A picture....or a thousand words?

A picture is worth a thousand words. That's what they say anyway, but I'm not so sure.... If you looked at this picture what would it say to you? Probably not much. But when I look at it, I can find so many words to describe it. I think pictures can tell a story, but I still think the best stories are the ones told in words.

This photograph for example tells some of the things happening in my life right now. It was taken on my birthday. I was born July 1st, 1967. I'm not sure what all was happening in the world at that time (1967). I think the Vietnam war was still raging in all of it's sad fury. The iron curtain was still solid and impenetrable. The 60's and all the tumultuous times of that decade were still in full swing....

On this morning, Tim, knowing that I really prefer a lighter breakfast to his hearty style -usually consisting of eggs, bacon and hash browns- made me the nicest birthday breakfast of some wonderfully sweet and moist corn muffins, served warm with lots of melting butter! He poked around in my kitchen drawers long enough and eventually found some, previously used birthday candles, to pop in the center of each one. He served them with hot steaming coffee and waited until I had gotten plenty of reading time in my comfy bed. Which is the perfect way for a book worm like me to start the day.

Just as we were finishing our muffins and coffee our son called on his way home from work to wish me a Happy Birthday. He's our soldier boy. Air Force. He works at nights and I honestly don't know just what it is he does. (Intel.....he can't talk about it.)  Oh, but he has the nicest family and we talked about them and  all that was going on in their lives. Of course, the conversation usually turns to politics....he is just like his grandfather. (my father) Tim and I are pretty "unpolitical". If I want to know something in detail I ask our son or my dad. If I want a general and  pretty neutral answer, I ask Tim. Neither of us are very extreme in our feelings.....usually.... there are times and certain issues, however.

In this picture you can also see, my new clock....Birds and Bird songs! I love it. I set it on my table and there it will stay. I've always wanted to learn a few and match them correctly with the right bird so, this is the beginning of that.
Also, of course my stack of field guides which are almost always on the table. Our feeding station is in the back yard and we watch the birds from the kitchen table. Plans for new improvements to that are in the works. On the top of the stack is my nature journal. I write, sketch and paint in it. It is truly amazing the lessons that I find the birds, flowers and nature in general can teach us. The Bible has quite a few of these examples, but I always seem to find more.

Now, I'll bet you'd have never gotten that story from this picture. Whenever I  see this picture I'll think of all of this. Your story would probably have been much different then the one I just told. Which is why I'm not so sure that a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe....but would it be the story it was intended to tell??

It seems to me the power of words over an image is indisputable...but I'm sure I'd get a lot of fierce arguments about that. Beautiful photography, paintings, and the sun rising over the hills early in the morning, leave me speechless at times.  An exceptional image can  simply be..... beyond words
 In that same way, many a talented writer has written words that have caused even the blind to "see" the beauty in these things.


I just think words are powerful. They can strip a person down to nothing or build them up and help them accomplish the most seemingly impossible task. They can be completely deceptive or so full of truth that even the most seared and hardened conscience will quiver at their sound. They can impart knowledge to both the fool and the wise man. 
A soothing story has the power to calm children and adults alike. They can  make you laugh, or make you cry. The wrong words have started more than one war and the right words have ended a few as well. Words have brought both love to lovers and hate to haters. Carefully chosen words can inspire change that ripples in ever spanning circles.

Yet, I wonder, if in this internet age, we might be drifting away from the gift of reading. Do people really read anymore? I hope so, I hope they read books that make them think. With words that inspire and help them grow. Books that give them knowledge, bring comfort to their souls and ultimately lead them to a closer relationship with our Creator. Really, what's more important than that?

Ray Bradbury, who recently passed away, wrote a book called Fahrenheit 451. It is a fiction story of a time when books have been outlawed and any that are found are confiscated and burned. It's been too many years since I read it, to really tell you much about it, but at the end I remember that people had begun to converge together that had memorized certain books or parts of books. If memory serves me correctly it ends with someone memorizing and quoting from Ecclesiates.

Books and words and the power they hold for good or evil is probably beyond our understanding. Let's not forget such books as Mein Kampf and the terrible evil it inspired....

Read, read and read some more, but choose wisely what you read,  it will affect the way you think. 


Personally, I'd recommend the most popular book of all time. Men have given their lives to print, smuggle, or obtain just a few pages of this book. I'm sure you have one on a shelf somewhere....The Bible. I'd recommend the book of Genesis, it's full of history and can be taken literally.There is a large and growing community of Creation Scientists who are finding this to be proven more and more.  Or maybe the gospel of John , if you're the poetic type and want to know what Jesus really taught. If you're a philosopher kind of person and are interested in what the great King Solomon thought, Ecclesiastes is great. I think there is a book in the Bible for most types of personalities. So, pick it up and find out why it has endured for more than two millennium.

I guess I just don't think that images and entertainment should replace the goodness of reading. So, turn your internet, television, facebook or any other media, that is distracting you, off and curl up with a cold glass of tea and a Good Read for a while. You say you aren't a reader? I'll bet you could be. Find something that interests you, libraries are full of books to loan for free. You can teach yourself so many things, by reading, From field guides on every aspect of nature,  how to books on a great many subjects, fiction or biographies of people whom you admire.

Think you don't have time? Get in the habit of bringing your book with you. It only takes a few minutes here and a few minutes there. The next thing you know you're looking for a new book to read. I keep copies of my field guides for birds and wildflowers (herbs) in our truck also. That way I can ID and read about the things I do so love, while I'm out and about. If you make it an intentional habit I think you'll soon find....... So many books, so little time. 


Oh, and happy Fourth of July!! I'm sure there's a book about the origins of this holiday somewhere.....