despair
You.
July 27, 2019
If not for you, there would be a place of emptiness in the heart of God.
If not for you, all the good you have done would still need doing.
If not for you, the spark of your ideas would not have ignited a fire in others.
If not for you, the key role you have played in life’s drama would remain unfilled.
If not for you, at least one person would not have awakened to their dreams.
If not for you, your triumphs could not be examples to inspire others.
If not for you, someone who needed love would not have received it.
If not for you, all life would have been shortened, or never have existed.
If not for you, the song of life would have missed a beat.
If not for you, your gifts would remain ungiven.
If not for you, another might have suffered in your place.
If not for you, someone would have no path to follow.
If not for you, there would be one less smile, one less laugh, and one less hug.
If not for you, there would be one less ember of love to warm the soul.
If not for you, an animal might be homeless and a garden left upland.
If not for you, something would be missing.
You have always made a difference. Who you are is important every day.
You are the face, the heart and the soul of God.
Noam.
February 17, 2016
“We can be pessimistic, give up and help ensure that the worst will happen,” says Noam Chomsky. “Or we can be optimistic, grasp the opportunities that surely exist and maybe help make the world a better place.”
Why I choose Optimism Over Despair: An Interview with Noam Chomsky
‘Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s most influential linguists (the same prolific scholar known around the world for his trenchant critiques of US foreign policy and critical analyses on a wide range of social and political issues), has also been preoccupied for much of his life with the perennial question of what kind of creatures we are. His pathbreaking contributions to the field of linguistics have considerably advanced our understanding of the human mind, which has in turn influenced a diverse area of studies, ranging from cognitive science and computer science to philosophy and psychology.’
Wendall Berry.
September 19, 2015
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.