by Brian Volck | Jan 4, 2021 | Christmas
There is all this untouched beautyThe light the dark both running through meIs there still redemption for anyone? -Karin Bergquist In an earlier post in this series, I hinted at two versions of freedom. Standard contemporary understandings of freedom center on the...
by Brian Volck | Jan 3, 2021 | Christmas
While leading a recent online course on movies, the ever-gracious Gareth Higgins suggested that the well-intended advice, “Live every day as if it’s your last,” puts a bit too much pressure on the imagination. “Better to think of how you might live each day if you...
by Brian Volck | Jan 2, 2021 | Christmas
In his book, Violence Unveiled, Gil Bailie recounts how he was talking to African-Americans theologian and civil rights leader, Howard Thurman, about what the world needed when Thurman interrupted him and said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask...
by Brian Volck | Jan 1, 2021 | Christmas
Intending to look for beauty and hope in a dark season is admirable, but how does one sustain the practice? Short cuts and how-to recipes don’t last. Sheer willpower eventually becomes grim determination. Imagination, honest work, and genuine delight are needed to...
by Brian Volck | Dec 31, 2020 | Christmas
Thomas Hardy’s life had its share of contradiction. Best known today for his novels, he considered himself first and foremost a poet. Long estranged from his first wife, Emma Gifford, he realized after her death in 1912 that he had, in fact, truly loved her. A...
