“Afterfeather” and Its Bearable Lightness

I’ll go into a brief discourse about the name of this section in anluwage.com shortly.  First of all, thanks for the invitation Pietro for a new adventure!

Greeting, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of Gagalangin (and beyond)!

To start things off, there are a few things on my mind.  To contribute to the growth and nurture Tanghalang Anluwage well into the 21^st century, I pray and ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit and from you, our dear readers, in the form of direction and inspiration.

There is a deadline to meet publication of articles and I will know more about that shortly.  With this in mind, my plan is to write every 2 weeks and on special occasions per instructions of my Editor-in-Chief, all in honor and for the greater glory of God.

Please write comments or suggestions of topics to write about in the comment box.  Should you leave contact information, I will respond directly and converse with you for clarification.  If you prefer not to, I will make the assumption that you trust my and the editors' judgment and therefore simply proceed to write and spread God’s word. 

 

Keep in mind we are all in this together, with a greater purpose than we can ever imagine!

Ever notice a feather?  This growth on an avian creature’s epidermis called plumage is called feather.  This is so unique in birds because only birds have feathers.  A feather has four parts: the shaft or clamus which extends to the rachis, the barb that grows from the rachis and the afterfeather, usually found on the clamus and bottom of the rachis.  The afterfeather may very well be the lightest part of a bird’s feather.

PHOTO COURTESY OF http://onelessonatatime.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/parts-of-a-feather/

Whenever I am in conflict, I look for inspiration from the Holy Spirit.  In most religious artwork, we find a dove figure that is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.  In our faith, the paraclete is referenced when the term Holy Spirit is uttered or used.  In Greek, the word parakletus is referred to the one who uplifts, consoles, encourages, advocates, comforts and intercedes for another’s behalf.

PHOTO COURTESY OF http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vienna_Karlskirche_frescos4b.jpg

Within these contexts, I have taken the inspiration from the Holy Spirit’s symbol and used the lightest part of a feather most birds use in flight, the afterfeather to name this column.  I like the name and I hope you do too!

Aloha, good-bye, sayonara, hasta la vista, CYA, talk to you later and God bless you!