recipes for conversation (part 2 of 3)

"The last word is Joy"
I may be way off base with this one. It seems like the feet are those of christ on the cross. That with the flames of hell is a tragedy, but it all ends in Joy. nice reading. they could be his feet, but they could also be feet from someone jumping, leaping, diving. they’re active. again, the flames could be passion, or energy, but the consuming aspect is also there to discover. fire consumes. judgement consumes. joy consumes. of course, from an eschatological standpoint, when christ returns, it will be joy. every tear will be wiped away.

"You have lost the power of astonishment at your own actions"
I like the statement. I think the eyes show how what i do is done subconsciously for others. I'll do things to gain approval of others without regard to my morals degrading. The ladder...I don't know. well, there’s the cloud of eyes – we’re being watched (which may or may not elicit a positive response) by a cloud of witnesses, by people, by G-d. the ladder is a little more abstract, but think of it literally: ladders are used to ascend or descend. the question is, what will we do in response to the recognition of the effects of our actions (and words)?

"First, we sing"
I don't get it. songs, expression, creativity, worship – this is where freedom begins. where healing starts. by getting the words out. singing the pain, joy, hope, fear. the hands represent community, healing, worship. the bells are declarations, markers of time, announcing.

"Blesséd is the one whose heart is set on pilgrimage"
The bed-frame reminds me of an old children's movie, I can't remember what its called. It had a bed-frame like this that could fly. The picture is a silhouette of a man on a cliff, but the silhouette being made of birds flying shows the man's heart, or desire for direction and a cause to work toward. it’s also right out of the psalms.

"resistance is a difficult practise"
I looked up "practise" to try and see why you spelled it like this. It's a verb specifically, while practice could be either a verb or a noun. Using that spelling is great. It emphasizes the fact that it's an action. and I do try to be specific in the words we use – thanks for taking the time to look into that. i try to have those deeper layers for those willing to go there. really. words are important. it matters which words we use. I don't know if there is a significance to the object in the picture, but you can see the line between two opposing forces. This with the picture of the man bracing works to illustrate the difficulty of practising resistance. the whole idea of shaping something out of a resistant material (whether stone or man’s heart) is part of it too. the carving is a storm, with waves, and a whirlpool. think jonah. think turmoil.