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Showing posts from September, 2013

Grief

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Sometimes the news comes quick. Sometimes the news comes slow. No matter how or when it comes, grief travels in the wake of the news. Grief is heavy, weighty, a burden, especially when it involves someone deeply loved. Grief is not meant to be carried alone. It’s too heavy and may last a while—and that’s ok. That’s what family and friends are for, to share the load. Jesus stood outside the tomb of his friend and wept but He did not weep alone. It was a deep, human moment. “ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted ” (Matt 5:4). If anyone knows how we feel in grief, it’s Him. But His grief did not linger long, as at the mention of his name, Lazarus came forth. We are not meant to dwell in grief, but should leave room enough for it. Let it run its course. Like the song says, “ Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain .” Another song says, “ The storm We will dance as it breaks The storm It will give as it takes And all of our pain is washed away Don't cry or be afraid Some things...
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Know The Great Men of Your Age

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"They are not many. There is one Phœnix in the whole world, one great general, one perfect orator, one true philosopher in a century, a really illustrious king in several. Mediocrities are as numerous as they are worth-less: eminent greatness is rare in every respect, since it needs complete perfection, and the higher the species the more difficult is the highest rank in it. Many have claimed the title "Great," like Cæsar and Alexander, but in vain, for without great deeds the title is a mere breath of air. There have been few Senecas, and fame records but one Apelles." ( Balthasar Gracian )
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Another look at Homer's Odyssey

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Not too long ago as I read Homer’s Odyssey (once again), a thought came to mind. If Homer’s Iliad serves as a kind of record of the siege of Troy (a debated issue due to the activity of the so-called gods as mentioned in the story--strip away the supernatural and the event still stands) and history and archaeology affirm the event as well as many historical figures involved, would it be possible that the Odyssey is a true account of one of the Iliad’s prominent personalities? The possibility is very high. Any fairly-well read person knows of many events found in the Odyssey: who has not heard of Cyclops or Lotus-eaters or of the deadly Sirens? Hades has been known for thousands of years as a place for the dead. A well-read person knows that when Troy fell, the Greeks returned home only Odysseus was delayed in his return, as the story goes. But what was the reason for his delay? Was it monsters and an offended deity? Or was there another reason?  Aeschylus records in his pla...
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Odysseus Sets A PR: CrossFit Games, 8th Century B.C. (sort of)

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I’m on the edge of my seat reading this in Homer's  The Odyssey , Book VIII, “How They Held Games and Sports in Phaiacia” (translated by Samuel Butler): [Alcinous said,] "Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, we have had enough now, both of the feast, and of the minstrelsy that is its due accompaniment; let us proceed therefore to the athletic sports, so that [Odysseus] our guest on his return home may be able to tell his friends how much we surpass all other nations as boxers, wrestlers, jumpers, and runners. . . . The foot races came first. The course was set out for them from the starting post, and they raised a dust upon the plain as they all flew forward at the same moment. Clytoneus came in first by a long way; he left every one else behind him by the length of the furrow that a couple of mules can plough in a fallow field. They then turned to the painful art of wrestling, and here Euryalus proved to be the best man. Amphialus excelled all the others ...
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