toward a new enchantment

 “To the extent that we can succeed in being authentic,
as people and as cultures—succeed in creating
 political forms or governments that allow people
and groups to flourish that way—we will have
 a greater fullness than what people had
in the old age of enchantment.”

      - charles taylor

metaphysical juggling act

The paradox of Christianity,
 in relation to early religion,
is that on one hand, it seems to assert
the unconditional benevolence of God
towards humans;
there is none of the ambivalence
of early Divinity in this respect;
and yet it redefines our ends
so as to take us beyond flourishing.

    -charles taylor  (canadian catholic philosopher)

natural tendencies

Each of our voices
 has something unique to say.
Not only
 should I not
 mold my life
 to the demands
of external conformity;
 I can't even find
  the model by which
  to live outside myself.
I can only find it within.

-Charles Taylor  (canadian philosopher)   

thought for the day

 "We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny.
 But what we put into it is ours.
He who wills adventure will experience it —
 according to the measure of his courage.
 He who wills sacrifice will be sacrificed —
 according to the measure of his purity of heart."

          ^{- dag hammarskjold  (+1961)}

why bother

If you copy, it means

           you're working

   without any real feeling.

No two people on earth are alike,

           and it's got to be that way in music

          or it isn't music.

- billie holiday

solid like a rock

prayer is nothing
but friendly intercourse
and frequent solitary converse
with Him
 Who we know loves us

   - theresa of avila  (doctor of the church )






















..

another way of knowing

It's when we face for a moment the worst our kind can do,
and shudder to know the taint in our own selves,
that awe cracks the mind's shell
 and enters the heart.

    -denise levertov

human perception properly placed

"  [    ]..., there are real things out there
 whose characters are independent
of our opinion of them."

  -Charles Sanders Peirce

Dree-ee-ee-ee-eam dream dream dream

Manifesto of Surrealism: The mere word "freedom" is the only one that still excites me. I deem it capable of indefinitely sustaining the old human fanaticism. It doubtless satisfies my only legitimate aspiration. Among all the many misfortunes to which we are heir, it is only fair to admit that we are allowed the greatest degree of freedom of thought. It is up to us not to misue it. To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery- even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness- is to betray all sense of absolute justice within oneself. Imagination alone offers me some intimation of what can be, and this is enough to remove to some slight degree the terrible injunction...

Andre Breton

ya win some you lose some

"I'm fighting
so I can die a martyr
 and go to heaven
to meet God.
 Our fight
now
  is against the Americans."

 - Osama bin Laden

bottom line

I have been all things unholy.
If God can work through me,
he can work through anyone.

Francis of Assisi

where fools tread

“Have confidence
in the Providence
that
 so far has never
 failed us.
The way
is not yet clear.
Grope along slowly.
Do not press matters;
be patient,
be trustful.”

   -st. mother theodora guerin  (+1856)