Entering any enterprise begins by learning its vocabulary.
What people mean when the words hit our ear may not be what they meant us to hear.
My favorite euphemist, Antonio Porchia, observed, "I know what I have said ... I do not know what you have heard."
Any of us that have taught, preached and counseled have seen blank looks and imagined that our great and sincere wisdom was simply passing by or though the ears and minds of those in front of us. (I was going to say "audience" - but that implies "hearing".)
Much of what I see and read is deep and affecting literature, both in books and cinema.
At the moment I have rejoined Job and his friends during his trial at the garbage heap. Obvious to any reader is that there was much talking and little listening. There was also little true empathy or sympathy being shared for this hurting man.
On Wednesday I had my 6 month checkup with the physician that has been following my progress in my 5 post-cancer years.
I am now in a good way and now only have to see him on an annual basis. This is good. The cancer seems to be gone and this is one "digital" procedure that I won't miss.
At the same time I had visited Raleigh's National Cemetery and Historic Oakwood Cemetery and the inscriptions and sights do drive one into a thoughty way.
I had read this fine biography of Lincoln by Benjamin Thomas. It covered the massive figure of Abraham Lincoln in a scholarly and deep light. It was not that the material was new - it was just presented on a different level.
I did know that President and Mrs. Lincoln spent many Washington nights away from the White House. There was no peace for him there. War news, petty requests and a bickering congress - all after his attention.
He and Mary retreated to a small home on the campus of the Soldiers' Hospital. He found peace among the veterans and shared passion for the recently wounded.
There, he could count the high cost of the war being waged.
He found, in this slight retreat, a means of gathering his thoughts and a way to deal with failing generals and his own rising unpopularity.
He was our first media-aware president and learned to use the camera to his advantage.
He even made friends with experts in the field of retouching to deal with his harsh looks.
Looking into his heart, he felt deeply for humanity and his hurting nation. He wrote and carefully edited his letters and speeches.
His masterworks are The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural.
His shortened second term was costly for the whole nation - but the legacy of his heart, mind and pen is ours forever. © tim www.timjohnsonphoto.com
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