Failure

This gate, in the window of an housed fireplace on Maranatha campus, is beautiful. It was crafted to perfection by a trained hand. It is profound. It is not natural. It is art.

I'm convinced that passions and desires and goals, because of their crafted nature, are artistic as well. As for me, I have goals and desires and passions. I have a future in mind for myself. I have crafted it so that it is truly beautiful within my mind. However, and to my disappointment, sometimes life does not allow one to pursue their passions by the vehicle they originally selected. In these times, one is forced to abandon what they had hoped to achieve and look for another route to accomplish their goals and to fuel their passions. Such a road block has occurred in my own life; a goal and desire I had for so long, molded into a truly beautiful future, was thwarted. Now is the time to readjust, but remorse is unavoidable. My sadness comes from the abandonment of my specific route of action, from my planned future, and from my work of art. Though I know I am capable of creating anew and enduring a longer road of uncertainty, there comes a sense of loss, to leave your art work behind and to let the cobwebs collect over its beautifully planned frame for you know its form will soon crumble to ruin. As for me, I search for the next goal, the next path, the next desire to strive for. I am not deterred. Though, there, behind me, stands my former goal, already wilting from failure's heat.

As I stood in the darkened fireplace room, the forgotten window gate, the forgotten art, saddened me. I knew it was too late for the gate, and that the spiders had claimed it for good, but the idea was too present to merely walk away. I lifted my Nikon D70 to my face, pressed that little silver button, and, hearing the sound of my shutter, knew I would not soon forget one man's past art.

Finally, Proof.

I find it funny when one's parents attempt to convince their child that going to the dentist is not all that bad. Well, I'm here to tell you that parents are liars, and the dentist is the most evil, sadistic man to walk the planet. I know this for sure. This is not opinion; this is factual and proven to be true.

On the DAT, Dental Admission Test, there is a personality test that each applicant must take. Results of said test show the individual to be of benevolent or villainous character. Acceptance of the former character trait is rare and only if the applicant scores in the top 99th percentile. On the contrary, an individual with a personality test revealing high levels of cruelty does not need such a high test score and will be accepted in a percentile as low as the 85th. What does this information mean?

The ADA, American Dental Association, was sued in 1979 on 237 accounts of subjective acceptances of applicants based on personality testing and not test scores. When the case was taken to the Supreme Court, the ADA was found not-guilty and all accounts were mysteriously dropped. The ADA was threatened by the U.S. government to make sure their methods were more standard and objective. Since then, in the past 40 years, the ADA has perfected their entrance exam so that it is fully lawful but still only accepts those of malicious character.

This being said, to all those whose parents force them to go to the dentist's office, beware, you are correct and your parents are horribly misinformed. As I warily entered a small, quaint dental office in Glendale, I stood on my guard, keeping a watchful eye for the savage individual in the blood specked smock. As I lay in wait, patiently, I noticed this lone chair in a white-washed room. Strangely, and for reasons no one could ever justify, this chair was plugged into the wall. I do not suggest that this dentist electrocuted his patients, for a true master is much more subtle in his approach. To document my findings, I lifted my film Nikon FA and cranked the film into place. I looked over my shoulder and made sure I was safe to drop my guard and look through the viewfinder. All was safe and I peered through the tiny hole. I set the exposure, checked the focus, and, pressing gently on that little silver button, heard the open and close of my shutter. Pleased with my work, I put my camera back into my bag and turned around. Standing there before me, blood stained and wearing a cunningly vicious smile, was my dad, the dentist, holding a honed scalpel.

A Spacial Explosion

The hype about modern art has always eluded me and it seems that standards of this modern art are even deteriorating to simpler concepts and stranger concoctions. For example, in a prestigious museum one might find a red ball on a white pillar in the modern art gallery. What makes me chuckle is what people will pay for such works of art. Maybe I have been lost in the past and my thinking and perception of art has become increasingly archaic. Maybe it takes years of schooling and experience to truly understand all a red ball on a white pillar has to say, possibly. Maybe it's out on my cynicism I say that a red ball on a white pillar is not really artistic. I have a red ball in my garage and I'm sure I could find a white pillar at the local garden supply. With some super glue and a cute little caption I could make $599.95. I hope this does not just show how ignorant I am on the topic of modern art, but, to be truly honest, I do not get it.

However, a type of modern art that does actually appeal to me is the painting, drawing, or photographing of an abstract image. This idea is not as modern or new as the red ball on a white pillar, but it seems to be a step from the traditional to the modern. I enjoy this step. Artists from Picasso to Man Ray moved from portraying the romantic and realistic to showcasing a different genre of imaging. At times, these works have the ability to provoke more thought and emotion than any medium or genre before them. Because of their ambiguity and generalization, the viewer has the ability to run in many directions with what they perceive. Abstract art has a hold on every medium, from painting to photography to sculpture and even in music.

Here is my first, feeble attempt at such an image. I sat in the passenger seat of the car going through a car wash. The process was almost over and I, as every curious person does, had my face plastered to the window, trying to see how the whole contraption worked. I felt the water shoot against the window and vibrate along my cheekbone. The huge dryer came next and plopped lazily down on the hood of the car. As it blew the water up and off the windshield, I picked up my Nikon D70, removed the lens cap, set the exposure, and, pressing gently on that little silver button, heard the open and close of my shutter. Later, while tinkering around on Photoshop, decided that this image had abstract quality. To me this image makes me feel... well, I'll let you decide that for yourself.

A Singular Meeting

Few times in life is the taking a picture of a sunset acceptable, very few times. So few that the only acceptable case where such a shot is allowed is if God Himself commands you to do so. I chuckle when I see photos of sunsets. So, for all of you who have chuckled at this image already, take it back. The Creator of the Universe commanded me to capture this particular image.

As I returned from a hike in the Angeles Crest Mountains, my eyes were intensely focused on the the lay of the trail before me, so as to save my weak ankles from an accidental roll. Night was coming quickly and I was trying to reach the end of the trail and my bicycle so I could get home before complete darkness came. The temperature was dropping a bit but still warm enough to be comfortable. The peace was needed after a stressful week at school and the silence was truly profound. I was content in my solitude, with little on my mind. Suddenly, as I rounded a bend in the trail carved into the side of the mountain, I saw Him. He smiled as He saw me, as if He was patiently waiting for my arrival. He motioned to my backpack and I knew He was about to do something worthy of remembrance. I, without taking my eyes off Him, reached into my backpack and pulled out my digital Nikon D70 and tripod. As I set up my equipment, He pulled out His own choice tools and laid them out before me. We seemed to face off with our mediums, like two soldiers in battle preparing to meet. I had my tripod locked off, facing my subject, ready to capture it. Like two runners on the starting line, we waited for the gun, tense, ready, and prepared for the following second.

He, like a western gunslinger in a draw, took up his brush and paints in a flash of orange and red. I responded to His move and dropped my anxious eye to the viewfinder. In a flurry of strokes and splashes, He arced His way across the sky and filled it with His glory and passion. I perspired, with my finger on that little silver button, waiting in tense anticipation for my moment to come. In a dramatic sweep of His arm He presented His work; a painting so great and so majestic the entire sky could hardly contain it. In this instant I checked my exposure, set my focus, and, with a final push of my finger, heard the sound of my shutter open and close, each pixel taking on more color and weight than it had ever done before. In the very next second, a thick darkness reclaimed the sky and erased the work. However, and to the disappointment of said darkness, I stood there triumphant, holding in my camera a masterpiece that the darkness would be unable to erase. I waltzed down the mountain trail, no longer worried about the darkness; I carefully carried an expanse of marvelous light in my hand.

Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be Also

As I passed this house on a walk through campus, I thought to myself, "Wow, they did well. Look at that. I wish I could live in such a house." But the more I thought about it, the more ominous the house became to me. By the time I stood up to go back to class, I had a much different opinion than my initial impression.

What makes the world go 'round? Happiness? Peace? No and no. Could it be love? Not a chance. The world, or at least the portion of the world deemed important, does not survive on human emotion, good works, or law, but it is driven and fueled by money. What is money? Webster says money is a unit that "measures value or worth." I believe this is a very accurate definition. We go to school to learn so, in time, we will learn a trade in order to make money. Generally speaking, we are happy in times of excess and sad in times of depletion. Why? Because money can provide a man with comfort in this life. We are taught that money is important. In a Christian school, we are taught that money is important and told that money is evil. We are informed that we need to make money and we are preached to about why money means nothing. Though this may seem hypocritical, it is expected. We live in a world where we need money. But we were made for a different purpose. Where is that line and how do we live on faith alone in an environment where we are taxed on our very breath?

The rich in this world are important. The rich are successful. The rich are revered. The rich have power in this life that those without money do not possess. However, is this the final say? The Word has a much different opinion of the rich man. In 1 Timothy 6:9 it says "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and traps and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." Is this view cynical or accurate? Many want to get rich, but few succeed to the desired degree. Those who fail, crash hard into "ruin and destruction." But what about those who do succeed? Christ says in Mark 10:25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!" Christ had a much more comprehensive view of man's existence than a mere man does. He understood that the wealth in this life only distracts us from our ultimate goal, Heaven. Christ reinforces this idea when he says in Luke 12:34 "Sell your possessions and give to the poor: Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." The words reverberate in my mind, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Is our treasure on Earth? Is our stock in wealth or is it in God?

In today's economy, nothing is certain, all is unstable. There is no firm investment except the investment of the heart in Christ's firm foundation. Wealth is uncertain! The world is incapable of ensuring the security of your money, wealth, or your material treasure. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 says "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God...and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

In my mind, God was laughing when He said this one, but the implications might even be disturbing to some: Leviticus 25:23 says "And remember, the land is Mine, so you may not sell it permanently. You are merely My tenants and sharecroppers!" We are renting! We do not even own the land that we have bought. So how should we live when the land is not our own, money is uncertain, and the world does not have our back, no matter what the government may claim. The best example of how to use your money may be this: Jesus pointed out a particular woman to his disciples in Mark 12:42-44, "But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins (to the offering in the temple), worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.'" If this woman had faith enough to, even in her poverty, give to God, then how should we of more comfortable circumstances use our money? We are told to tithe, but do we only allow God hold of 10% of our finances? We are taught to live by faith, for Christ has our back if we put our stock in him. No other man, woman, or system in existence can make such a claim.

The ominous house, framed by the trees, and lifted by the extensive stair case, was just a house, a symbol of wealth, and possibly a warning to those who consider the implications of wealth in this life. I rarely get a chill up my spine when I press that little silver button and hear the sound of my shutter, but this was one of the more singular experiences.

Life

Life defined is as follows: "the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally." Life is scientific. Life is measured. Life is defined. Life is able to be measured and defined by scientific methods because science has a been given an opposite, or a zero. The opposite of life is non-life, or death. In order for an organism or being to come into life, from death, requires certain characteristics present in each singular environment. A fish needs water. A plant needs light. A fly needs food. There are a number of necessities to life that, without their presence, death comes quickly or life does not begin in the first place. This is new to no one and rarely will one question the necessities of the body. So life is the development from non-life into life based on an organism's ability to metabolize, reproduce, and adapt to its environment. Also, and more importantly, to sustain such life requires certain external stimuli and support to remain living or sustain life. However, are we just machines? Are we solely a definition in a dictionary? Are we really that normal?

Webster goes on to say, in his extensive (but possibly not comprehensive) definition on life, the following: "a corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul." In my opinion, what Mr. Webster is attempting to say is that there is more to life than a body. We are more. There is a "corresponding state" of existence that survives apart from the body. This existence is life, however it is not life of the body, nor is it connected to the life or health of the body. This is the soul.

The soul is life. What is life? Life, when pertaining to the soul, is a state of the soul that does not know death. The soul has its needs, just as the body has its needs. Similarly, if the soul is deprived of its needs, it will die.

As humans, we tend to feel comfortable in darkness, in hiding, in sin. It's here that our minds have been molded into being comfortable. Our souls are filthy, but the thought of exposing one's soul to cleaning is so unattractive and so painful that the decision to do so is a difficult one to make. Humans are comfortable in the darkness, but we are healthy in the light. What, then, is light for the soul? The apostle John records Christ's words as this: "I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." This would be a bold and weightless statement from a man, but from the Son of God, it's quite pointed and unavoidable. Christ is Light. Our souls need light to live, His light. Our body needs certain things to sustain life. Our soul needs certain things to sustain life. Eat and live. Follow Christ and live. It's scientific my friends. It's scientific.

Shed your darkness. Take off your hat. Come outside into the light. Be free of the shade, of the darkness, and of sin. Cast away your umbrella, allow your face to be illuminated. Come into the warmth and light of Christ. It is the only way you will survive. This is what everyone considers when seeing a girl with an umbrella right? Maybe not. I raised my Nikon FA to my peculiar eye, checked the exposure, pressed gently on that little silver button, and, hearing the open and close of my shutter, knew I would have a little something to write about.