Early morning shadow of a lamp in late summer, Maine.
That thought–do something original today–was the first into my mind as I awoke this morning here at Ocean Park, Maine. What might that mean?
The third definition of “original” that I found in The New Oxford American Dictionary is “not dependent on other people’s ideas; inventive and unusual.” A note adds, “Someone who is original comes up with things that no one else has thought of (an original approach to constructing a doghouse), or thinks in an independent and creative way (a highly original filmmaker).”
I will be stacking firewood today, biking to Kennebunk, and helping Darlene to organize her photos in iPhoto. I don’t see much hope of taking original approaches to those activities. That leaves this bit of writing.
What on earth could I write in a blog post that no one has thought of?
First of all, welcome. Nice to have you with me on a Sunday morning in Maine. I wish you could see the view I’m looking at out the two big windows of the bedroom here at the cottage: Dune grass in the lower section of the window, which is open to the screen, then, higher, a band of gray sea, and higher still the sky with its smooth and varied bands of clouds. In the window at the right, you’d see islands, including one with a lighthouse. We’re listening to Kenny Chesney on a great speaker, singing “Be As You Are.”
What’s your original approach to life?
We all have one, a combination of experience and learning and genes. We align ourselves with religions, political parties, nationalities, and shared interests, but not too far below all that lies an original, which is what interests me. I get tired of hearing someone mouth the surface stuff, especially when it’s me. I want to add to whatever I’ve said, “but you’ve heard that, right?”–and then offer something truly original about, say, whether we should take military action in Syria.
I have prayed for President Obama every single morning of his presidency so far, that he will lead us to peace and prosperity. I don’t get into specifics. This morning I could only watch the first two of 13 scenes of gassed children and other victims in Syria, from a compilation released by the Senate Select Intelligence Committee. I hope that I am not the only person praying for the President to act wisely in this crisis. Original? Probably not. But my prayers for him, and for others on my list, are offered while kneeling on my own two knees, no one else’s.
If you pray, you are doing something original. Your prayer fills a spot on the spiritual spectrum that no one else has access to. Use it well, and often. I’m praying for you right now, at my keyboard, not on my knees, but I can feel it just the same–my desire that your life will go well today, in a completely original way.
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