Monday was my first day back to work after two weeks of Christmas break (perks of working as a school-teacher). During the break I had the delightful opportunity to spend time with my wife and kids, and other family friends around Christmastime and New Years. I didn’t read very much (very abnormal for me) despite wanting to because I didn’t know what to read, so here I am two weeks later with no book-reading accomplished over break. I did read a whole lot of stuff of Substack, though. (Have I ever mentioned how much I really love this platform. If not…I love this platform! So many good things to read and the freedom to curate your own personal digital library of content.)
The void left by my book-less state was sad — because books are awesome and joy-filled. However, it gave me more time to pursue some other leisurely endeavors that I also enjoy, chiefly writing poetry (more on that below) and playing chess.
I only began playing chess a year ago, but I fell in love with it immediately. I think I fell in love with it before I even played the game once. (And if you’re wondering whether or not The Queen’s Gambit had anything to do with it…of course it did.) I spent hours upon hours playing for weeks on end, and it became a rather significant part of my life for a few months. So much did it become a joyous part of my life that my wife gifted me a little travel-sized chess board. (I absolutely LOVE it. It has mini magnetic pieces that store inside the fold-able board.) I even wrote a reflective piece on the spiritual experience of learning and playing the game.
Despite loving it so much, I sidelined chess for several months as I focused on more important dimensions of my life. That said, I sidelined it with the intention of getting back into it one day more seriously. I wanted to study it, analyze my game-play, and play to improve. The past two weeks presented me with a very convenient opportunity to do so. I’m glad to report that my chess-playing abilities have greatly improved.
If you’re interested, I have been playing exclusively as white and employing only the King’s Pawn Opening. More ways to play and openings to practice, but all in due time.
From the Church Calendar
Wednesday, Day V in the Octave of Epiphany Commemoration of St. Paul the First Hermit a.k.a. St. Paul of Thebes 2024 A.D
From My Reading
I only recently discovered St. Paul of Thebes, but I found my soul immediately seized by his holy life the moment I first encountered his story. Below is the beautiful retelling of his life that introduced me to this wondrous saint.
Some Thoughts & Stories
When talking about the ethical dilemmas of AI in all its forms, we tend to focus on products. For example, we might discuss a piece of art created using AI versus one made solely by humans and “primitive” methods. Notice: We are concerned with what one produces versus what another produces, i.e. products. It’s a fine thing to talk about, but what about the capacity of each process to deify the human employing its usage?
The human that employs AI to create art and the one that has used only “primitive” methods to create art have engaged in altogether different tasks. One has performed an industrious task, the other a poetic one. And poetry is the language of mystery, the embodiment of divine life. Thus, “primitive” art has the capacity to aid the creator in theosis. Technological production…not so much.
Writing Updates
I’ve been writing poetry. A couple of months ago I told myself I wanted to focus my mental efforts less on prose and more on the creation of poems — specifically in the form of a haiku. (A haiku is a centuries-old Japanese form of poetry consisting of three lines in which each line has a specific number of syllables: 5-7-5.) I thought about writing in other forms of poetry simultaneously but decided that focusing on a singular form would be better. A level of constancy and discipline is required to improve at anything and shifting lazily from one form to another, to another, to another is no way to master poetry. I knew I had to practice and study one form only. The haiku was my form of choice because its brevity channels my flood of thoughts. It also cuts down on the excessive extravagance of words. Each one must be beautiful but simple in its outward construction and yet possess immense strength and depth of meaning within. It is a rather meek poetic form in that sense.
Closing Out
Personally, I’ve never quite bought into the hype about celebrating a new year. It is (to me) a rather arbitrary demarcation with little to no meaning. That said, as of last year I have something very meaningful to celebrate with the coming of a new calendar year. On January 1 of last year I was chrismated as an Orthodox Christian. I was very glad this year to spend New Year’s Day commemorating something of such depth and meaning, a wondrous moment of homecoming and healing that changed me forever.
Pray for me, that I may be made worthy of Christ’s promises. Here’s to another year of striving joyfully for a place at Christ’s table.