Recognition

During our first birding conference last month my wife and I attended a field trip with a shorebirds expert. Often throughout the session, he explained that his ability to recognize species is so well tuned that he can recognize any shorebird in seconds, with a mere glimpse at the overall size and shape, whether still or in flight, whether in silhouette or in full view, regardless of available light. He passed out a single sheet of named images, black and white, to illustrate how his technique works. Of course, it was clear to everyone that his ability has been honed over many decades of observing and studying shorebirds. He was describing an intuitive grasp, almost instantaneous, of a critical element of the identity of each bird, its species.  Then,  is this how God holds us, but as individuals? It is the grasp of intimate intuition, but with wonderously more detail and depth.

This is my first post. I started this blog while recovering from spine surgery over two years ago. I planned to spend my extra time developing the discipline to write. Now perhaps I will write, but possibly the title should change. Christianity, specifically of the Catholic kind, is central to my life. But I am beginning to see my title, with its Ghandi allusion, as fatuous, unnecessarily pretentious, and possibly an obstacle to moving forward. Instead, I shall write about this and that, commenting when I can on how it ties to my life as an emerging christian, and how God can be seen revealing God in all things. I shall overcome my anxiety about publishing too, knowing now that it will always need work.