In a Lenten frame of mind, I offer this extended quote from The Weight of Glory, by CS Lewis:
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. . . Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. . .
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(add, March 26)
Has anyone besides me been noticing the really cool conjunction of Venus and Jupiter over the past month or so? Last night and tonight, they've been joined by the moon in an utterly spectacular celestial show. Heck, the dark part of the moon has even been earth-lit. Totally awesome. . .
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excellent challenge. i shall endeavor to remember this the next time i am cut off in traffic.
ReplyDeleteWow. Amazing quote, amazing thought. Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteLime - That is an excellent occasion on which to apply this bit of wisdom. I will endeavor so to apply it, myself. Thanks.
ReplyDelete;)
Suldog - Bit of a paradigm shift, isn't it?
Well, I guess I missed something on the mortal vs. immortal angle.
ReplyDeleteBut "your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses."? That's pure gold there.
Xavier - Really? As I read it, the main point is that our lives extend beyond this world, and don't end with our physical deaths; all us humans have an eternal destiny, one way or the other, and it behooves us to be mindful of that in our relations with each other. . .
ReplyDeleteWell now, this isn't exactly a post about hair, now, is it?
ReplyDelete:D
Pretty deep, my friend. Pretty deep.
Flutter - Grass don't grow on a busy street. . .
ReplyDeleteAn'. . . Hair? Ain't that the old 60s musical where everybody got naked on stage? "Give me down to there, shoulder length or longer?" Aquarius? Sulfur dioxide? Or wuz you talkin' about somthin' else?
Ha ha, made ya say it!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteSee how I is?
Xavier - The old 'Made Ya Say It' trick. . . and I fell for it. . .
ReplyDelete