Excerpts from a Book on Pascal

 "To be utterly lost in the woods is unfortunate.
   To be absolutely unconcerned about it is unreasonable." -Pascal

Making Sense of it All, Morris:

"Being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things." (p. 33)

"Pascal saw friends who were indifferent and apathetic to ultimate questions of life. He believed that 'People who excused themselves on the grounds of it being disputed....do not love truth.'.... An object of love is not a matter for indifference. When you have it, you embrace it; when you lack it, you pursue it." (p. 17)

"Pascal believed that each of us is either betting for God- betting that there is a God-- or betting against God-- betting that there is no God-- by the way we are living right now....Either we are living as if there is a God, praying, seeking to determine God's will, and trying to live in accordance with those determinations, or we are living as if there is no God, refraining from or ignoring all such religious activities. There is, according to Pascal, no middle ground. We already are making one bet or the other. Which is it? Which should it be?" (p. 115)

I've really enjoyed reading this book over the last week. It has let my mind wander and contemplate many different avenues. Previously I was very interested in the life of Pascal and his thoughts on theology, creation, and science. This book has proven to be engaging and I'm excited to read further writings on/from him.

Last Day at Davis Abbey-- 3 of my dearest friends-- Joy, Heather, and Abbi

 Quick Weekend at Home-- Celebrating with Em and Koz

Bowling: Candid of Jaron + My dear Marianne

 Via Orientation: Met Rachel who is also headed for Uganda-- She leaves so soon! Praying for her many adventures!

 Richmond, KY - Surprise Visit from Cindy!

Easter Weekend: Cincinnati, Ohio + Indiannapolis, Indianna

Spring Break Adventure

I was able to take a trip up to Northern Michigan to see my sister and brother-in-law during my spring break. They had been living there for two years, but this was the first chance, I had been able to get up there to visit. It was such a great, quick trip! We went for a hike and I took a couple shots.

Being Molded and Formed

This past semester I took a ceramics class and fell absolutely in love with the art of forming and molding a vessel out of the elements of the earth.  I wasn't particularly skilled at the wheel, but by the end of the class I was beginning to get the hang of throwing the basic forms.

 This quote from T.S. Elliot's Poem has stuck with me since my first reading of The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock. I would like to explore further taking some photographs that reference works of literature.

 Rhonda graciously let me photograph her and her amazing hair :) I started a series of portraits during this semester.

 I've enjoyed living in Davis Abbey with 3 amazing friends this year! We were pretty ridiculous and got into all sorts of shenanigans. In these two photos, we were celebrating the glorious sunshine (a rarity this spring!).

 I started working on a project about Identity-- I'm interested in exploring further ways we reveal and conceal our true identity, ways that we mask who we are. I want to explore concepts of masks, hiddennes, veiled, uncertainty, questionings, language, communication, limitations, freedom, conformity, autonomy, love, truth, etc. Many of my dear friends bravely let me experiment and photograph them as I process through different ideas and thoughts. Thank you all!

Updates:

It's a shame that I gave up on blogging once I was unable to do so from mainland China. So much has happened over the past few months. I will be starting up this blog again for the summer. I'll give more of an update of what's been going on in my life very soon.

blessings,
Mer