Guidance

Around the narrow turn, my bicycle sails through a damp but warm October morning. Downhill over wet leaves, trees in a canopy above, I think, “What a perfect ride.” Just then I see a parked construction vehicle blocking the road. Too close to avoid, I brake, spin out over the leaves, and take a bad fall. My left shoulder takes the brunt of the impact.

Three months later, thinking things are back to normal, I go to the gym. After a couple workouts in a week, my shoulder is worse than before. Another three months, and here I sit, with a physical therapist, still in pain. “You thought it was healed,” he says, showing me a mechanical diagram of the muscles and tendons. “It will heal. But nobody told you, it needs to be guided to heal the right way.” 

The body is a delicate thing, but also strong and able to heal when guided to do so. How much more so is the soul delicate, strong, and able to heal, when guided to move toward healing. Such guidance comes from mentors who understand the why and the how of things better than I do.

The wise listen and find guidance. (Proverbs 1:5) Who are my mentors? What wounds—physical, mental, emotional, spiritual—are not healing well for lack of proper guidance? 

In my wounds, God, help me not to ignore the guidance available to me. Amen.

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Albrecht Durer remains one of the world's most influential and creative artists. He wanted to understand not only the how of drawing but the why. He combined a scientific understanding of the body with artistic observation, depth of feeling, and spirituality. Some of his images have become icons the world over, such as "Praying Hands."

Creators by Paul Johnson is an energetic and very readable account of people like Dürer who have left a lasting mark on the world through their art. Bach, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Jane Austen, T.S. Eliott, Picasso, and Walt Disney are among the lives depicted. 

Johnson argues that the kind of creativity they pursued, often under great duress, was of a different degree than most other forms of creativity, but that the creative spirit lies within everyone. Johnson examines whether there is such a thing as a "typical artist," comparing and contrasting their lives, and finding great inspiration in their efforts.

Durer was also a writer and philosopher who wanted to pass along his knowledge to future artists.

Johnson says of Dürer's On Human Proportion, "The conclusion to the third book deals with aesthetics and the relationship between man, art, and God."