A prayer

“ May the wind always be at your back, and the sun always upon your face, and may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars."

--George (Johnny Depp) in Blow

For a dreamer night's the only time of day

To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hope Unstoppable

Take me up and hold me gently
Raise me up and hold me high
Through the nights under darkness
Will come a day when we will fly
And although we've been rejected
And although we've been outcast
We will find a new tomorrow
When we come to rest at last
And we will stand there proudly
And we will never walk alone
And we will be returned
Back to our home

Our Frail Deeds

Look outside. What do you see? Now look outside again. What do you want to see? I'll tell you what I want to see; I want to see the outside. I want to see blue skys and green grass. I want to see trees, trees with all their branches raised as if they're arms reaching for the heavens. I want to be able to walk outside at night and see the stars in all their greatness, shining down at me, illuminating paths which before were hidden.

Moreover I want this for my children, if I am ever blessed to have them. There is so much to be said for growing up with trees to climb in, hills to run on, and lands to explore. To live in a place which will not only allow the imagination to soar, but will also encourage it.

It simply seems to me that a place such as this inspires hope. This along with a home which can, in all sincerity be called home. A place built on dreams and trust. A place which breaths contentment. Perhaps one day I will look out my window and see something that resembles this. Or perhaps this is only a place that can be found after laying one's head down to slumber.

The sound of madness

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars" - Jack Kerouac

We Once Were Kings

After the birth of Christ he was visited by the Magi who followed a star from the east. They did not come merely to gaze on this new king but brought with them gold, frankincense and myrrh.

While these gift's foreshadow Christ's life- frankincense and myrrh are used to prepare bodies for burial- they are not befitting his station. What would be a gift worthy of the Son of God? Instead, they are the gifts most fitting the giver, the best and most stately things they can offer.

This is what C. S. Lewis meant in Mere Christianity with his metaphor of the boy who borrows money from his father to buy him a present--the father is a sixpence none the richer. God also does not need our gifts, but we offer him our best, our talents and time, because it enriches us.

We are Kings, that is one of things we are called to. So with guidance from a star we too need to lay our gifts at the feet of Christ.

The Stars look down on the meak and lowly

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2: 8-14

I've always loved this passage, imagining the confusion and terror of the shepherds as their peace is broken by the hosts of heaven. This scene, however, is repeated on an almost nightly basis. All you have to do is go out on a clear night and gaze at the heavens. Stars, which are so often seen as synonymous with angels, look down as they dance through the heavens. The Angels coming at the birth of Christ was enough to shake people from their sleep and draw their eyes upward, while the quiet twinkling of stars every night is a reminder of this mystery and evidence that all of creation sings God's praise.

There is power in me yet, my race is not yet run

Who are we? we who claim to know so much yet know so little. Are we so arrogant that we cannot confess to be proud? We have but one chance to do something in this world, who are we to falter? Why are we afraid to fight for the right to be free? I want to run I want to fly I want to do something with my life. There will come a time when we must decide who we are. In this world why are we restricted in professions that we deem others will want to emulate? Why simply cannot we walk and learn and hope to understand? Damn their warnings damn their lies, they will see the people rise! I want to learn, I want to learn so much. To travel to learn the trades of better men. I want to wander I want to be free. I want to be remembered for the life that I led. I want to be written in the stars. Let the rains fall and the seas rise! Let us walk unafraid of what is to come. Let us reach for the stars and let the stars be changed. Who cares about your lonely soul, we strive for a higher goal, our little lives don't count at all! The trumpets wills sound for the Lords of Gondor have returned. I would have called you my brother. my captain. my king. We do not know the path that we tread, but He does, and so we must content ourselves with this knowledge, the knowledge that there is a being greater than us, that there is a will greater than our own. The stars can be changed. The Son also rises. Are we willing to give our lives or are we to afraid to even say our name. He stood as if challenging the world, and all who looked upon him concluded that in the case of a rumble, the world would lose.

Brand New Hero

When people look back, who will be seen as the heroes of our age? What artists' names will endure? What musician's work will resonate with future generations?

Perhaps this is merely a problem of perspective, and as members of this generation we are unable to recognise which of our contemporaries will achieve greatness, but it seems as though we lack people who can be numbered among the giants of the past.

Looking at the politicians of today it is easy to pick out the major players who will dominate the history books. However, there do not seem to be any people who would sacrifice their careers, their health, their lives for a cause merely people who are very good at the political game. There is no one like William Wilberforce, Gandhi, Lincoln, or even someone like Churchill who saw what needed to be done and did it, regardless of popular opinion, a fact which eventually cost him his career. There do not even seem to be the type of person powerful enough to define an age; no Robespierre or Napoleon, who, regardless of whether people see them as a hero or villain, had the power in their generation to change history with a word.

I don't see someone like Annie Lebowitz ever being listed with Da Vinci, Rembrandt or Picasso. As much as I love the work of Seamus Heaney I don't think he equals Elliott, Yeats, Milton or Dante. There is a lack of greatness among our generation.

I think this is largely the result of education. It is hard for genius to grow when everyone is taught at the same pace, held to the same standard, when there is one acceptable answer and deviation is not tolerated. This is not necessarily bad, it raises the fortunes of the majority a moderate amount as opposed to a few achieving greatness.

According to Henry Newman fostering greatness is not the purpose of education: "It neither confines its views to particular professions on the one hand, nor creates heroes or inspires genius on the other. It is the great ordinary means to an great but ordinary end; it aims at raising the intellectual tone of society, at cultivating the public mind, at purifying the national taste, at supplying true principles to popular enthusiasm and fixed aims to popular aspiration, at giving enlargement and sobriety to the ideas of the age, at facilitating the exercise of political power, and refining the intercourse of private life. It is the education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them."

Yet, in an age when professional athletes are revered as never before, when the lives of pop sensations are followed with rabid enthusiasm, when the story of an orphaned wizard who might be the chosen one has launched an unparalleled franchise, when superheroes have finally become mainstream and widely popular, when a Batman movie was the summer blockbuster, it seems as though this is not enough and people want a hero, need greatness to inspire them.

(While not the original intent, this post may or may not have developed into an excuse to include the above picture by Alex Ross).

Is it written in the stars?

Words don't just tell the story-they can complete a deed, or they can begin one. The telling of a story can be part of the action itself. In the Anglo-Saxon world a deed was not complete until it was reported. That is why in Beowulf there is the recap once Beowulf returns home--he had to bring the story with him and report, else his task was not yet done. In this retelling the person is immortalized and the deed kept alive. If a persons deeds are great enough, they will be retold again and again, their tale preserved in stories and song. As Cohen says in The Last Hero, "I've got a sword and it's a good one, but all the bleedin' thing can do is keep someone alive ... A song can keep someone immortal."

Stories take on a life of their own, gaining a certain truthfulness regardless of the actual facts of the events they are reporting. They have the power to strike fear or to inspire, to teach or to caution. Every great person eventually fades from memory but the story endures, even if only in bits of popular wisdom or folklore.

"'In the olden days," she said, "when a hero had been really heroic, the gods would put them up in the stars." THE HEAVENS CHANGE, said Death. WHAT TODAY LOOKS LIKE A MIGHTY HUNTER MAY LOOK LIKE A TEACUP IN A HUNDRED YEARS' TIME. "That doesn't seem fair." NO ONE EVER SAID IT HAD TO BE. BUT THERE ARE OTHER STARS.'"

According to Genesis, the world was begun with a Word. The world then is the greatest story, which is constantly being told through peoples words and deed.

To Entertain Immortals

Words do indeed have power, each containing a meaning, allowing us to communicate. This is what allows us to preserve knowledge of all sorts: facts, songs, stories, and legacies. Words have the power to immortalize. Galileo says "looking to things even more stable and enduring, others have entrusted the immortal fame of illustrious men not to marble and metal but to the custody of the Muses and to imperishable literary monuments." He places this honor only under having a portion of the heavens, a constellation of stars, named after oneself because he believes only that is more enduring than having ones name and deeds preserved within words. 

This can be either a blessing or a punishment to men, depending on the deeds they perform throughout their lives. Compare the legacy of Julius Caesar to that of Brutus, Peter to Judas, Gandhi to Hitler. Each is remembered to this day for the choices he made during his life. This increases the accountability men have for their actions. Many discoveries and victories are the result of men searching for glory, trying to transcend their brief lives by having their accomplishments remembered. It is a constant concern of leaders. For what will they be remembered? It is  a guiding force in the back of every mind, affecting every choice, for with each man is creating his own legacy. 

Not all things are preserved in a truthful or accurate way. Often, the victor gets to tell the story. But even so, writers have a great responsibility - they must tell the story.

Beauty in the madness

"You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star."
-Friedrich Nietzsche