stories

Though it doesn't always work out, I try never to begin writing with the word "I", ego. Okay, maybe a sentence, but seldom a paragraph, and certainly not the essay itself; because that makes it about me, and if YOU start right off writing about yourself, it turns me off right off the bat, so I try to avoid it. But this IS about me, so I guess it would have been okay. 

This morning I woke up early, so early that there'll have to be a nap well before noon, even before breakfast, though I did have two stuffed egg halves with my mug of black. But sheltering in place is stoppage time, like hurrication a few months back, so all these naps are okay. Even a high point of my New Normal. Come to think of it though, nearly all of retirement is stoppage time. But I wander.

Woke up early, and something came to mind that I didn't know, so I decided to stay up and find out. Which brought me to my point: that life is pretty good, because the older I get the more I realize I don't know, and am impelled to study and find out. I learned several things this morning already and the sun isn't even up yet. So my point is I'm glad I'm still alive, because there's lots I don't know, and I can still learn. As long as I can learn, life is worth living.

I'm glad I'm alive, because there's lots to learn and I still can learn. That's the way I'd have started this morning's blogpost had I allowed myself to begin with "I", my own ego.

To me, the most important things I have learned and am still learning are about Creation, the Universe. Which is one reason I enjoy a telescope. In fact, once the scaffolding is cleared away from the Bay side, I'm gonna look at the moon again, and Saturn, and Jupiter with its four easily visible moons. 

In the meantime, I'm still picking out Hebrew in the Old Testament, which I'm bad at but learning enough happily to do what I want to do. And Greek for the New Testament, which was what had me up so early this morning, in the Gospel according to John.

The lectionary text for tomorrow, Easter 2, is the end of John chapter 20, the story of Doubting Thomas. It's about Faith, the happiness of believing, having Faith in the face of Doubt. In fact, Gospel John, who says a lot about signs Jesus did, says that's why he tells all these stories about Jesus in the first place: 

30 Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐνώπιον τῶν μαθητῶν, ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένα ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ· 31 ταῦτα δὲ γέγραπται ἵνα πιστεύητε ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἵνα πιστεύοντες ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.
The Purpose of This Book

John 20:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Now I need a picture don't I. And then I'm going back to bed.

Weather alert: rain will begin around 5:39 and continue for several hours.