularly like this line: "I argue in Winging It: Improv’s Power and Peril in the Time of Trump that we need, through compassion, to overcome the tribalism that roils our nation. But it is also true that we need no excuse for the anger we feel toward Trump and Musk and their champions. We will be dealing with the traumas they create for many years."
Not sure if it helps to know, but everyone I talk to in Europe (well, France and Croatia) is traumatized and freaking out just as much as the liberals in the U.S. are.
I guess we've all got to grab a strand of spaghetti and not give up our agency! 🍝
I'm thinking an awful lot about Alexandre Navalny's last words lately: "You are not allowed to give up." I don't think this has to apply to just politics either.
As always, thanks for sharing your deeply personal reflections.
Thank you for reading and replying, Greg! That's a powerful quote and applies to so much. It's very hard not to give up. But I'm grateful for everyone who persists in their art, passions, dreams, and vision of a better world.
Same! More than ever. And dang, how awesome is it that we went to grad school with so many people like that!?!
There is some old quote about Nero fiddling while Rome burned, if I remember correctly. Art is very personal, often something we do for ourselves, not wanting others involved in the creation of it or the meaning of it or the consumption of it. Sometimes art consumes me. Sometimes I consume some aspect of art. A favorite theologian, recently deceased, uses words to make art. He is an author -- God's call surprised him as much as anyone. He writes about the holiness of feet and bank accounts. His words about Noah, hearing God's directions for boat building in great detail, have given me life, repeatedly. He speaks of the holiness of feet.A paraphrase -- If you want to know who you are, watch your feet. Where your feet take you, that is who you are." Noah could have said no.
Hi Aunt Kris! Thank you for your reply and for thinking with me about the role of art in our lives. I like this idea of "watching our feet" and the holiness of feet. That's a beautiful idea. Is this him? https://www.frederickbuechner.com/quote-of-the-day/2019/4/1/where-your-feet-take-you