“Blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense. Grind some of the mixture into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy.” (Exodus 30:35-36 NLT)
I come from a tradition where incense is used as part of worship. Even so, the above verses about making incense seem unnecessarily elaborate to me. I do not know anything about making incense. I buy incense sticks and enjoy their fragrance. Perhaps a person who makes incense would be able to analyze and appreciate these directions better than I can.
I prefer simplicity over complexity--except in writing and cooking. I enjoy cooking vegetarian meals with many ingredients, while most others would find these recipes cumbersome. Most cooks would not bother with that much effort for vegetables, because they are usually relegated to the side of the main dish. I don’t think of vegetables, spices, or herbs as peripheral ingredients in cooking. The creativity of blending their healing goodness fills me with joy.
Similarly, I appreciate thoughtful sentences. Complex concepts require parsing. While most people prefer short tweets, I would rather read a wordy essay where the author unravels her process. It’s like watching a cooking show--where you see the difficulties, the frustration, the mess--before the final product is revealed.
Discovering the sacred--whether in making incense, cooking, or writing--requires intricate inquiry. Elaborate expressions may seem unnecessary, especially in areas that are outside our interests. However, extra words can be useful when explaining complicated concepts.
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