an opinion on church-hopping

"The Church, being a unity of place and not of likings, brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity He desires.

The congregational principle, on the other hand, makes each church into a kind of club, and possibly, into a coterie or faction.

The search for a 'suitable' church makes the man a critic where God wants him to be a pupil."

— C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

vestige

Have you ever encountered moments where you notice a random person in a completely irrelevant place and feel as though you have a special connection with said person? Allow me to elaborate.

A proper example: you're sitting in the back of a crowded bus. The bus stops, and a new influx of passengers enters with the departure of a few. But there's this one person that catches your eye for no apparent reason. There's just something about him or her that evokes a sense of familiarity. And so your eyes trail the person.

There's nothing special about her (let's keep it at that to save time and effort), she looks just as ordinary as anyone — okay, maybe she's slightly attractive. Nonetheless, there's nothing physically out-of-this-world about her, yet her presence is anything but ordinary.

She catches sight of you, then quickly doubles back to avoid the impending awkwardness. Perhaps she too feels that strange connection.

You cast the thought aside in favor of worrying about some petty affair in your life that really isn't worth worrying about. Nonetheless, that girl stays glued to the back of your head. You keep returning to the thought of her and that peculiar connection. 

The bus stops again, and she leaves casting not a glance at you.

You can't forget that person and how for a brief moment you felt that odd mutual understanding. You think about her for days, then she just slips past your memory.

aleph

The doors open with a noise that echoes down the platform, and people start to move. 

Who are these people climbing into the carriages? What does this journey mean to each passenger? A reunion with their loved ones, a family visit, a quest for wealth, a triumphant or shamefaced return home, a discovery, an adventure, a need to flee or to find. 

The train is filling up with all these possibilities.

— Paulo Coelho, Aleph

~

am currently in awe of his kindness; of his willingness to use me — someone so undeserving.

life set down in notes

I love music. Don't you?

There's something about it that completes life. There isn't a soul on this earth that can honestly say that he or she hates music, am I right? We all love it. Sure, we have our own choice of genres, but the truth remains, we cannot live without music. 

Where words fail, music somehow delivers. Hence, the existence of instrumental music. It's almost as if the musical notes that resonate through the air are somehow able to be translated into words. What words exactly? No clue. But to the discerning listener, they are the right words. And all of a sudden, the indescribable is said.

Someone once said that not all poets are writers; that perhaps musicians are poets too. I think so too.