{"id":1704,"date":"2023-09-13T16:55:16","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T20:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1704"},"modified":"2023-09-13T16:55:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T20:55:16","slug":"sculpting-the-awe-inspiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2023\/09\/13\/sculpting-the-awe-inspiring\/","title":{"rendered":"Sculpting the Awe-Inspiring"},"content":{"rendered":"

During my senior year of college I had some freedom in my schedule to take a sculpting class in the art department. One of our big assignments was to sculpt a self portrait out of clay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At each of our stations, we had a collection of selfies (which at the time was not a word in our vocabulary) and different size mirrors so we could meticulously study our faces. Our professor slowly introduced us to the angles, shadows, and highlights on our faces. He encouraged us to see patterns, freckles, folds, blemishes, curves, and much more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It got to the point where I started looking at faces in a brand new way. Once at lunch in the cafeteria, sitting next to my friend James, I caught myself awkwardly staring at the angle of his nose and how the sides of his nostrils folded into the rest of his face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I started to see things I had never noticed before. I began to see every face as a unique and beautiful creation. Each face became a wonder. What was once unnoticeable was now awe-inspiring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This reminds me of a phrase that one of my mentors shares often. She says that every person is a \u201conce in eternity, irreplaceable, unrepeatable, revelation of God.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As great as this phrase is, this isn\u2019t an easy way to see, though. Many of us forget this truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but think of the countless ways we humans have forgotten that every other human around us is a one of a kind, irreplaceable, unrepeatable, glimpse of the Divine. As I was reflecting earlier this week on the tragedy that struck our country in 2001, I was reminded how quickly after 9\/11 we forgot how our Muslim and Sikh neighbors, in particular, were one of a kind beautiful creations. Sadly, it remains too easy to view others with fear, judgment, or condemnation rather than as a once in eternity, irreplaceable, unrepeatable, revelation of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, I can\u2019t help but think how often we don\u2019t view ourselves in the same way. When we look in the mirror or see our selfies, is the first thought we have about being an irreplaceable beautiful glimpse of God? At times, we all struggle to see our own value, worth, and sacredness. We forget that, in the words of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, we are a \u201cwonder of the cosmos.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And so today, may you begin to see the unnoticeable as awe-inspiring. May you discover that all around you are glimpses of the Sacred. And, may you have the courage to know without a shadow of a doubt that you and every person around you is a one of a kind, once in eternity, irreplaceable, unrepeatable, revelation of the Divine and a wonder of the entire cosmos. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During my senior year of college I had some freedom in my schedule to take a sculpting class in the art department. One of our big assignments was to sculpt a self portrait out of clay.\u00a0 At each of our …<\/p>\n

Sculpting the Awe-Inspiring<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nathan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-ru","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}