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eldritchhobbitRest in peace, G'Kar.
If I take a lamp and shine it toward the wall, a bright spot will appear on the wall. The lamp is our search for truth... for understanding. Too often, we assume that the light on the wall is God, but the light is not the goal of the search, it is the result of the search. The more intense the search, the brighter the light on the wall. The brighter the light on the wall, the greater the sense of revelation upon seeing it. Similarly, someone who does not search - who does not bring a lantern - sees nothing. What we perceive as God is the by-product of our search for God. It may simply be an appreciation of the light... pure and unblemished... not understanding that it comes from us. Sometimes we stand in front of the light and assume that we are the center of the universe - God looks astonishingly like we do - or we turn to look at our shadow and assume that all is darkness. If we allow ourselves to get in the way, we defeat the purpose, which is to use the light of our search to illuminate the wall in all its beauty and in all its flaws, and in so doing, better understand the world around us.
G'Kar, portrayed by Andreas Katsulas, from Babylon 5
If I take a lamp and shine it toward the wall, a bright spot will appear on the wall. The lamp is our search for truth... for understanding. Too often, we assume that the light on the wall is God, but the light is not the goal of the search, it is the result of the search. The more intense the search, the brighter the light on the wall. The brighter the light on the wall, the greater the sense of revelation upon seeing it. Similarly, someone who does not search - who does not bring a lantern - sees nothing. What we perceive as God is the by-product of our search for God. It may simply be an appreciation of the light... pure and unblemished... not understanding that it comes from us. Sometimes we stand in front of the light and assume that we are the center of the universe - God looks astonishingly like we do - or we turn to look at our shadow and assume that all is darkness. If we allow ourselves to get in the way, we defeat the purpose, which is to use the light of our search to illuminate the wall in all its beauty and in all its flaws, and in so doing, better understand the world around us.
G'Kar, portrayed by Andreas Katsulas, from Babylon 5
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Date: 2006-02-15 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-15 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-15 10:41 pm (UTC)I'm getting all choked up here.
Zathras was one of my favorite board nicks.
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Date: 2006-02-15 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 03:53 am (UTC)This series is 1st on my list of DVD purchases, just slightly ahead of The Highlander.
In contrast, this same friend wanted me to watch Farscape, so I followed the same procedure. I started with the first episode, when it came around on SciFi. I gave it perhaps 5 or 6 episodes before I gave up. It was awful. Muppets In Space, on crack. Now, I've got to catch up on 24, and start watching Stargate and Atlantis. After that, there will be enough seasons of the new Battlestar Galactica to dig into.
It never ends. But the people who bring them to us do. And some far too soon.
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Date: 2006-02-15 10:40 pm (UTC)