Is "what there is" all there is?

A great Jewish theologian of the twentieth century, Abraham Joshua Heschel once put it this way: “The grand premise of religion is that (human beings are) able to surpass (themselves),” that is, we are able to “lift our eyes and see” beyond the horizon of the mind, that we are able to see not just what is there but also that which “what is there” suggests, what it represents, what it points to that is real beyond itself.

Jordan and girlfriend Elena

OK, so our camera was stolen by the airport security people in Tampa. Kevin took these photos at night in Rome, using an older digital camera. Elena was somewhat embarrassed (imagine having to meet your boyfriend's parents from the states on the spur of the moment when you don't even speak English very well). She handled it with good humor and grace.

Jordan and Elena

Jordan and Elena, the night we all went to dinner. Elena is shy and doesn't speak English as well as she'd like, but her charm comes though the communication barriers.

Paolina the singer

This is Paolina. She's a rather eccentric singer and songwriter that Jordan accompanies during her concerts. Here she is wearing a costume that one of J's friends designed for her. Perfect for someone who loves publicity. This is how she appeared in concert. P.S. Her songs are rather interesting, even though she can't sing very well.

Coen contemplates Elmo

 This is my grandson, Coen Sylvia. He's about 18 months old in this photo. He's watching his favorite TV show, Elmo the muppet, and is deeply engrossed, as you can see. Taken Sept. 28, 2005.
 

Compassion and understanding

Al Pacino tells the following story: "During one of my performances I made a connection with a pair of eyes in the audience, and I thought, 'This is incredible; these eyes are penetrating me.' I went through the whole performance just relating to those eyes, giving the whole thing to those eyes. When curtain call came, I looked in the direction of those eyes, and it was a seeing eye dog ... I couldn't get over it -- the compassion and intensity and understanding in those eyes, and it was a dog."

From time to time I've seen the same quality in my own dog Bogie's eyes, but I had always assumed they were faux qualities. I thought, "It's amazing how they mimic our own emotions." Because, hey, they're animals. They don't really have compassion. They can't really "understand," the same way we understand.

The Pacino story woke me up. Hey, maybe they aren't "mimicking" our emotions. Maybe they really have those same emotions, in even greater quantity or intensity than we do.

Now when Bogie looks at me that way I'm going to be thinking that he really is "intense, compassionate and understanding."

The above is from a sermon by the late Tom Ahlburn. Pretty remarkable.

A day in Apple Valley

Our gradndson, Aidan, was only two when this little gem was taken. His mother, Hillary, snapped it on a day when the two of them -- along with Jonathan (his dad) -- were out picking apples and pumpkins. I love the sweater, but the smile says it all.