Looking for the Divine

According to the website Quote Investigator, an essay published in 1858 in “The Methodist Quarterly Review” discussed poetry, and the author compared the methods of adroit sculptors and poets. This may be where the quote about chipping away the extra attributed to Michelangelo originated.

"It is the sculptor’s power, so often alluded to, of finding the perfect form and features of a goddess, in the shapeless block of marble; and his ability to chip off all extraneous matter, and let the divine excellence stand forth for itself. Thus, in every incident of business, in every accident of life, the poet sees something divine, and carefully scales off all that encumbers that divinity, and permits it to be revealed in all its transcendent loveliness."

I actually like this thought much better than the watered down version I was pondering before posting this morning.  I think one of the reasons experts tell you not to weigh yourself daily is that you begin to obsess over the number.  It has the potential to knock you off track as easily as it keeps you honest and on track.  I'm an every day weigher.  For me, it keeps me honest in my choices.  However...I do feel like I'm doing battle with it.  I'm trying to "push" (shove, manhandle, stomp, labor) the number down like an industrial coil under tension to spring back up rather than, as the sculptor, chipping away and letting the excess fall away.

The author above has taken it one step further though, and this is something I acknowledge because I tried to teach my kids, the women at church, anyone who will listen, that you are divine.  I am divine.  I don't have to be a poet to see that in myself or in others.  I'm not talking about metaphorical rose colored glasses and trying to overlay a cheery perspective on something that needs to change.  I'm talking about actual change which brings the individual closer to what the Maker designed.  Not what media designed or my husband designed or even I did with poor food choices and activity levels on par with a sloth. She's in there somewhere I need to feed the inside and the outside with the good stuff so the extraneous falls away to reveal the divine.