These are the days I want to read again Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening."
I awoke this morning and noticed something very different: I did not hear a sound outside. I realized I slept very well. I guess Gloucester and Douglas are still deep within me. The outside market of al-Abdali was eerily quiet. No cars nor busses nor a single pedestrian could be heard. The snow blanketed the area so much that the area looked very nice. I felt serene inside. I am a high sensate and I guess that applies to me when I am sleeping as well.
The snow is wet and heavy. It won't be around past tomorrow, but it is chilly outside. It shut down the government offices and taxi drivers don't like to drive in this. Car horns are not blaring these past days.
I realized for the first time in my life I have a parking space with a cover. I don't have to clear off my car in order to use it.
I went to the rooftop this morning to shoot a few cityscapes. It raised a question for me. Are you the type of person who looks at the virgin snow and wants to be the first one to trample on it? Or are you the sort of person who respects its pristine qualities and wants to leave it intact for others t see and behold?
Once I finally stepped onto the freshly fallen snow, I walked to the edge of the roof to shoot the Orthodox church steeples and the Blue Mosque's dome covered in snow. I took out my camera very gingerly because I was near the edge and I didn't want to slip and break my camera lens. I went down with a thud. It hurt. I banged my elbow something terribly, but I held my arm steady so my camera would not break. My arm is recovering, but I'll feel this for a few days.
The other day, Fr. Michael and I went up the the rooftop during the howling wind. I pointed out that the plexiglass from the round table lifted itself off the table and fell on the ground. I said, "That could be dangerous." Well, I slipped on the same plexiglass and fell hard. Do we, in a sense, choose our own fate?
I was entranced by the beautiful shot I would take. I gave no consideration that plexiglass could possibly be hidden by snow cover.
We have friends from a different culture visiting us. It is in the ordinary events that we see our differences. We are building a 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle with the image of the Sistine Chapel. I have to pace myself because I am good at puzzles. I do them too quickly for others to join in the great fun. On this puzzle, I self-imposed a restriction of 5 pieces a day.
To get around this dilemma, I was helping one of our guests find the straight edge of the puzzle so there could be a framework for doing the interior work. I would find pieces that obviously fit together and I would place them side-by-side closely enough where you could see they snap together perfectly. Some were obvious; others less so. They were left as a suggestion. This person knew my intent was not to put the pieces together but to hunt for the straight-edged pieces. After leaving those pieces there and watching my guest do the puzzle, I was surprised that most of the pieces were left unassembled. This person was diligently working on the frame.
I would find some of the straight-edged pieces that were sorted out, a great number of them actually, placed back into the jumble of the interior pieces. A couple of remarked about it and one of the Jesuits illustrated that this is a difference in culture as people approach time and space in very different ways. I find this practical application interesting to reflect upon. It makes me wonder how buildings and roads are constructed. People and cultures have different techniques. Perhaps they work just as well as a Western mindset.
It makes me wonder what mindset is needed when a missionary inculturates into a different world. It is not right to give up one's formative aspects, but it is helpful to expand the notion of what is possible.
To see photos of snow, click on the link below:
1. Pics of January 9th snow
2. Pics of January 10th snow in garden and construction site
3. Pics of a car-less al Abdali
4. Pics of a snow covered evening at the Jesuit Center Jordan
5. Pics of snow covered picnic area.
6. Pics of rooftop cityscapes.
The photos are amazing, thank you for sharing them. I missed snow when I lived in warmer climes, it's ability to still and silence the workaday world is pretty astounding (even here in Philadelphia where people mostly know how to drive in the stuff).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle. Weather is amazing. We are tinkering with it too much though. Much of the snow has already melted. It was fun while it lasted.
DeleteThe photos are truly amazing - such a mix of nature with the snow-covered green plants. I hope your arm and elbow recover quickly.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynda. It was fun to see the snow. It did make it cold here though. It is all gone today. My shoulder and elbow are might sore, but they will heal just fine.
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