Sunday, November 13, 2005
Lilly . Bird
SK
There was once a lily that stood quite apart, near a little running brook, and was well acquainted with some nettles as well as a few other small flowers there in the neighborhood. The lily was, according to the Gospel's veracious description, more beautifully arrayed than Solomon in all his glory, besides being carefree and happy the whole day long....
But it happened one day that a little bird came and visited the lily; it came again the next day, and then it remained away for several days before it came again; which impressed the lily as being strange and inexplicable, inexplicable that the bird should not stay in the same place, like the small flowers--strange that the bird could be so capricious. But as so often happens, so too it happened to the lily, that because the bird was so capricious, the lily fell more and more in love with it.
This little bird was a bad bird; instead of putting itself in the place of the lily, instead of rejoicing with it in its beauty and innocent happiness, the bird wished to make itself important by feeling its own freedom, and by making the lily feel its bondage. And not only this, the little bird was also talkative, and it would tell all kinds of stories, true and false, about how there were, in other places, very unusually magnificent lilies in great abundance; how there were joy and gaiety, fragrance, brilliant coloring, a song of birds, which far surpassed all description.
So the lily became troubled; the more it listened to the bird the more troubled it became.... Now it began to occupy itself with itself and with the circumstances of its life in its self-concern--so long was the day.... Said the lily, "My wish is not an unreasonable desire; I do not ask the impossible, to become what I am not, a bird, for example; my desire is only to become a splendid lily, or even the most splendid one.
At last it confided absolutely in the bird. One evening they agreed that the next morning a change should take place that would put an end to the concern. Early the next morning came the little bird; with its beak it cut the soil away from the lily's roots, so that it might thus become free. When this was accomplished, the bird took the lily under its wing and flew away. The intention was, of course, that the bird would take the lily to where the magnificent lilies bloomed; then the bird would again assist in getting it planted down there, to see if, through the change of soil and the new environment, the lily might not succeed in becoming a magnificent lily in company with the many, or possibly even an imperial lily, envied by all the others.
Alas, on the way the lily withered. If the discontented lily had been satisfied to be lily, then it would not have become concerned; if it had not become concerned, then it would have remained standing where it was--where it stood in all its beauty; had it remained standing, then it would have been precisely the lily about which the preacher spoke on Sunday, when he repeated the Gospel's words: "Consider the lily.... I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like it."
And if a man, like the lily, is satisfied with the fact of being human, then he does not become ill from temporal concern; and if he does not become temporally concerned, then he continues to stand in the place appointed to him; and if he remains there, then it is truly so, that through being human he is more glorious than the glory of Solomon.
- posted by -g @ 6:49 PM | | 2 rocks in pond
Catullus 51
That man seems to me to be equal to a god,
That man, if it is right to say, seems to surpass the gods,
who sitting opposite to you repeatedly looks at you
and hears
your sweet laughter, something which robs miserable me
of all feelings: for as soon as I look
at you, Lesbia, no voice remains
in my mouth.
But the tongue is paralyzed, a fine fire
spreads down through my limbs, the ears ring with their
very own sound, my eyes veiled
in a double darkness.
Idleness, Catullus, is your trouble;
idleness is what delights you and moves you to passion;
idleness has proved ere now the ruin of kings and
prosperous cities.
- posted by Allie @ 12:15 AM | | 0 rocks in pond
Sappho 31
He is more than a hero
he is a god in my eyes--the man who is allowed
to sit beside you -- he
who listens intimately
to the sweet murmur of
your voice, the enticing
laughter that makes my own
heart beat fast. If I meet
you suddenly, I can
speak -- my tongue is broken;
a thin flame runs under
my skin; seeing nothing,
hearing only my own ears
drumming, I drip with sweat;
trembling shakes my body
and I turn paler than
dry grass. At such times
death isn't far from me
- posted by Allie @ 12:02 AM | | 0 rocks in pond
Thursday, November 10, 2005
I read this today and it was so strikingly similar to my previous post that I had to post it, too.
Bahá'u'lláh presents a vision of life that insists upon a fundamental redefinition of all human relationships--among human beings themselves, between human beings and the natural world, between the individual and society, and between the members of society and its institutions. Each of these relationships must be reassessed in light of humanity's evolving understanding of God's will and purpose. New laws and concepts are enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh so that human consciousness can be freed from patterns of response set by tradition, and the foundations of a global civilization can be erected. "A new life", Bahá'u'lláh declares, "is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth."
(Baha'i Topics: The Teachings of Baha'u'llah)
- posted by dan @ 7:56 PM | | 0 rocks in pond
Jay
Where are you?
Tell me a story.
Bruce
Tell me about your latest writing please.
Dan
What is the most important thought you have ever had?
Greg
Has God spoken to you in your suffering?
Can you share any insight with us?
Mark
What is Turkish Delight?
Have you any experiences you would like to share with us?
Scott
What is maturity?
Bill
What does it mean to pet a kitty in light of the dragon breathing down my neck?
Jim
You have lived longer than all of us. You have suffered such that just recently you were unable to move. You told me that you have made good and bad choices in your life. In light of the suffering you have gone through and seen in others, what is it that you would suggest for all of us to keep our way pure and discern the difference between good and evil?
Tim
What has painting done for your walk with God?
Dave N.
Are you bitter about anything?
Dave B.
Can you describe the difference between your 12 years in Sudan, your summer in Chicago's inner city and your present stay in Bolivia?
A.J.
What is magical about your walk with God?
All The Rest
What are you living for and what are you willing to die for?
- posted by -g @ 6:45 PM | | 0 rocks in pond
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Parables of the Kingdom
Jesus uses parables to bring into existence the Empire [Kingdom] of God. This new Empire was not about morality. The commandments, though not rejected, are not the heart of the matter either. The Empire of God is about re-imagining life on new terms. In his parables, Jesus forces one to look at the world squarely, without illusion, and to see it for what it really is. It is our world, not God's. It works for some people some of the time. But ultimately it does not work, because it cannot reflect an ultimate reality whose nature is love. Jesus challenged those around him to re-create the world, to reconstruct human life and relationships in a way that would reflect and embody that ultimate reality. That is what the Empire of God is, or would be, if one were to choose to risk it.
Stephen J. Patterson, The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus & the Search for Meaning
- posted by dan @ 6:15 PM | | 0 rocks in pond
critical lawnmower
humble dan
potting soil
diarrhea of the brain
bad haiku daily
thegreatlockbox
dirty laundry
emily joy joy
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