Flower in the Crannied Wall
Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower—but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Hi, my name is Wayne Plumstead and in my years as a Methodist minister I've seen a lot of life...
the good times—births, weddings, celebrations of all kinds, and the toughest of times—crippling economic distress in families, terrifying health concerns, grieving the loss of a loved one, and the end of life itself. How to make sense of both the highs and lows of life and, most importantly, use them on behalf of our strength, is a huge question. That is why I feel so fortunate to know and study Aesthetic Realism, the grand, kind philosophy founded by the esteemed poet and scholar Eli Siegel. It is based on this principle: "The world, art, and self explain each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites."
Aesthetic Realism met my deepest hopes and enabled me to see the life questions of the many people I've been privileged to pastor over the years with a new depth and comprehension. In the blogs on this site I am excited to share some of what I've learned and seen—and continue to see—about the world, myself and matters concerning people today (maybe you!) through this great secular philosophy.
I’ve chosen Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem “Flower in the Crannied Wall” for the header of this site because it represents what this blog is all about—to show that the sacred and the secular are not far apart—that every object in reality, no matter how ordinary, as well as every person we meet, presents us with an authentic means of knowing the divine.
