Our Book Face

Dear Eugene,

I usually don't hunt for stuffs to write about and they'd just come to me when I walk up the hill with Sumi.  Nothing in my head is that interesting compared to all the things happening out there.

Like this morning: There was sun; there was breeze.  Then the breeze became wind and the sun no more, and with that came a sudden shower.  I tried to connect the events and misunderstood--the shower was from a lawn sprinkler.  Sumi grunted.

Always be wary of a man who thinks a world only out of his head and means it only out of his heart--even his whole heart.  He's a magician; he shows what seems to be interesting but hides what's even more interesting.  Soon he forgets where he hides his truly interesting things and becomes a true illusionist.

"First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see," your translation of the very first words in the Bible.

The words are not giving us a "scientific" account.  The words ask us to dispel illusions in our head, to do away with cheating in our heart.  They say, Lay your cards down; no more magic tricks, ok?

They tell us there are things we can see, and there are things we can't see--but don't say which is which.  We look at a four-legged animal, point at it with our finger and give it a name: You, a dog.  But we did not and shall never fully know the 5W1H of this thing we just named.

How differently one would live her life if she is to know even only these first words from the whole Bible and trust them?

She might study for years and finally become an extraordinary veterinarian, but when people called her an "animal expert," she would say Please, none of that!  I know some stuffs, but very little.  I'd love to help because these animals, let me tell you, they are extraordinary gifts!  I want to know them, but they keep amaze me with what I do not know about them.  There is an understanding in my head and love in my heart, but these gifts are way more than my understanding of and love for them...

True science should dispel illusions.  So should true theology, true arts, any truth.

Walker Percy once said, "Bad books always lie. They lie most of all about the human condition."

I wonder what sort of book my life is?

Yours, Alex