Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Reverence for all things and all people

Artist: Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

It is all to easy to devalue ordinary things. I think it's possible that such an approach can lead to devaluing ordinary people. Here's something that speaks to this issue:

Let everything you touch be treated as if it were as precious as the altar vessels. Whenever you handle any equipment or any person, be reverent. Be full of care with everything entrusted to you. Everything you touch or see, everyone for whom you have responsibility, is to be viewed as something cherished by God, and thus to be cherished by you.

— Norvene Vest in Friend of the Soul

I don't think this means we have to be obsessive-compulsive about our possessions or about various objects. I do think it means we need to wake up to the reality of how we habitually look at anything or anyone.

1 comment:

  1. I really love this wonderful reminder. It tells me I don't have to wait for something extraordinary to happen before appreciation or reverence can be experienced.

    ann callaway

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