October 21, 2004 - 10:46 p.m. The other day, I was sitting in the fish bowl thinking about the arts and crafts portion of the spirituality retreat we're planning for the Presby kids, when a man with a shaved head and glasses walked in and handed me a slip of blue paper. Apparently he was from the School of Metaphysics and apparently they have a movie night, but that's not really the point. He asked my name and what I was working on. I explained that I was trying to plan this artistic expression session in such a way that it would be meaningful yet God-centered. I didn't want our art to be focused on the self, but rather on the Creator. I said that I believed that our creativity is evidence that we are made in God's image. He said that it was funny that we happened to run into each other, because he had given a lecture on much the same topic and had run over the notes for the lecture less than a week ago. He mentioned that he things that we are made in both God's image and likeness. Image meaning that we look like God and likeness meaning that we resemble his attributes. Thus any creative impulse is an expression of that likeness. I'm not sure I agree; surely there is some way that our creativity can be vain or corrupt, but it was an interesting and remarkably timely thought. We talked about majors and science people and how they don't understand liberal arts types. We talked about Dallas. And you know, shot the breeze. Then he got up to leave and continue passing out little blue slips of paper. But before he left, he asked me when my birthday was. I answered and he said, "I thought you might be a Virgo." And made some reference about "earth signs." Do I really believe all of that? I guess this time it was enough to peg me after twenty minutes of conversation. No better or worse than MBTI, I guess. I wish I could ask him what it was I said that suggested my sign to him. I wish I could see myself through other people's eyes. ...before & after...