Closing Out the Year

for the purpose of pondering

For the Purpose of Pondering

The altar in the Gaudí La Sagrada Família Basilica in Barcelona, Spain.

Martin Banks
December 21st, 2020

Thank you for being a subscriber to my newsletter. It means a lot to me that you want to read about what I am thinking.
I'm going to take a break until next year and skip the newsletter next week. It's been quite a year, 2020 has, and I think all of us are ready to be done with it.
For the last newsletter of this year, I chose a photo I made of the altar in the Gaudí La Sagrada Família Basilica in Barcelona, Spain. It seems fitting for the week of Christmas to feature a photo of a Christian house of worship. Of course, there is a lot of symbolism in a place of worship. Most of that is lost on me. I appreciate places like this Basicila for their inherent beauty, majesty, and solemness. I suppose that I should include "reverent" in that list, but it doesn't quite fit for me.
When I visit a church, temple, or mosque, aside from their beauty and splendor, I find a space in which I can reflect on life. Sure, I make photos, if that is appropriate. I also take time to pause and mentally connect with the world around me.
Humankind creates places like this for the purpose of pondering what is bigger than us and what we don't know or understand. It is special to have places where we can go and quietly think about who we are and what life means to us as individuals and as part of the human species. This week is a good time to find a place where you feel comfortable sitting quietly to think about the mysteries of our existence.
I'll leave you with that. Happy holidays, happy new year, and I'll see you on the other side of twenty-twenty.

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