Ken’s Comments | An Editorial

We are driven to create… to fill the void. It is human nature. And we each create… we each fill that void… in our own distinct way. We perceive that it makes each of us who we are as individuals; it makes all of us what we are as a group, and it enables each of us to leave trails through God’s Garden as we travel, for others to discover and wonder at. We all do it; I do it.

For me, the things I create and share are my trails. I use photos, snapshots of my journey, in my video and design creations… trails within trails.

The thing is that sometimes we get wrapped up in the act of defining and marking those trails. We want to leave something behind; we want to be remembered.

But this all assumes there is a ‘void’ needing filling and that the filling of that void is our purpose for being here. This misses the reality that our trail is simply a record of our journey through that which is specifically, wholly and eternally NOT a void… God’s Garden. That which God created specifically FOR us.

Origin of Invent /ɪnˈvɛnt/

Late 15th century (in the sense ‘find out, discover’): from Latin invent- ‘contrived, discovered’, from the verb invenire, from in- ‘into’ + venire ‘come’.

‘Invent’ means ‘to discover.’ We use it colloquially to mean ‘create’… but that is not what it means.

There is an old tale of Michelangelo saying something along the lines of ‘Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.’

We are not here to CREATE God’s Garden… we are here to be an integral PART of, discover and bear witness to God’s Garden. God is not asking us to make His Garden good… it IS good! God is asking us to DO good, to be witness to the good in His Garden. We need to care for God’s Garden by doing good in and for God’s Garden because it was God’s first gift to us: it cares for us; it provides for us… It is one of many ways in which God cares for and provides for us.

Think of it this way… Who invented the wheelchair? Do you know? You can Google it later… it’s not important right now… and that’s the point. What is important is simply that the wheelchair was invented.

The wheelchair provides so many people the opportunity to explore and be an active participant in God’s Garden… to make their own trails. It’s not what was invented or who invented it. The point is the good that came of that invention… that discovery. The point is that God’s Garden benefitted, and that benefits all of us.

God has provided for everything. We simply need to do good to discover that which God’s Garden has already provided for us, if we could just see it. It, whatever ‘it’ is, is already here in God’s Garden. We just need to see past that which is not ‘it’ in order to see it.

Using even a single past print issue of Carmelite Review as an example, March 2017, you can read about a project at Salpointe High School that became a full curriculum built around Laudato Si’. The focus… caring for God’s Garden… being good stewards of God’s Garden.

You can also read an article about a stained glass creation called In Celebration of Pure Event. In my phone interview with the artist, she made reference to her art being like an archeological dig… something that she discovers as it comes out of her. She described the joy as being ‘knowledge in her hands.’ The focus… that joy of discovery… of seeing and revealing.

In two other articles, World Youth Day and Medical Mission, you can read about individuals discovering their mission and having the joy of their discovery shared with their friends, family and even complete strangers.

All of these articles are individuals and groups working to do good, to care for God’s Garden, and to experience it fully and as it was intended.

How are you caring for God’s Garden? We’d love to hear about the people, experiences and opportunities to serve that have brought joy and meaning to your journey. No story is too small… sometimes the simplest acts of kindness leave the most meaningful trails. Please share your story with us so that we can share it with our readers in future editions of Carmelite Review.