Abbey In Arles, France
Marc Christensen • September 17, 2019
"If I looked up solitude and contemplation, I might find this picture. It’s from the abbey in Arles, France." ~Marc Christensen
Curator's Note:
I cherish the photos Marc shares and, as meaningfully, his thoughts about them. Not only are these generative - nourishing to the soul - but they take me, as profound anything should, to deeper parts of me while expanding my sense of presence at the same time. Don't ask me to explain it, this deepening and vasting that goes on at the same time. They resonate and fill and warm and amplify me.
The only problem is that when I see his work, I always want to go visit where these are taken!
Earth Day is this week. As we consider the state of our world - and the ecology of both our material and spiritual environment - it makes sense to ask what our role is, has been, and is supposed to be in relationship to "our common home" (Pope Francis).
Here are some initial thoughts about elegance, nature, and depth; a poem about happiness; and even a haiku.
It takes just a second to break something. Restoring what was broken takes time.
Outcomes are not certain, though some are much more highly predictable than others.
Life is messy. We know that. But some people move through that mess with a surprising kind of grace.
“The poor in spirit are by no means poor-spirited. They are persons who see so much to be, so much to do, such limitless reaches to life and goodness that they are profoundly conscious of their insufficiency and incompleteness.” ~Rufus Jones, The Inner Life , p. 19
