Sparkling Stars

... above Monsaraz, looking like a gold necklace against black velvet. On our way back from a lovely meal at Sem Fim, with André, Zwannie, and Gil.

I keep wanting to pay homage to one of my favourite writers, Frederick Buechner, who died last week, so here, at least, a quote from one of his books that relates to us Blippers:
"Literature, painting, music — the most basic lesson that all art teaches us is to stop, look, and listen to life on this planet, including our own lives, as a vastly richer, deeper, more mysterious business than most of the time it ever occurs to us to suspect as we bumble along from day to day on automatic pilot. In a world that for the most part steers clear of the whole idea of holiness, art is one of the few places left where we can speak to each other of holy things. . .

"And when Jesus comes along saying that the greatest command of all is to love God and to love our neighbor, he too is asking us to pay attention. If we are to love God, we must first stop, look, and listen for him in what is happening around us and inside us. If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces, but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in."

Gratefuls:
- writers like Buechner, who help me appreciate life better
- getting to church, for the first time in weeks (Eden went to their church as well)
- the beauty of this place, even in heat and drought