Veins arch out of his muscular hand, displaying controlled power.  He looks to his left, solemnly though, and I can’t be sure what he’s thinking.  Can he be contemplating his own strength?  His actions?  He did kill someone, that’s true, or will.  (I think this is before all that took place, but no one can really know.)  As he stands before me here, I can’t see how he could be capable.  His gaze is pensive and I can’t see into his eyes.  I know that even if I could, I would never know what is behind them.  Intent.  Determination.  Malice.  No emotion hides there.  It’s only white marble, after all. 

But David, Michelangelo’s masterpiece, draws me in and I can almost believe he’s real.  His body language and his expression both show an emotion far from cold stone.  A story of a man’s crowning moment told in cold, immovable clarity.  Of course, historians have studied every inch of it, trying to explain it.  I’m not sure what there is to explain.  It seems like Michelangelo captured a private moment – when a man makes the decision to take action and it changes his life – and set it in stone for the world to see.  It seems bold to me.  Many artists have chosen to paint David slaying Goliath, which is indeed important.  But Michelangelo chose the moment before (as many historians suppose this piece depicts and I’m inclined to agree).  Once the action has been decided on, that’s the excitement, the moment most artists then – and photographers today – desire.  But what about the moment of choice?  It’s a rare occasion when the public gets to see that and isn’t that what’s really important?

How often do we think about something while we’re doing it?  Before, yes.  That’s when we decide, weigh all the options, and see if it is a good choice.  After, yes.  That’s when we see if our expectations were met or, if they weren’t, how we should proceed.  And another “before” takes place.  It’s the most important part of any action and yet we are rarely privy to another’s “before”.  Sure, we are asked advice or seek advice ourselves, but isn’t it usually to support whatever we have come up with privately?  Don’t we already know what we want to do and are only seeking approval for our own insecurities?

I like this guy David.  He went on to become King of the Jews, Slayer of Goliath, Voyer of Bathsheba, Writer of Psalms.  He’s got a certain popular mystique.  But right here, as Michelangelo has portrayed him, he’s just a guy trying to contemplate a difficult decision and reach the correct answer.  Aren’t we all.

Until tomorrow and the new adventure…

Rachel