I am no painter.
~~~~~~~~~~~ Michelangelo, in his journal during his work at the Sistine Chapel
His fresco of God and Adam on the chapel ceiling is among the most well-known works of art in history. Seeing the finished work. it's hard to remember that this project took four years, and took a heavy toll on the artist. The above quote came at a particularly difficult time ("my chest is arched like a harp...I am bent taut like a Syrian bow"), but he remained devoted to his work and its message.
What message? There may be many, but scholars point out that unlike other works of the day, God is depicted by Michelangelo as actively trying to reach the man. He's not some imperious detached deity, looking down from a great distance, but is fully extended, straining and reaching, with every divine muscle fiber. Still, He stops just short, and leaves Adam---and all the rest of us---the freedom to choose. Do we close the gap, complete the circuit? Or not.
This God, this Higher Power if you prefer, wants to be with us. In recovery, the goal is sobriety. Period. Praying, or sending thoughts to that Higher Power, is an intentional act by which we seek the help of something or someone greater than ourselves, an acknowledgement that we can't go it alone. And so it is with life in general.
Be at peace my friends. Enjoy your Sunday.
In loving memory of Allen Jones, 11-21-23.
NT
Matthew 28:20
~~~~~~~~~~~ Michelangelo, in his journal during his work at the Sistine Chapel
His fresco of God and Adam on the chapel ceiling is among the most well-known works of art in history. Seeing the finished work. it's hard to remember that this project took four years, and took a heavy toll on the artist. The above quote came at a particularly difficult time ("my chest is arched like a harp...I am bent taut like a Syrian bow"), but he remained devoted to his work and its message.
What message? There may be many, but scholars point out that unlike other works of the day, God is depicted by Michelangelo as actively trying to reach the man. He's not some imperious detached deity, looking down from a great distance, but is fully extended, straining and reaching, with every divine muscle fiber. Still, He stops just short, and leaves Adam---and all the rest of us---the freedom to choose. Do we close the gap, complete the circuit? Or not.
This God, this Higher Power if you prefer, wants to be with us. In recovery, the goal is sobriety. Period. Praying, or sending thoughts to that Higher Power, is an intentional act by which we seek the help of something or someone greater than ourselves, an acknowledgement that we can't go it alone. And so it is with life in general.
Be at peace my friends. Enjoy your Sunday.
In loving memory of Allen Jones, 11-21-23.
NT
Matthew 28:20
