I am reminded more of my
lostness. I am incapable of determining the tasteful, the pertinent, the
Good on my own. Were I to pray for the archetypal experience of tea drinking
(I've always been a wayward coffee guy since my mother weened me from those white bottles of non-caffeination), or just to look into the
matter for any tea drinker on my Christmas shopping list, Oprah, of
course, would be the pedagogical authority on what is the Good tea
set to purchase. The tea sets at which I now peer through the mall shop
windows are not merely endorsed by O, they're actually her favorites.
Being an A-list celebrity must be exhausting. Your meditation constantly
interrupted. Unenlightened seekers of wisdom like me endlessly scale your
mountain of solace to have audience. You must fulfill our quests for
the tasteful, the pertinent, the Good. Then, as it's stenciled on a
storefront window, all can glean from "what is written." Mall pilgrims
then glaze by, beyond, and, who knows, perhaps serendipitously into the church on any
day but Sunday.
For you, Mr. or Ms. Consumer, it's not just your shopping list that can be
completed. Now you absorb what before was universal secrecy. Mystery
now neatly wraps the life worth living with such order and pretty paper that you'd never comprehended until the present moment. It's the moment when this year's (Curse last years!) styles, colors, and, of course, selection all come together to make inner sense. It all feels Good. So this object could be just the fit for the person on your list, who is of equal or greater value. Or so you tend to hope.
Heaven
is made of stars, and we cast our spirits toward the stars--daytime and primetime--who descend from the fake living room sets
or the celestial stadia. What paves the path that orients us heavenward
bursts forth from the Scripture, Sermon and Evangelistic appeal of
Branding. In Branding "we live, and move, and have our being." Come, sit
and sip. No, be saturated by The Tea Set and so much more. But please stop in and drink today because supplies are limited. Equally mysterious.
