Peace imagined.PEACE IS ONE OF OUR DEEPEST NEEDS, but it does not come just for the wishing. Yet even images of it comfort us. Pictures of unspoiled countryside make visual what many people see as the essence of peace. In Constable's Cornfield the sun shines, the fruitful fields wait patiently for the reaper reaper, early farm machine drawn by draft animals or tractor and used to harvest grain. Its historical predecessors were the sickle and the cradle scythe, which are still used in some parts of the world. , water is sweet and unpolluted, and the animal world is in harmony with the human. Nowhere is there disturbance or annoyance, no raucous noises, no pressures. This is peace as it may appear in our imagination. by SISTER WENDY BECKETT Sister Wendy Beckett (born February 25 1930) is a South African-born British art expert, consecrated virgin and contemplative hermit who became an unlikely celebrity during the 1990s, presenting a series of acclaimed art history documentaries for the BBC. of Norfolk, England, well-known for her BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. and PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, television art series and her popular art books. Reprinted with permission from: Sister Wendy's Book of Meditations (DK Publishing, 1998; 877-342-5357). Painting: The Cornfield, by John Constable (1826, National Gallery, London). |
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