benedson

40x40x40: Day 19

the 12 minute commute provides the backdrop
a journey through the urban sprawl of south manchester

diverse communities
diverse people
side by side
deprivation next to wealth

we slice through the city
untouched by its fragility
a window into our home

40x40x40: Day 18

visible seams
once divided my days
not those seams have disappeared
into a chasm of banality

the days roll into one
as the once visible seams
fade into the monotony of the ongoing experience

the boredom of the lenten journey

40x40x40: Day 16

sweet sixteen
50 cc
marriage
cigarettes
sex
a marking post on the journey into adulthood


a liminal time
a time of transition
and of transformation
where occasional glimpses of the past child
illuminate the potential adult
a metamorphosis into adulthood

40x40x40: Day 14

the momentum begins to carry me
one day rolls into another
as the middle draws near

the momentum of the routine
of the forced pause
of the moment to think

the momentum
has become a part
of my inmost being

40x40x40: Day 13

the creative spark
that birthed the initial excitement
has gone
all that remains is discipline
the discipline of completion

creativity and discipline
paradoxical bed-fellows
but when held in balance
sustain one another
and give purpose
to the routine of life

40x40x40: Day 12

is this new life premature?
a brief glimmer of the future
or a seasonal change here to stay?

I hope it's a glimmer.
the temporal life enlivens my being
yet the fear of what it could be
darkens my soul

40x40x40: Day 11

11
days
in
and
the
self
examination
is
continuous
days
are
perpetual
time
stands
still
as
eternity
fractures
the
present
with
the
self
examination
the
transitory
realisation
that
i
am
fully
human
when
my
identity
is
surrendered
to
I
am

40x40x40: Day 9

the liturgy of life patterns my day
moments of quiet
moments of chaos


within all this
a pattern

a pattern that gives meaning
that shapes my identity
that sustains my soul


the liturgy of life
the pattern of the ordinary

 

40 images:40 videos:40x40 words:40 days:day 2

The journey begins.
The euphoria of the start - gone.

The future is distant.
So much before,
and so little behind,
the end is barely visible...

and yet we still stumble on
because our hope for tomorrow empowers our today.

The magi journey through Gaza

Today is Epiphany, the day where we remember the wise men visiting Jesus in Bethlehem, a commonly held tradition is that one of the wise men was Ethiopian - partly as Frankincense is obtained from trees in  Ethiopia - it therefore occurs to me that this wise man would have journeyed through Gaza...a few years ago I reflected on the journey of the wise men through Iraq when the war was raging there and now we have a wise man journeying through Gaza.   Gaza, one of the most heavily populated places on the earth currently under attack by the Israeli Army.

So what would a wise man say if he were journeying through Gaza today?  Well, a not so wise man thinks that he'd say...

The Israeli response is totally disproportionate to the aggression that there has been against them,
The Israeli's have not exhausted all diplomatic methods of seeking a resolution,
The Israelis and Palestinians need to find a way of living together in peace,
The wall needs to go,

But I also think that there is something political going on here too, it can be no coincidence that the Israelis are doing this at the end of a pro-Israel Bush administration, they know that they will no be condemned by the current US administration for this,  However, and here is where there is a sting in the tale, my feeling is that a lot of the anti-Israel, pro-palestinian political activity that there is at the moment is simply another way to attack US foreign policy.  There are global atrocities going on at the moment, think Zimbadwae for example, and there is not the same level of protest or anguish at this, so why is this?  Is it because Mugabe's regime is not supported by the US in the same way that the Israeli's are?  I don't know but it's a thought.

So the wise man arrives at Herod's Palace, the representative of the global super power in the heart of Jerusalem and he leaves Jerusalem and travels to Palestine.  Where he spends time with the family who are soon to become a refugees in Egypt.  There he has a dream, a dream that tells him not to go back to the global super power, because the global super power is threatened by a small baby, but to return home by another route.

Tags: BenEdson, Magi, Wise Men, Epiphany