It is still a beautiful world
Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:25 am
Please forgive if the tone of this post seems harsh, but I cannot be silent any longer. And so, because I love and respect you all so much, I have to say this.
Welcome to The Close, a place for the members of Kevins Watch to discuss philosophy, religion and spirituality, or at least that is what my computer screen tells me.
And yet I often find that the forum is a haven not for hope, but harsh reality.
Life is meaningless. Death is inevitable.
I am not a Christian. I am not an atheist. I don't follow the teachings of Jesus, Mohammad or Buddha. I do not read the Bible, the Qur'an, the Talmud or the Upanishads, and nor do I use them to shape the way I live my life.
To be honest, I do not know what I believe. What I do know, however, is that life on Earth is not nearly as bad as I feel it is made out to be here.
I am not denying any Watchers right to discuss Christianity, or heaven and hell, or the comparative morality of various cultures in the 21st century.
All I am asking is that in this place devoted to Spirituality as well as Philosophy, we revel in the good as well as the bad. That we celebrate humanity, and not only debate how horrific it has become.
Yes, the world is full of terrible things. To quote Thomas Covenant, "We have cancer, heart failure, tuberculosis, multiple scelrosis, birth defects, leprosy - we have alcoholism, venereal disease, drug addiction, rape, robbery, murder, child beating, genocide...".
But this isn't the whole story, and anyone who says it is is either lying or lost in despair.
We also have that moment when a newborn baby opens its eyes and looks at you for the first time, holding your little finger tightly in its clenched fist.
We have the way that the world smells clean and new on a sunny spring morning after a warm night of rain.
We have the quickening heart-beat that starts when your lips brush those of the one you love.
We have the laughter of friends gathered together for no better reason than they would rather be with each other than alone with their thoughts.
We have ripe tamarillos, the smell of fresh baked bread, rich coffee made from freshly ground beans, chocolate of all kinds, over 100 different flavours of ice cream, and eating peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon.
We have Shakespeare, buttercups in the grass, Eddie Izzard and dancing in the rain.
We have that feeling you get when you are walking through the middle of a beautiful garden on an atumn afternoon while the golden leaves alternately expose your face to and shield it from the gentle sunlight.
With all it sham and drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
And not always in spite of humanity.
Celebrate beauty with me my friends.
Sum sui generis
Vs
Welcome to The Close, a place for the members of Kevins Watch to discuss philosophy, religion and spirituality, or at least that is what my computer screen tells me.
And yet I often find that the forum is a haven not for hope, but harsh reality.
Life is meaningless. Death is inevitable.
I am not a Christian. I am not an atheist. I don't follow the teachings of Jesus, Mohammad or Buddha. I do not read the Bible, the Qur'an, the Talmud or the Upanishads, and nor do I use them to shape the way I live my life.
To be honest, I do not know what I believe. What I do know, however, is that life on Earth is not nearly as bad as I feel it is made out to be here.
I am not denying any Watchers right to discuss Christianity, or heaven and hell, or the comparative morality of various cultures in the 21st century.
All I am asking is that in this place devoted to Spirituality as well as Philosophy, we revel in the good as well as the bad. That we celebrate humanity, and not only debate how horrific it has become.
Yes, the world is full of terrible things. To quote Thomas Covenant, "We have cancer, heart failure, tuberculosis, multiple scelrosis, birth defects, leprosy - we have alcoholism, venereal disease, drug addiction, rape, robbery, murder, child beating, genocide...".
But this isn't the whole story, and anyone who says it is is either lying or lost in despair.
We also have that moment when a newborn baby opens its eyes and looks at you for the first time, holding your little finger tightly in its clenched fist.
We have the way that the world smells clean and new on a sunny spring morning after a warm night of rain.
We have the quickening heart-beat that starts when your lips brush those of the one you love.
We have the laughter of friends gathered together for no better reason than they would rather be with each other than alone with their thoughts.
We have ripe tamarillos, the smell of fresh baked bread, rich coffee made from freshly ground beans, chocolate of all kinds, over 100 different flavours of ice cream, and eating peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon.
We have Shakespeare, buttercups in the grass, Eddie Izzard and dancing in the rain.
We have that feeling you get when you are walking through the middle of a beautiful garden on an atumn afternoon while the golden leaves alternately expose your face to and shield it from the gentle sunlight.
With all it sham and drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
And not always in spite of humanity.
Celebrate beauty with me my friends.
Sum sui generis
Vs
and I’m not sure that saw blade will ever be the same ~ but it was such a great weekend having my family home. 