We are surrounded by abundance, beauty, excess, noise, people and tasks that need our love, attention, and time. It's easy to lose track of what's most important. The poem, "In the Sistine Chapel" by Scott Brennan was a good reminder. Read the entire poem here.
The angels, please! It's Michelangelo showing off again,
mixing what's believable with what's not, work at heart
exaggerated, with those Schwarzeneggar biceps
and superhero legs that, because of the fresco's illusion,
seem to drop from the ceiling, more entertaining
than strictly religious, as if the crowd crammed
into the chapel were to be cloaked in an enormous page
not out of Genesis but of Marvel, enfolded in the powers
of red and blue pastel. ...
Brennan goes on to describe the tendency to check off these tourist sites like a bird watcher checks off one more species. He and Vanessa continue to tour the Sistine Chapel and all its wonders -
chambers, nooks, crannies—even more detail, more wonders:
goblets, urns, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, vases,
globes, amulets, divans, thrones, hand-copied Bibles, putti,
Medieval tapestries, time-crazed maps, figurines, portraits ...
Then he and Vanessa have some delicious Italian food and talk about what they've seen. They wander down the street and Brennan observes -
leaving us with what we had almost forgotten
to appreciate: our two nearly touching fingertips.
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How often do I miss the presence of God in my life because I am distracted?
How often do I miss a tender moment with a loved one because I am focused on something else?
Some of the sweetest times with grandchildren involve walking hand in hand. That connection is very precious. It's sad when they grow out of handholding.
The Sistine Chapel is almost too much to take in, especially when being viewed with hordes of other tourists. A friend and I went to the Sistine Chapel when we toured Europe after high school graduation in 1964. I've often wished I had prepared better for that trip so I would have had a better understanding of what I was seeing.
How often do I miss a tender moment with a loved one because I am focused on something else?
Some of the sweetest times with grandchildren involve walking hand in hand. That connection is very precious. It's sad when they grow out of handholding.
The Sistine Chapel is almost too much to take in, especially when being viewed with hordes of other tourists. A friend and I went to the Sistine Chapel when we toured Europe after high school graduation in 1964. I've often wished I had prepared better for that trip so I would have had a better understanding of what I was seeing.
image: Wikipedia Commons
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