A Life of Wonder

sunset ghetto, originally uploaded by simaje.

“If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands towards God, he must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action, God will hear everything that he asks.”
-Father Abba Zeno
Source: http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2009/approaching-prayer/transcript.shtml

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Weeping Willow, originally uploaded by alexbrn.

“Even in the midst of great pain, Lord, I praise you for that which is. I will not refuse this grief or close myself to this anguish. Let shallow men pray for ease: ‘Comfort us; shield us from sorrow.’ I pray for whatever you send me, and I ask to receive it as your gift. You have put a joy in my heart greater than all the world’s riches. I lie down trusting the darkness, for I know that even now you are here.”
-Free-form translation of a Psalm IV composed by Stephen Mitchell.
Source: http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2009/approaching-prayer/transcript.shtml

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Albert Einstein, originally uploaded by mansionwb.

Einstein was asked, “Do you believe in the God of Spinoza.”

To which he replied:

“I can’t answer with a simple yes or no. I’m not an atheist and I don’t think I call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations….” – Einstein, A Life, Dennis Brian, Page 186

I love the beauty and simplicity of this–and especially the phrase–“a universe marvelously arranged,” how better to describe the sublime beauty beyond our understanding.

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I place this here to remember it. the power of this photography to capture a moment of horror and sadness is beyond words. don’t look.

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