This morning at the Piazza della Signoria there was a space where for many months a sculpture by artist Jeff Koons had stood. That was what all that construction was about yesterday; it has been being down. Florence celebrates contemporary artists but it takes hundreds of years for a piece to win a permanent place along Michelangelo’s David. Dust to dust is the way of most of us, maybe even Koons.
This gets me thinking, once again, about life’s purpose. It can’t be to be remembered forever, although most of us strive for some kind of lasting fame. Maybe it is enough to be appreciated by a few people. But even that is problematic. So what’s left?
I glimpse meaning through my longing for solitude, which for me translates into a longing for God. You may have another word for the object of your longing, but whatever it is, I believe it is deeper than thought, feeling, or physicality. At rare moments when this longing is satisfied, thought, word, and deed have no meaning for me. It is then, however, I know my life has meaning.
This is my last full day in Florence. Like Koons statue I have come and now will go. I hope to return in April. Maybe there will be a different statue in the space. The view will change; so will have I. But the longing can always be satisfied.
This gets me thinking, once again, about life’s purpose. It can’t be to be remembered forever, although most of us strive for some kind of lasting fame. Maybe it is enough to be appreciated by a few people. But even that is problematic. So what’s left?
I glimpse meaning through my longing for solitude, which for me translates into a longing for God. You may have another word for the object of your longing, but whatever it is, I believe it is deeper than thought, feeling, or physicality. At rare moments when this longing is satisfied, thought, word, and deed have no meaning for me. It is then, however, I know my life has meaning.
This is my last full day in Florence. Like Koons statue I have come and now will go. I hope to return in April. Maybe there will be a different statue in the space. The view will change; so will have I. But the longing can always be satisfied.