bierkergaard

I reread a quote today from C.S. Lewis "Imagination is the organ of meaning."  Imagination would seem to be a nice thing to have in life but not a necessity. We need food, we need water, we need shelter. And I might just need coffee. But, above all else, we need meaning. For if life is meaning-less, why bother eating, drinking, staying dry and warm? And imagination, is the key to meaning. Facts by themselves don't coalesce into coherence. Instead, facts point to a bigger and more expansive reality. Like keys on a piano becoming a song. The Alphabet becoming Shakespeare. One star in the sky is not that impressive. Thousands of stars are. The Organic Universe. Let there be Light. One sentence brought forth Creation   If we take away a person's ability to envision a better and more beautiful life, while they are in hard times, they may not make it out of the hardship, or want to. I have learned that there are many times that a person's world i...

John 4:34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." Last night I was hanging out with a buddy drinking a couple of beers at an upscale brewpub in Lancaster. A pricey place and not the scene for beers after lawn work, at least before showering. My buddy had to roll so I was awaiting another buddy who was coming. We were going to catch some of the Heat-Pacers game, which turned out to be a dud, and also catch up. LeBron rules. In the interim between buddies, like two halves of a basketball game, an attractive girl/woman sat in the chair my first buddy had just vacated. She had long blond tresses, a chic white short dress on, and was made up like a doll. Almost model-like. I was fooling around with my Untappd app on my iPhone trying to figure out how to check-in so I was distracted. But one thing kept reminding me that she was there in the chair next to me. She had a lot of perfume on--and a perfume that I didn't...

    Ecclesiastes 5:18   Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.     Dear Class of 2013:   Commencement Addresses are not long remembered. Unless really bad or really good. Or, if I were to so something dramatic or irresponsible. Like shooting off Roman Candles from the podium. Or show up in my boxers. Or belch. However, one key to giving a good speech is to remember your audience. Thus, I will try to remember what it felt like to sit where you are now seated, but also to provide a quarter of century of advice that I have learned since college graduation. Another tip: Be brief!   Back in college, my roommate Bill and I watched David Letterman nightly. This is when he was on NBC at 12:30 in the morning, following the Tonight Show with Johnny...