Tag Archives: faith

David- What We Don’t See

I recently took a nine day trip to Italy and it was phenomenal. My family and I spent 4 days in Tuscany, 1 in Orvieto, and 4 days in Rome. We packed in as much sightseeing as we could and saw and experienced tons of art, history, food, and wine. While it was all fantastic, the one thing that stood out and was the most breathtaking to me was Michelangelo’s statue of David.

One of the days we were in Tuscany we took a day trip to Florence where we went to the Duomo, Baptistry, Art Museum, and the Galleria dell’Accademia where David stands. During all of this we had a personal tour guide who was nothing short of fantastic. He was of German and Italian descent and ironically had his Ph.D. in Philosophy, to which we bonded over. It was his words during the tour that have moved me to write this post and that have provided me with some of the insights and facts this post stands on.

The Galleria is filled with some of Michelangelo’s extremely rare unfinished works, however, it is David that immediately catches one’s eye. Crafted in 1501 and standing at 17 feet tall, the sculpture’s level of detail and beauty is nothing short of perfect. While the artistic and aesthetic aspects of the work are truly great, those are not what gives the piece its true meaning, at least in my opinion.

Most know the story in the Bible of David and Goliath. David, a small child and future king of Israel, defeated and killed the ~7 foot tall Philistine warrior, Goliath. With just a simple slingshot and rock, David used his mind and hands to hurl the rock, crushing Goliath’s forehead. It is this character of David that Michelangelo crafted a marble manifestation of.

So what is the significance of David and Goliath? Well, also back in the 1400’s was a philosopher by the name of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (Pico). Pico believed that with the power of God and pure human intuition, anyone can overcome any obstacle by using their hands and their head. In other words, by working and thinking. Michelangelo took this and put it into David, literally. Look at David’s hands and head. They’re out of proportion and much too big for his body. How fitting is it for Pico’s position to be crafted onto David, one of the purest symbols of overcoming evil and tribulation?

“Whatever seeds each man cultivates will grow to maturity and bear in him their own fruit.”
-Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

But this goes further. It is awesome that Michelangelo incorporated so much thought into his sculpture, but the true value is in what David stands for. David; relaxed, triumphant, and confident, stands for everything that is good. The statue of David is the biggest threat to those who promote oppression and evil, because David proudly symbolizes everything they try to oppress. All of these oppressive cultures; radical Islam, racial supremacy, political subjugation, etc.. all base their agendas on the idea that certain people do not deserve rights because of their race, religion, political association, etc.. The statue of David and the ideals it represents, however, says the exact opposite.

David represents the concept that no matter who you are, where you’re from, or what your background is, you can defeat and overcome any evil with just your hands and your head. And if one remembers this, than one can never be truly defeated. This has never been more relevant than today. We the people who believe in what is good must never forget what we have and the powers of which we posses. After all, nobody can take your morality unless you let them.

 

 

 

Tom Fusillo

Unyielding Hope

It’s three o’clock in the morning and you have work or class at eight. All the while you’re up asking yourself, asking the world, and asking God what the point of going to that class or showing up to work is. All of the sudden things appear to be so distant, so out of touch, and so much more unrealistic then they were just earlier that day. We can ask why this happens, but the most important question to ask is where to go from here? Should we give up, start over, or keep going?

The interesting thing about when people are in the above described situation is that they will almost always continue on the charted course. They’ll end up going to work tomorrow, they’ll go to class, and they’ll keep up with their usual routine. Do they keep going because they’re simply too lazy or believe it is too hard to change their lifestyle? Or is it because deep inside every human being there is almost always piece of hope?

Hope is personal. For some, they may not realize or think that hope has played a big role in their lives, while for others it is all they have. When I was applying to colleges, one of the essays I had to write asked the cliche question, “What is your favorite word and why?” My answer  was hope. I said that my favorite word was hope not just because I had a lot of hope at that time, but also because I wouldn’t have gotten to that point in my life without it. Here I am over two years later holding on to that same piece of hope. It’s that piece of hope that screams in your ear every morning tell you to get up. That voice in your head that makes you stay up an extra few hours to finish the work you need to finish. Hope along with faith is what keeps you going when there’s no earthly reason for you to carry on with your mission.

So why do we keep going? It’s simply a natural human response. We, as humans, are wired to never surrender our goals. We keep going because of that unyielding hope deep in our hearts. It is fair to say that some have more hope than others, but that doesn’t mean that each and every one of us doesn’t have something to fight for. Something to keep pushing forward for. Take a look at what Steve Jobs said in Apple’s Think Different campaign:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Maybe we shouldn’t just view hope as a virtue, but also as a challenge. Challenge yourself to take whatever hope you have, and turn it into a physical manifestation through your daily routine and thoughts. Be one of the crazy ones. Because after all, by doing nothing you have everything to lose and nothing to gain. However, by holding on to that hope and just trying to push the human race forward, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” -Jim Elliot

 

Thomas Francis Fusillo