Blog 835 – 12.06.2017

In The Eye Of The Beholder

As a “word guy” I am always listening and looking for great lines and as we always find what we are truly looking for I hear and see them everywhere. They are food for thought and the seeds I hope for great blogs. I read a lot of books and watch a lot movies always listening for a great turn of phrase or words that speak right to the soul. In the great drama from a few years back called Mystic River and staring Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, and a large and wonderful cast, Sean’s daughter is played by the lovely Emmy Rossum. The story centers around the investigation into her brutal murder. In the course of the investigation it is uncovered that she was planning the day of her murder to leave town with a young man that her dad did not want her to even consider dating. They had been secretly seeing one another for some time and were deeply in love.

As Kevin Bacon is questioning him, the young man is crying and telling the detective how much he loved the young girl and he says, “I am never going to find that with anyone else.” To which Kevin remarks, “Many folks never find it even once.” Some of us have been fortunate enough to find love and even more than once. The quote that I chose as a picture for this piece expresses a truth that I have tried to many times and will probably continue trying to as long as I live or until I get it right. I believe that “falling in Love” is seeing Love personified in Someone, Some Place, or Some Thing. And, yes, Iike many of you I was taught all my life, “You like things, you can only love people.” But that is not all the truth. Hear me out and I think that you might agree and even if you don’t that you might have a fuller concept of what being “in love” really means.

The Bible tells us, “God is Love.” It also tells us He/She-is all in all and that in Him/Her we live, breathe, move and have our being.” I believe that what we call “falling in love” is merely recognizing Beauty/God in the other person, place, or thing. God is everywhere, everything but for some reason we have been given the great gift of seeing that beauty, that goodness, that god-ness in some or even one more than others. And when we do we are taken to a place inside us that responds like Malcom Eddy singing Indian Love call to Jeannette MacDonald.

“When I’m calling you, will you answer too.”

I apologize to you young folks for the old black and white movie reference but you have to see it to know the passion that I am taking about that requires no nudity to get the message across. I particularly like the expression “the urge to merge” for the sex drive and on a higher or lower plain depending on your perspective Love is always about Oneness answering Oneness. God is One and we are One. God is to be found in many places, yes even in church I suppose. But, as a song I love very much says, “Till you find Him (or Her) in the mirror, you’ve got a long way to go.”

One more illustration and I rest my case. The kindergartener was busy burning up crayons on construction paper when the teacher bent over asking, “What are you drawing?” Without pause, “A picture of God.” was the reply. Teacher (They do not always get it right either) says, “But nobody knows what God looks like.” The young artist undeterred replied, “They will when I am done.”

Oh, yes child, they all will see God when we are done. Some get a glimpse every day when they really see you or me for Who and Whose we all really are.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White