Out and About... with Wonder

Everybody’s got to be somewhere

so if you can manage it,

try to be in a place not easy

to understand... one with mystery

and questions.

...from the bike path by the San Diego River...

...from the bridge over Mission Bay's boat channel...

...from the boardwalk at Mission Beach...

...from the boardwalk at Pacific Beach...

...My favorite mystery house on Grand Avenue...

Norfolk Island Pine

I WENT TO CHURCH TODAY, and where I parked behind the church against the steep hill rising out of Mission Valley, there is a stone embedded in the hill in front of the parking spot available to me today.  It looks like a big eye.  Perhaps it was a sign.

So... Today I went to church and must confess (It’s not what you’re thinking)... I confess that I have a problem with the church’s explanation and instruction about the season of Lent.  The Order of Worship statement at the top of the church bulletin today began with the following declaration: “The season of Lent is a time for repentance of our sins, meditation and contemplation of Christ’a suffering for us, and preparation for his glorious resurrection at Easter.” 

Perhaps after I’ve given the statement more thought, I’ll change my mind; but I think I disagree.  There is something remorseful and defeating about beginning the season of Lent by making “repentance for our sins” the primary and first consideration. I know the importance of reflecting on how successfully we have lived in relationship with others... to think about whether and to what extend we have made living easier or more difficult for other people.  It is definitely a good idea to recommit ourselves to enhancing rather than complicating the living circumstances of others. I get it. I’m an old man. I got it a long time ago. I discovered that the basic teaching of Jesus, what the church calls the Gospel, “the good news,” is about developing a very personal social ethic that will keep me acutely sensitive to the needs of others, all others, as I go about the business of taking care of myself and my family. “Repentance for my sins” doesn’t adequately say what I think I should be doing when I think about the needs of other people in my city, my state, my country, and in the world.  Around fifteen percent of Americans live in relative poverty. The Census Bureau reported in 2011 that 46.2 million Americans live below the official poverty line.  That was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it. Gun violence is a major American problem.  The U.S. has the highest gun ownership rate in the world with 89 guns for every 100 Americans... compared to 6 in England and Wales.  The latest detailed statistics I could find show that there were 12,664 murders in the U.S.  Of those, 8,583 were caused by guns. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 16.7 million children under 18 in our country live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life. 

I agree that “meditation and contemplation” are important and significant, but I’m not at all sure the focus of my meditation should be of Christ’s suffering for me but of Jesus’ many examples of responsible living, responsible citizenship... and after a lifetime of church attendance, I don’t even know what is meant by “preparation for His glorious resurrection at Easter.” 

I like to believe that in the northern hemisphere where I live the season of Lent should be a reminder and celebration of the emergence every spring of life that has been lying dormant through winter... that Lent and springtime are signs of renewal, of life waking up, of energy and preparation and production and the possibility of making life better for all people.  

O.K., O.K., O.K., I know I’m nitpicking.  I like the statement that had been printed at the top of the church bulletin before the season of Lent began.  “First United Methodist Church of San Diego affirms that all individuals, without exception, are of sacred worth.  All means all.  Guided by God’s love, we seek to journey together in faith toward greater understanding and mutual respect.”  I’ll be glad when that expression of faith commitment returns to the top of Sunday morning bulletin.

After lunch I wandered around my neighborhood to look again at the flowering pear trees before the rain that's coming this week washes the blossoms away.  The guy in my photograph is my neighbor, Moses.  I'm not making this up.  Moses is his name.  The dogs are Elvis and Presley.  I'm not making that up either.  Moses and Elvis and Presley are altogether appropriate to include in this BLOG post. 

WHEELCHAIR DANCING IN BALBOA PARK...

Trying to set a world record for the number of wheelchair dancers dancing all at the same time.  Bruce and I were there with a bunch of other people to bear witness...

I've noticed...

People

who keep on dancing

don't have time

to whine...

and apparently

don't even want to.

This is a portrait of America's future.

I am encouraged.

...and this is a picture of America working... making art.

Tom Fagan has left off, at least temporarily, painting

life at night in San Diego's Gaslamp District.  He has

begun a new series... This time it's Balboa Park at night.

Tom has had two paintings accepted in A Charles Reiffel - En Plein Air International Artists Exhibition at the L Street Gallery, 628 L Street, San Diego.  The exhibition, co-sponsored by The San Diego Museum of Art, opens February 24th, 6-9 PM.

While Tom was painting, I decided to see what I could do 

with photography at night.  I settled on black and white...

mainly because I don't know how to get the color in night 

photographs that Tom gets in his paintings.

Let’s get right to February 14th.  

Margaret’s orchids are appropriate 

for Valentine’s Day.

Every year pear trees are in full bloom on Valentine’s Day, 

and there is no better place to see them in all their glory than Balboa Park.

Today was a perfect day in San Diego to go out on a bicycle.

At the end of the day it was good to come back to my community

where pear trees in full bloom line the street.

SOME POEMS WRITE THEMSELVES

Fading flowers are lovely, too.

Chances are that winter is happening,

but where I live it’s springtime now

and will be again and again when

summer comes here and winter goes

south of the equator where its summer

now... 

that’s the way it’s always been.

Am I lucky... or what?

My neighbor Max likes the situation, too.

Max

My journal writing today is short because the images tell the story. Briefly, I went out to visit my friend Tom Fagan for a drawing lesson.  Everybody knows he is a gifted artist.  I know him also be a great friend and exceptional teacher.

Tom is doing a series of night paintings in downtown San Diego.  He sets up his easel on the street and finishes a painting on the spot.  He doesn't work from photographs.  Remarkable!  Below is his most recent painting done in the Gas Lamp District.

After I left his studio, clouds drew me in the direction of Mt. Miguel.