Here you will find essays about works of art that teach me how to live. 

In C.S. Lewis’ book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, two children join the King of Narnia on a ship destined for the Seven Isles in search of seven lost lords. Each island they visit and every lord found contains a test, reveals a secret, a revelation, or a transformation. They will know they’ve reached the end of the journey when they reach the Silver Sea, where the water tastes sweet and strewn with lilies. There they will reach the end of the world- Aslan’s Country. 

On the surface the book is a fantastic children’s story, but Lewis used his characters and their circumstances to discuss universal human experiences, complicated theological ideas, and even darker human struggle.  The book honors the breadth of experience we all posses across time and place and gives name to what we all hunger for- a good ending. 

I’ve named my blog Silver Sea Stories in honor of my deep yearning for a good ending. 

I’ve found great healing in Creation, whether it be through the act of creating, the work of others, the natural world, or in understanding our own intelligent and purposed design.  Art and story are expressions of uniqueness- a Sacredness we all possess. Good art reveals truth and then offers a salve for relief. Art reveals our history, our hope and our desires. 

We reach out to each other through our art, and through it we see each other in a better light. If I want to understand you, I’m going to study what you create. 

Story uniquely connect us, allow us to explore and express our common glory, our collective human reaching for that burning place at the back of our throat that cries out to be seen and understood. We all wants to know where we come from and where we are going. 

But sailing isn’t easy. It is a choice to engage with the unforgiving water. We teach each other how to move about the earth. Art is what we leave behind. Good stories are the vessels that help us charge ahead,  no matter if we are bold or if we are broken. 

I don’t think experiencing art is that dissimilar to sailing. What is more full of courage and grace than the act of listening? 

The kinds of work I love reveal a small shoreline of experience that only the creators themselves can share because of the exact place and time in which they live.  Through their own story I see the world, and perhaps God, as the artist does. This reveals a fuller and brighter mosaic, showing new wrinkle in God’s face that I’ve not yet seen. 

I am desperate to be reminded of what is good in us. feel in the presence of the Creator God, in whose image I believe we all were breathed to life. 

Am I finding healing because I am searching or am I healing because of the stories? Does it matter? At least I’m moving. 

Until we know for sure what it all means, I guess I’m going sailing. 

Abbey