PARTIAL TRUTHS

Emily Dickinson may not be your cup of tea due to her anachronistic capitalizations and frequent dashes. But her poem, The Brain, suggests that our thinking may be rooted in a passionless track unless we allow splinters of new thought to wash in. And then we may be hard pressed to regain our previous certainty.  Fear of new thoughts and emotions are what marches censorship up and down Main Street.

Emily Dickinson, #556

The Brain, within its Groove
Runs evenly--and true--
But let a Splinter swerve--
'Twere easier for You--

To put a Current back--
When Floods have slit the Hills--
And scooped a Turnpike for Themselves--
And trodden out the Mills--

The essay, Different Rules Apply by Matt Zoller Seitz, may be such a splinter that will move you to rebuild your emotional structures in a place where floods will not trod out your mill. If there is a "flood" where do you re-build your business? Might you consider a new source of energy? Do you dare think outside the box?

Jesus continually applied mercy as he walked the ancient turnpikes through villages and past country hovels, showing concern for the poor, for women and children: the least of these. The least we can do is step off our path for a moment to consider the idea Seitz offers in his painful and embarrassing story.