Michelangelo's Big Toe

October 7, 2008

Suffering is a lot about the loss of comfort. Suffering is also conditioned by our past experience. I spent the weekend in Provo trying to get some business and banking done. I slept in a bed, in an air conditioned room, and I took a long, hot shower. This was nice, though it was also a reminder of what is missing from Grand Turk at the moment and was not satisfying.

Dave Horn flew into Provo on Saturday, before we left for Grand Turk we stopped at the supermarket and bought 13 steaks and some expensive cheeses. Though you think someone has everything they need, sometimes it is the little things that provide relief or comfort. I thought Allesio would appreciate the cheese. I was correct.

Tonight was exactly four weeks since Ike came across Grand Turk. We ate steak at Allesio's and the dinner ended with a fine selection of cheese. The six of us at dinner ate a lot of cheese.

Allesio is Italian. Dinner is his church. He says this often. During dinner Allesio is also often philosophical about life. Tonight he was particularly poignant. He waxed very poetically about the big toe of Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses, which is in the Santa Maria Novella in Florence. The statue is roped off, but it is situated in a way that you can see the big toe up very close. When you study the big toe, what you see is the unbelievably exquisite detail that went into this one small part of the sculpture. The folds of the cloth, the details in the face, all perfect. But what masterful work went into crafting even the big toe. What you realize is that many of us will never rise to the genius of Michelangelo's big toe. Let alone the entire sculpture.

“Let your creation express divinity,“ was Allesio's big message. Let what you do rise above who you are. Strive for beauty in your everyday actions. If you make great cheese, let making cheese be your religion.

I have seen the big toe of Moses in the Santa Maria Novella. With God all things are possible, but sometimes our individual efforts need a little more effort than we are normally willing to give.