There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
– Brutus in Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224
“Art is a contemplative business. It is also a ruthless business. One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or shut up.”
– Arthur Koestler, as quoted by William F. Buckley in God and Man at Yale
October 23, 2014
by Hannah
During a trip to Missouri, our hostess at a bed and breakfast pulled back an old plywood board and showed us the old, deep well hiding underneath. Rough stones had been carefully arranged into stunningly smooth walls that ran deep into the ground. The moist soil glistened in the tiny glints of sunlight that reached its depths.
It wasn’t until I looked back at the photographs that I began to appreciate the level of craftsmanship that had been invested in that well. Instead of slapping stones this way and that, the man who made this well had carefully selected each stone and put it in its place.
In the end, because of his meticulousness, a project of necessity had become an object of beauty.
Isn’t that like life–on our best days?
At times we take on our duties with a grimace and try to dispose of them in as little time as possible. As we finish, we sigh with relief and rush on to the next duty to mark off our list.
But on those special days, those days when we see that the task in front of us is an opportunity to invest ourselves in something with larger import than the passing moment, our perspective changes.
We still realize the necessity that’s driving us on (after all, everyone needs water), but instead of throwing this chunk of frustration here and that slab of opposition there, we see the larger purpose in what we’re doing. Not only are we acquiring the material things we need to sustain our life; we’re also creating beauty with our hands and our minds.
What a double gift that wellmaker gave.
This article was originally published by Criterion Water Labs.
People today are trying to hang on to the dignity of man, but they do not know how to, because they have lost the truth that man is made in the image of God.
Francis Schaeffer, Escape from Reason
March 1, 2010
by Hannah
I’m a conservative. I don’t have to modify that noun with adjectives such as “compassionate,” “fiscal,” or “social.” I’m just a conservative. What I mean by that is that I have found certain truths that are worth conserving. Incidentally, they’re not only worth living by; they’re worth dying for. These truths guide my life and my interactions with everyone around me. The principal truth that guides my life is that God exists. He’s given me the triplicate gifts of life, liberty, and property, and He sent His Son to guide me in the best way to use these gifts – namely, so that I can be like Him.
A lot of people in a lot of different nations have discovered principles of prudential living, what some call the Tao. The reason why these principles form a coherent whole is that they flow from a common source: God. He created reality, invented the genders, the family, government, nations, and the principles that guide their peaceful relations. He embedded certain laws into His creation, to provide us with a stable, sustainable universe, and the means to trace our desire for meaning back to Him. For anyone who wants the low-down on why He set up the universe the way He did, He’s conveniently published a book on the subject.
Besides that, He’s placed a handbook of His laws in each of our hearts – something we call conscience, or the natural law. The real fun comes in seeing just how these laws play out in everyday life. The laws stay constant, but they have infinite ways of being lived out. While some may try to disregard God and attempt to redefine what a nation, government, family, or person is, I’ve found that such attempts end in failure, confusion, and tragedy. The truths that God instilled in creation remain unchanged, and as long as I keep Him and His truth in sight, life makes sense.
Yeah, that’s why I’m a conservative.