Last night I went to a book reading.
Doesn't that make me sound super cultured? I haven't been to a book reading since my college English professor required the students to attend one as part of the class.
The book reading was held in Seattle, as one of my favorite podcasters and actors, Stephen Tobolowsky, was promoting his new book. If you watch movies, you have seen Stephen Tobolowsky. He is a character actor who has appeared in over 200 films and tv shows. He was Ned Ryerson in Groundhog's Day and Sandy Ryerson on Glee. He has a fun podcast called the Tobolowsky files, where he tells stories of "life, love, and the entertainment industry."
He wrote a book called "My Adventures with God" and I am excited to dive in. He practices Judaism and tells stories of his life with a spiritual thread running through. During the book reading he brought up an interesting topic: does everything have meaning? He proposed, in his humorous and personable way, that either life and everything in it had meaning, or nothing did.
Catholics, too, have this thought. It is called sacramentality. Everything in the created world has the potential to convey God's love and presence into the world. It makes sense. If God made everything, of course everything could reveal God! That is why sacraments are a huge part of the Catholic faith. The visible reveals the invisible. The physical reveals a meaning far beyond itself.
It was a great night. I was inspired by a person of faith who managed to weave his spirituality into his daily, everyday experience.
I waited in line to get my copy of the book signed for my wife, Aleah. She is a big fan, but she had to work last night, facilitating a group on the topic of immigration at her work. She is selfless and amazing.
When I got to meet Stephen, I asked him if he could sign the book to Aleah.
"Sure," he said. "How do you spell it?"
Aleah. A-L...
He wrote Al.
E-A-H.
Aleah.
"Do you know what this what this means? This word, Aleah. In Hebrew, do you know what it means?," he asked me.
"No."
"In the Hebrew it means to rise up."
My wife is literally called to rise.
Everything in life has meaning.
AP
