Shared Illusions

It’s been awhile so please bear with me as I get my jam back.

We left Albuquerque yesterday (9.7.21), heading for Tulsa, OK. A long drive so we didn’t stop except for gas and lunch at a rest area. On route i did see as sign painted on the side of a building outside of Amarillo: Joan Jett 4 Pres! Sure! And bring in the Black Hearts too. Might be an improvement.

Philbrook Museum

We spent hours at the Philbrook Museum today. The Philips family, oil pioneer Waite Philip and wife Genevieve, had it built in 1926, in the style of a grand Italian villa. After living there for 10 years they donated it to the city as a museum. It houses an extensive collection of art, modern and not. Painting, sculpture, video. A wondrous collection of southwestern Pueblo pottery. Native American art. A small room of African sculpture.

There are 25 acres of land to wander. We didn’t. Wander all 25 acres. But I did log 4 miles in the museum and on the grounds. I would love to visit again with kids. There’s an area of tree stumps and bricks and branches of various lengths and thicknesses for building. There’s a mud kitchen. A tree swing. An area for building an obstacle course using natural materials. Heaven.

Oh! And the log cabin with the magical interior! Just see the photos as they will illustrate the whimsy and playfulness if this space. No words necessary.

We also went to Oral Roberts University. It’s a beautiful, peaceful campus. We went into the prayer tower. The second floor has a round observation deck. The space is contemplative. There is a focused energy of belief, of love, of peace. It is a tower of power. I don’t mind saying that I cried there in the chapel. It took me by surprise. Sort of. I felt something stirring. I sat. The emotions welled up from within. I had a similar experience in Viana do Castelo, Portugal in the Santuario de Santa Luzia. Why cry in these places? Is it because they are the receptacles of so many hopes, prayers, gratitudes? On the wall of the chapel was a quote by Soren Kierkegaard: “A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized prayer is listening.”

The mission of ORU is Developing whole leaders for the whole world. I didn’t take many photos of the campus. I didn’t think I could capture the futuristic design well. Here are a few anyway.

Until tomorrow, when I write about today…