Eternal Timefullness

Some poignant thoughts on the ‘eternal timefullness’ of unleashing creativity in our artistic endeavors (in which I would certainly include coding) from Refractions (pp. 15-16), the amazing new book by Makoto Fujimura:

The process of creating renews my spirit, and I find myself attuned to the details of life rather than being stressed by being overwhelmed. I find myself listening rather than shouting into the void. Creating art opens my heart to see and listen to the world around me, opening a new vista of experience. This is the gift of the “second wind.” Such a state taps into what I now call eternal timefullness.

A timeful experience is given when our minds are allowed to fully respond to the senses, to tap into the eternal reality that God opens for us via creativity. It’s what William Blake, the eighteenth-century poet, meant when he wrote,

“To see a world in a grain of sand, / And a heaven in a wild lower, / hold ininity in the palm of your hand, / And eternity in an hour.” 

In order to “see a world in a grain of sand,” we must pause to pay attention to the details of life, to let our eyes wander into the crevices of the earth below, to observe the shadows as well as the light, to perhaps even see how the light is refracted in the fragmental remains of sands. And such observational skills must be cultivated as a form of discipline, even in the midst of the hectic lives we lead.