Just looking pretty or is there more to it?

Oct29

A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.”
Isaiah 30:17

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luke10:18

Principle-particularly moral principle-can never be a weathervane, spinning around this way and that with the shifting winds of expediency. Moral principle is a compass forever fixed and forever true-and that is as important in business as it is in the classroom.
Richard R. Lyman

(a weathervane atop Christ’s Church Cathedral/ Dublin, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2105)

Perched high atop many a historical, religious and or official sort of building one can usually catch a glimpse of some sort of decorative adornment, standard or symbol.

(topping at Adare Manor complete with lightning rod /County Limerick, Adare, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

It may be a flag, a statue, a cross, a weathervane, or mere spire.
Yet usually most buildings deemed of significance are most often capped off with a bit of a whimsical architectural finishing touch–the exclamation after the sentence, the topping to the cake…

(St Mary’s Catholic Church / Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

(Dublin, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

(Dublin, Ireland / Julie Cook /2015)

(Ashford Castle, Cong, County Galway / Mayo border / Julie Cook / 2015)

(St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

( St Coleman’s Cathedral, Cobh, County Cork, Ireland / Julie Cook /2015)

(Dublin, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

These architectural adornments, which are mainly decorative, might be used as some sort of message bearer, as in a desire to draw the attention of the masses below upward, or on the other hand they may be used to send a somewhat cheeky ominous warning to the underlings below.

Yet some are theses engineered toppers serve a dual purpose–having a more practical service and need…as in the case of redirecting lightening…

(1906 image of lightning striking the Eiffel Tower, courtesy the web)

Throughout the history of architecture, these often ornate ornamental pinnacles of man’s devising are used as either beacons with which to proclaim, sentinels to warn or welcome…devices to denote direction or a means to redirect and defend.

It seems as if it’s more than a matter of simply looking pretty as there is purpose hidden in the beauty…

Beacon
Proclaim
Guiding force
Warning
Directional
Defender

What of you….
Are you one who points the way?
Are you one who defends and protects?
Are you one who offers warning?
Are you one who offers directions?
Are you one who declares and proclaims?

(Holy Trinity Abbey, Adare, County Limerick, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth
Romans 1:16

The straight and narrow

May31

I know the path: it is straight and narrow. it is like the edge of a sword. I rejoice to walk on it. I weep when I slip. God’s word is: “He who strives never perishes.” I have implicit faith in that promise. Though, therefore, from my weakness I fail a thousand times, I shall not lose faith —Mahatma Gandhi

(interior shot of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France / Julie Cook / 2011)

My life has woven a path often wide, at times directly straight, yet more curvy than not.
It has been laid out before me and I have often consciously chosen to ignore strategically placed mile markers.
Directions have been carefully plotted yet sadly, regrettably, purposefully ignored, as Self thought it knew best.

Easy is wide and many may join as the path has often been not my own.
Sometimes following, occasionally leading, Self and I have walked hand in hand.

Steep and rocky with views far and wide the path has lead me along jagged coastline as well as peaceful wooded glen, all the while as I travel forward, onward and upward.

On the occasion when I find myself in a familiar area, realizing that walking in circles has been my lot, bearings must be quickly taken while corrections are too often begrudgingly made.

And travel on I go, as Self constantly chatters “follow me, I know the way.”

As this life path continues on, the path more narrow does become–as congestion and jockeying for position is the constant battle. Quiet and solitude now replaced with noise of the masses, all seemingly traveling in my same direction.

Is this now how I know I am on the right path, as the myriad of travelers push and shuffle as one, carrying me along on their endless wave of self propulsion. Self has decided that to follow is the easiest way. Touting that the old adage is true, safety seems to lie in numbers.
Yet there is one I see who veers off in a different direction.
A few straggle behind him.
Over his shoulder he speaks to those who have chosen to follow on his journey–proclaiming that he knows the way Home.

Ahh home.

Has that what this journey has been all about. . .traveling far and wide, eventually making our way back home?
But why are the masses traveling along a different path?
Where do they think they go?
Their way does seem brighter, more alluring, as they mindlessly race toward a precipice no one seems to notice in the distance ahead.

All the while the lone traveler continues offering to any who linger behind a new and different path. He does not promise that it will be an easy journey, as darkness will descend from time to time, but He offers up his lantern as the beacon pointing Home.

This as I stand at the fork.
Self pulling me to follow after the masses. “There are more of them, they must know what they are doing” Self continues with the constant protest. Yet the lone traveler, who has now slowed up for me to come his way, seems to exude a calm and peace about his choice. . .his openness and confidence of his particular path of choice seems to reverberate from somewhere along the way.

I stand looking back and forth, as the sun slowly fades from the evening sky. Self takes off, following the others as I alone step forward along the path of the lone traveler. Come, he offers, my way is narrow but the reward is great.

And travel on I go, now hand in hand with this lone traveler, anxious to finally head for Home.

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:14

Perspective

Oct18

Image of the Eiffel Tower / Paris, France / Julie Cook / 2011

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
Helen Keller