There are people in life that only touched me briefly and yet the touch has stayed with me for years and even decades. I have been reminded of conversation with a writer and art restorer and the related article that went with it. The premise is that you and I do not directly control the decisions we make. There is evidence that supports the theory that you and I act before we know that we are acting. The timing between acting and knowing is milliseconds but it is there.
For most men then could sound like an excuse for bad behavior. It is not! The theory goes on to talk to the responsibility and accountability each shares for what they feed their souls. This content – for good or worse, with compassion or anger, in the interest of others or self – determines the framework, values, and priorities used to take decisions. In short, we call our own shots. The difference is the timing. The theory suggests that our decisions are really the fruits of what we have fed our hearts.
Each day I walk by the two restores pieces of art. One, a contemporary Latin American piece, is a vibrant reminder of the possibility of what happens when in the hands of a master healer. Our original conversation occurred in a quiet workspace nestled in the Temecula vineyards. As we talked of hope and transformation, we were surrounded by art that needed a restorer’s touch. The discussion then was on two key ingredients – the materials and what happened with them when they were put to use.
It is interesting to digest David’s thoughts on this. The “Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue.” (Psalm 37.30) Looking at the restorations, I can see the possibilities playing out in the lives around me as well as my own. With each, the possibilities are endless. If a human restorer can work a miracle with faded paper and broken bone, imagine what Divinity can do! It is a day of hope.
