The Search

I've been busy, like you probably, over the past week. Between things at work, and at home, it's hard finding time to blog. The last few days I've been in and out of many shops and stores. Here in Honolulu, we also have something called "the swap meet" which is like a giant garage sale. Vendors from all over the island converge in one spot, and sell everything from soup to nuts, literally from soup to nuts. It's something like a community attic, with vendors selling pots and pans, plants, music, books-you name it they have it. I usually ferret looking for cheap books and CD's. Can't hand with my wife who is the uber discount person. Found some great stuff by Michael Talbot Smith who is one of my favorite singers.

Afterwards, my wife and I went down to Jelly's (The Original), a second hand vendor of off the topic books and music. Going to Jelly's is like stepping back to the 1970's, and the Beat Generation. Rock music playing in the background, concert posters on the wall, and the most unusual collection of esoteric books in Hawaii bar none. I check in at Jelly's every now and then, and browse through their history and spirituality collections. There's usually at least one or two treasures just waiting to be snagged. I was fortunate to pick up two excellent books on Celtic spirituality. A Celtic Missellany (1951) is an anthology (hence misellany) of Celtic poetry and prose. It may seem to some like riding a bicycle through a museum, but a survey of this kind can often be the best way to introduce oneself to a great tradition. After finding an author or time frame you like, you can then zoom in and be more focused in your studies.

I really scored finding Miranda Green's The Celtic World (1995) for under ten dollars. It's something like one hundred bucks on Amazon. This heavyweight volume of eight hundred pages, addresses two important questions for the Celtic wisdom seeker. Who were the ancient Celts? In what form does the Celtic identity exist today, and how does this related to the ancient Celts? Of particular interest to us, is  chapter 37 on early Christianity and its monuments. I must also add the book has many fascinating drawings and pictures. There are many different contributors and offers a wide perspective of the period from the early Celts to the post Roman period of 400AD. Pick up both if you can find them cheap.

Lastly, let me wish everyone a blessed and meaningful Christmas! We serve a beautiful and loving God, Who continues to seek us in the most amazing ways. Blessed be His Name!