It's been quite a while since I put anything in this blog, this is partially due to lack of time, but also because I have nothing to say that interests me.
Much of what I wrote previously came from an inner turmoil that I no longer have. My attempts to reconcile ideals with reality gave birth to many of my thoughts. Looking back on that emotional space is unpleasant, as it is full of angst. Nonetheless, the path is a necessary (and often far more interesting) part of the journey. Not to imply that I have arrived anywhere, only that I am at a different point along the path.
I will say that ideals do not have to be reconciled with reality. Ideals exist only in the world to come. In this place, reality and ideal will be one and the same. But for now, in this broken and fallen world, they are unequal. As a Christian, I must live in anticipation of the world to come, with all the paradox and tension that entails. By embracing this concept, some of the tension is relieved, but the paradox remains intact.
It snowed in Atlanta. My plane from San Francisco landed in a quintessential Winter Wonderland. Virtually the entire city was bathed in white, and since the buses weren't working, my roommate had to pick me up from the train station at Lindbergh City Center which was the Emory stop leaving from the airport. School was closed for the entire week, which for me was only 2 days worth of actual classes. Nonetheless, it was very exciting. I decided to try my hand at photography, since snow sticking to the ground is a rare event not only in Atlanta, but in my life.
To clarify, for a boy from Northern California, snow is not unheard of. Winter ski trips to Lake Tahoe are common. But one gets to choose one's exposure to the snow. A short drive through the Central Valley will take you right back to the virtually snowless Bay Area. I have never experienced inescapable snow, something commonplace for my Michigander roommate.
In any case, unilateral closings seemed more like a unilateral stoppage of time, something like an eternal peace. The snow froze the world exactly as it was at its falling. With every day, as the line of white receded, I felt the loss of a transcendental experience. To be given days to pause and reflect on the beauty of nature was a rare gift indeed.
