OK, here are two more meaningful symbols to me, the bear and the bald eagle.
My kids call me ‘Daddy Bear’ and they bought me this one. He rides on my dash. When I look at him, I don’t think about beanie babies, I think about my kids.
Robin gave me a card once with this eagle on the outside. On the inside it reads, “You have vision, fortitude, and character. Who needs hair?” It’s one of my favorite cards.
Just yesterday I found myself in a local pottery store and was given a gift of a deal of on a plate and chalice for communion at church. My chalice had been broken a while back. I asked about the artwork on the plate. It was a simple little line that looked like an arrow on the end, and appeared to be waving in the wind. Sure enough, it symbolized a tree standing in the wind. The owner of the store, a Creek Indian, says it is a common symbol in their pottery, epitomized in his name for his wife: Stands Strong in the Wind.
Although my tree doesn’t look like this one, this pic shows you what I mean.
Look, I was raised in West Texas, the plains, where the only trees are the ones planted by some person, and the wind blows and blows. The trees take on a permanent look of bowing. (Clic for the whole pic)
So I want to add to my list of things that have meaning to me, the symbol of a windswept tree. I grew up around such tress, they symbolize strength in the midst of diversity, hanging on when the storms of life beat and batter, and show whose roots run deep. Another spin on it is the fact that in both Hebrew and Greek (the languages of the OT and NT) the word that meant wind, spirit, and breath are the same word. That means a windswept tree could symbolize a person who has been shaped by the Spirit.
I like it.
Hmmm, a tree tattoo?
(thanks Josh, for the symbolism comment – everyone else keep them coming.)
I explained in this post about how I put a picture of running horses as my computer background, because it symbolized for me the challenge God issued to Jeremiah not to get discouraged. Hey, if you can’t run with these guys, how will you ever run with horses??? (He must have been anticipating a horse race in his future.) That got me thinking about art and symbolism.
In Windows of the Soul, Ken Gire tells a story about Henri Nouwen coming away deeply moved after viewing Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son.
Nouwen, a priest who worked and lived with a community of mentally handicapped people, said:
. . . it gripped me with an intensity far beyond my anticipation. There had been moments in which I had wondered whether the real painting might disappoint me. The opposite was true. Its grandeur and splendor made everything recede into the background and held me completely captivated. Rembrandt’s embrace remained imprinted on my soul far more profoundly than any temporary expression of emotional support. It had brought me into touch with something within me that lies far beyond the ups and downs of a busy life, something that represents the ongoing yearning of the human spirit, the yearning for a final return, and unambiguous sense of safety, a lasting home. . . The painting has become a mysterious window through which I can step into the Kingdom of God.
Doesn’t that sound like what Fujimura experienced looking at art???
A while back, some of my friends were getting tattoos. They were encouraging me to get one too (which is my description of mid life peer pressure). I really thought about it, but wondered what I would get. It would have to be something that really meant something to me, and then it would have to be able to look good as a tattoo. Like, I wonder if Nouwen ever got that painting on his ankle? So here’s a list of what I can think of today that has meaning to me.
I can’t imagine any of those making it on my sculpted body, can you?
I’d be interested in hearing what symbols have meaning to you.
In a comment a couple of posts back, I noted that I am starting a new spiritual discipline, one I had recommended to encourage an attitude of gratitude (oh please, stop the cheesy rhyme, I really don’t have time!) I had suggested putting a nice journal by your bed (in Georgia, that would be ‘the bed’ as in ‘I was in the bed’ rather than ‘I was in bed’) along with a nice pen, so you’d leave it all out in the open and wouldn’t feel compelled to put it away when you cleaned up. All that stuff. Then you write in it, every night, and list at least three things you’re grateful for. I’ve started the habit myself, and I’m using a pen my grandmother gave me which belonged to my grandfather. It was made in the 40’s and is called a Sheaffer Valiant.
Well, here’s a pic of the pen I mentioned.
A lot of you know that I collect fountain pens, which seems really strange to a lot of you. I can’t really figure it out why Im so interested in them either. My handwriting skills are a little worse than my nunchuck skills. I’m probably drawn to pens,though, (no pun intended!) for multiple reasons. The history of them, the unique mechanical characteristics (although the same characteristics in other pens doesn’t interest me), their ease of wring, the choice of SO MANY ink colors, their beauty (sometimes, check out this hand painting on a pen, no I don’t own it)
Well, here’s my pitch. Here at the Vineyard, we’re paying more and more attention to caring for our environment, and trying not to be wasteful. Have you ever thought about the fact that ‘throw-away’ pens are right up there in our plastic world of waste! Even refillable ballpoints (how many of you even do that!) have plenty of waste, absolutely filling our land fills (hear my pitch even though my tongue is part way in my cheek).
I quote a fellow fp guy:
So, in a world where a big box of ballpoints can be had for under two dollars, why bother with a fountain pen? An honest man doesn’t argue the economics… When looked after, fountain pens are amazingly durable mechanisms– the oldest that has been in my collection was made at some point between 1924 and 1929, and it makes some of the prettiest marks of all my pens. Taking an environmental standpoint, there is a lot less waste involved in choosing a fountain pen as a writing instrument, as ink generally comes in recyclable glass bottles and it takes a long time to write your way through a bottle of ink and you keep the whole pen throughout its lifetime. Compare to this the amount on carelessly discarded plastic in the cheap ballpoint, and how many you might fling in a lifetime of writing stuff down.
RJ sent me a link to this UGA prof who argues the economic side of the matter as well:
Why do I use fountain pens? Low cost. Fountain pens need not be expensive, compared to other usable pens. (I exclude disposable ballpoints that require super-hard pressure and produce ugly writing.) A cheap but serviceable rollerball or ballpoint pen costs at least $2, and you’re likely to lose it or have it wander away within a month or two. That means that in two years, you’ll spend perhaps $25 on pens. That same $25 will buy you a quite usable fountain pen and enough ink for several years. Even a high-end fountain pen, allowing $200 for pen, ink, and possible repairs, is cheaper over its useful life (20 to 40 years) than cheap ballpoints. After all, $200 spread over 20 years comes to 19 cents per week.
Come on people!! Let’s start a revolution!! Fountain Pens for a better world!!! (and good for spiritual disciplines, too.)
As many of you know, I am a Texas Tech fan (and alum – so is my wife Robin. I could recommend marrying someone who cares about the same team as you, IF you care.) Because of the weirdness of the year, TT gets to go to the Gator Bowl, probably a better bowl than their record deserves, but they’ll win it, none the less. The weirdness this year? Well, the Gator bowl guys are motivated to invite a Big 12 team this year, or they’ll be forced to invite one the next two years, and since they have to choose their Big 12 team after the Cotton bowl and the Holiday bowl (that’s only because the Big 12 has two teams in BCS bowls this year) then TT gets the nod. Yaay. Jacksonville isn’t that far, and I’d love to go, but . . . Really, if I can talk friends into watching the thing with me, that’d probably be more fun than going to the silly thing. But my game is on the same day as the Sugar bowl where GA plays. Lots of football that day. Maybe I should ask for a plasma tv for Christmas. I’ve looked at the map showing all the places around the world where people have read this blog, but I haven’t noticed the North Pole yet.
Since I live in Bulldog country, let me say congrats on the Sugar bowl, and sorry about the whole rip off in the BCS fiasco. I’m all for a playoff. NOT a plus 1, but let’s get 16 teams to knock it around. Frankly, I love the drama that the whole poll thing creates right now, but I’d love a playoff even more. My skepticism about it ever happening is because a playoff would spread big money around to a bunch of conferences and risk guaranteed money to the conferences that control the system as it is. Even so, I would rather have seen Georgia play in the Rose bowl against USC. With all the controversy in the BCS this year, the bowls likewise did a crappy job choosing the match ups. For what it’s worth, all you GA fans, the TT football coach voted Georgia #2 in his poll, so be nice to me. This dog wasn’t.
Catch a Wave 