Tag Archives: Creativity

philosophy

I’m Pro-Art

by Howard Hain
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Paul Cézanne, “Bathers”, 1874-75, (The Met)

I’m Pro Art

In other words:

I’m Pro Truth

In other words:

I’m Pro Beauty

In other words:

I’m Pro Love

In other words:

I’m Pro Creation

In other words:

I’m Pro Life

(Oops, how’d that happen…funny how logic can lead you to such “un-expecting” places.)

(Words do seem to matter—or at least carry some weight—maybe even 7 pounds 8 ounces worth.)

(Before you panic, give it a little, teeny-weeny, infant-sized bit of thought…)

Conclusion:

ProArt (pro-creates) ProLife

ProLife (pre-conceives) ProArt

ProArt (equ=als) ProLife

 

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

Web Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Paul Cézanne, “Bathers”, 1874–75

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philosophy

Sure and Steady

by Howard Hain
jusepe-josc3a9-de-ribera-tightrope-walkers-1634

Jusepe (Jose) de Ribera, “Tightrope Walkers”, 1634

The brighter the light the more we squint.

The closer we get the less we see.

And if we stare we go blind.

Now what?

You have to trust.

In what?

Not in yourselves.

In total darkness the answer is clear.

All other ways disappear.

Close your eyes.

Shutter your ears.

Forget the past.

Ignore what is below.

Chin slightly elevated.

Now walk.

No need to go too slow.

Sure and steady.

Heart on the goal.

And if we slip?

Don’t worry.

I made the rope.

I hold it tight.

My Son is “the way and the truth and the life”.

In Him you never fall.

In Him you know.

In Him you live.

He walks before you.

You may not see Him but He is there.

Follow close behind.

It is a tight walk.

That’s why I gave Him a pole.

I gave you one too.

And because it can get very dark.

I made them easy to identify.

They are made of thick dead wood.

Your hands know their splinters and knots.

Hold tight.

Say thank You.

Kiss in the dark what you cannot see.

For that old piece of wood.

Will get you across the gorge.

Where on the other side.

It will be planted.

Grafted into the Tree of Life.

 

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

 

 

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philosophy

Arriving in Hope

by Howard Hain

 

camille-pissarro-entree-du-village-de-voisins-1872

Camille Pissarro, “Entrée du village de Voisins”, 1872 (Musée d’Orsay)

 

Waiting and waiting, for exactly what I’m not sure.

The sun to rise.

The day to end.

The water to boil.

Mass to begin.

The cock to crow.

Christ to return.

———

A new day is here.

———

Father, thank You.

Jesus, I love You.

Holy Spirit, have Your way.

 

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

 

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philosophy

Daily Grind

by Howard Hain

 

Rembrandt Two Women Teaching a Child to Walk ca. 1635-37 red chalk on gray paper

Rembrandt, “Two Women Teaching a Child to Walk”, ca. 1635-37 (red chalk on gray paper)

 

This day might perhaps be the most boring day of our life.

It might look a lot like yesterday.

A lot like last Friday.

A lot like last November.

Routine.

Monotony.

The daily grind.

Another peppercorn held in the mill.

Waiting its turn to be ground into dust.

Sprinkled on a paper plate.

Consumed by a ravenous world.

Never to be seen again.

Never to see the light of day.

Or perhaps we’re wrong.

Perhaps we’re chunks of crystal.

Salt from a dead sea.

Clear.

A tinge of pink.

When the light hits right.

To be sprinkled.

To preserve what’s sacred.

To give life.

Perhaps we are the salt of the earth.

Perhaps this day we shall meet some pepper.

Perhaps we’ll let God have His way.

Giving taste to what seems to so many just another day.

 

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

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philosophy

Falling Into Love

by Howard Hain

 

Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro Domenico Ghirlandaio ca. 1488.jpg

Domenico Ghirlandaio, “Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro”, ca. 1488 (The Met)

 

Dear Lord,

Let me begin with my apologies. Forgive me for coming to You yet again with nothing. I’m sorry. Look at me, I’ve just begun and here I go again, saying things that are just not true. Of course I do not come “with nothing.” No, I come with nothing of value. Yes, that’s better. For as You well know, Lord, I do come with plenty of things that simply get in the way of me doing my job, the job You Yourself assigned me, the job for which You Yourself designed me perfectly.

God, You are so patient. Truly.

Yes, Sir.

Forgive me…yes, I will stop talking. Of course I’ll listen to You. I’m all ears. Please, my Lord, go ahead, if You please, when You’re ready…

“My son, it is good to see you. I am always pleased to see you. You really have grown. Do you know what I hear when you speak to me? I hear hope. Yes, hope has a sound. No, it’s not like the sounds that you hear in the world. In heaven everything is Love. And the sound of hope is the sound of one of my children falling into Love. I never grow tired of you, or any of your brothers or sisters, speaking to me. Think about it. You know this yourself, the most painful thing for parents is for one of their children to turn away from them, to cease to talk, to cut off all communication, to deny their very existence. Oh, how that hurts. Don’t you see then how Jesus taught you all that you need to know? He taught you all that you will ever need to know while He hung upon the cross. He taught you to never turn away from me. To speak to me. To direct your heart and your mouth and your will toward me. He taught you to keep your eyes on me. The world only sees terrible pain and suffering upon the cross, I see you being set free. I see you this very morning coming to your Father and speaking openly. I see hope and I hear the sound of my dear child falling into Love.”

 

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

Web Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Domenico Ghirlandaio, “Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro”, ca. 1488

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philosophy

A Generous Silence

by Howard Hain

 

Pablo Picasso Woman in White 1923

Pablo Picasso, “Woman in White”, 1923 (The Met)

 

The fewest words possible.

It is hard to imagine why we speak any at all.

Nothing comes out right.

There’s never enough said.

What is uttered is always incomplete.

The vow of silence seems awfully attractive at times.

But how long would that last?

I remember taking early morning walks years ago.

I would see the sky, the horizon, the landscape, the fields, the trees, the rocks, the grass, the birds…

I would get so excited.

I would want to run home and tell my wife, to show her, to bring her to that very spot.

But I couldn’t.

By even thinking about doing so something had happened.

The sky, the horizon, the landscape, the fields, the trees, the rocks, the grass, the birds…they were all still there, but it was gone.

By wanting to run and show someone else, by desperately wanting to share—to not be alone—I was again the only one standing on that vacant road.

God of course was still there, and His holy angels and saints—the “great cloud of witnesses”—but I was no longer home.

For I was no longer there.

I was in the land of wanting, of wanting something else but the “here and now,” of wanting something else besides a glimpse of eternity—of wanting more than the kingdom truly being at hand.

For even the beautifully-human desire to share with others sometimes gets in the way.

What is needed is more faith.

What is needed is belief—the belief that the gift of God’s presence, when graciously and generously and humbly received, gives more to our family and friends, gives more to the entire world, than we could ever show or tell each and every one of them individually—even when our “receiving” takes place when we are completely and totally “alone.”

 

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

Web Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pablo Picasso, “Woman in White”, 1923

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philosophy

Rip Tide

by Howard Hain

 

Matisse Bather 1909 MoMA

Henri Matisse, “Bather”, Cavalière, summer 1909 (MoMA)

 

What are we to do when the mighty ocean sucks us out to sea?

We are told that we shouldn’t resist, that we should let it take us into the deep—trusting in the bigger force at hand—trusting that the immutable current will win the day, that the overarching tide will eventually send us back to shore.

And in the meantime?

Tread water. Conserve energy. Keep eyes on heaven above.

 

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

Web Link: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Henri Matisse, “Bather”, Cavalière, summer 1909

 

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philosophy

Heaven in One Act

by Howard Hain

—a play for children, adults, and all humanity—

ACT ONE

Scene 1

(Midweek morning, a small urban apartment, a father and his seven-year-old daughter, sitting on an old IKEA couch, half hour before school)

DAUGHTER (looking out window):  Daddy, is heaven real?

FATHER (sipping coffee):  Absolutely.

D:   And Jesus is in heaven?

F:   Yes. Definitely.

D:   Are there people in heaven with Jesus?

F:   Yes.

D:   People who died?

F:   Yes, people who died but who now live forever with Jesus in heaven.

D:   Forever?

F:   Yes, for ever and ever. Perfectly happy.

D:   Perfectly?

F:   Perfectly.

D:   What do they do in heaven all that time?

F:   Well, they do what Jesus does, because when you’re in heaven you’re like Him.

D:   Like Him? People in heaven are like Jesus?

F:   Yes, when you’re in heaven you see Jesus, so you become like Him, like God.

D:   I don’t understand…

F:   Well, it’s hard to explain. I don’t really understand it either. I don’t know if anybody does…it’s really hard to even try…

D:   Can you? Can you try?

F:   Well, put it this way. You know that God is great, right?

D:   Yes…

F:   Well, He’s not just great, He’s so great that everything that even comes close to Him becomes great…     In fact, He’s so great that when a person even sees God—I mean really sees Him—really, really sees Him—that person actually becomes like God.     It’s amazing…but God is just that great. He’s that powerful.

D:   But what about me?

F:   What about you?

D:   What if I see God? What if I really see Him—if I really, really see Him—will I be like God too?

F:   Well, yes…when you’re in heaven…you’ll be like God too.

D:   But how come not now?

F:   Well, do you see God now?

D:   No…not really…(long pause)…(smiling)…but kind of…

F:   Well…you’re right…sometimes we do “kind of” see God…we “kind of” get a little “peak” at Him every once in a while…but in heaven it’s different, it’s like seeing God face to face—just like you and I see each other right now—but even much more, because in heaven you’ll never stop seeing Him.     In heaven it’s not like seeing someone now but not seeing him or her a little while later.     In heaven it’s always…you and God never stop seeing each other…

D:   And that makes you just like God?

F:   Well, yes, because in heaven you are totally part of Jesus, and He is totally part of you. It’s like the two of you are one “thing”.

D:   That’s why you do what Jesus does?

F:   Yes.     I mean, how could you not?     Think about it…     Imagine if you were tied to someone at the waist by a very, very short rope…     Ok?     Picture it.     Now…wouldn’t you have to go everywhere that person goes?

D:   Yes…

F:   So if he went into the kitchen, you’d go into the kitchen…and if he went to sit on the couch, well, you’d go sit on the couch…

D:   Yes…like those twins we saw on TV…the ones that were still attached…

F:   (smiling)  Well, yes, kind of…     …that’s a really good example… (pause) …maybe it’s more like two little twin babies who are still living in their mommy’s belly, who go everywhere their mommy goes…     Because in heaven it’s like you’re attached to Jesus in every good way possible…your mind, your heart, your soul…and yet you’re totally free, free to do whatever you want whenever you want…and that’s maybe the best part, because what you want to do is always exactly what Jesus is already doing! So it all works out perfectly. That’s why you’re so happy in heaven. Happy as happy can be. So happy that no one on earth can even imagine being that happy.     Imagine that!      It’s like two best friends who always, always, always agree to play the same game and always, always, always have the best time.     Make sense?

D:   Yeah, they’d be like the best friends in the entire world…like the best friends that could ever be…

F:   Yeah…that’s a great way to put it…     In heaven you and Jesus are the best friends that could ever be…

D:   So what kind of stuff do they do in heaven?

F:   Well, they love. They love all the time. They love God…they love each other…and they love us…and they also pray…

D:   People in heaven still pray?

F:   Sure they do…but they don’t pray for themselves anymore. They’re already in heaven, so now they only pray for other people, for people like us who are still on earth—just like Jesus does.     Jesus prays for us, so they pray for us….     It has a big fancy word. It’s called “interceding”.

D:   Interceding?

F:   It means to ask the Father—Father God—to bless us, to be kind to us—to all of us still on earth—and to let us come into heaven when we die so we can live with Him, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and all of God’s holy angels and saints…forever and ever…

D:   Wow, I really want to see what heaven looks like!

F:   Me too!

D:   And you’re old, so you’ll go before me, right?

F:   That makes sense…

D:   So when you go to heaven, Daddy, you can pray for me too, with Jesus…

F:   Absolutely. (pause) (looking outward, nodding his head) (smiling) I’ll see Him face to face and be like Him…and I’ll be happy forever…and I’ll do all that Jesus does…     (turning toward his daughter) And I will pray for you until the day you join us in heaven, for ever and ever… perfect happiness together… best, best friends forever…and ever…and ever…

(Smile. A big smile. In both directions)

F: (starting to get up off the couch)  Ok, that’s enough heaven talk…heaven starts right now.     Go have a good day at school. Be a good girl…listen…and have fun…that’s definitely part of your job here on earth.     Got It?

D:   Got it.

F:   I love you so much…

D:   I love you too, Daddy.

(A hug, a kiss, a quick blessing. Father and daughter exit opposite sides of stage)

 

CURTAIN

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Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

http://www.twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

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philosophy

Never Again

by Howard Hain

 

Rembrandt Artist in Studio

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606 – 1669), “An Artist in His Studio”, 1630, Pen and brown ink, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

 

I have this recurring thought that I’ll never write anything good or creative or original or meaningful ever again.

And you know what? It’s true. I won’t. But God will.

It always begins and ends with The LORD. The Alpha and The Omega.

Hallelujah.

His grace transforms the fears that the enemy throws at us into most blessed reminders—reminders that result in living the greatest paradox ever told: A life of Bold Humility.

.

Howard Hain is a contemplative layman, husband, and father.

Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardDHain

http://www.twitter.com/HowardDHain

If you enjoyed this post, please consider “liking” it, adding a comment, becoming an email subscriber (drop-down menu at top of page), or passing it along via the social-media links below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Step by step. All for God’s glory.

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