“ ‘Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch.”
Yehuda Ha Levi
Beautiful statement, isn’t it? And ultimately frightening because it leans on a core knowledge that everyone and everything we love will one day disintegrate into death. That which matters so much cannot be guaranteed, no matter how faithfully we may murmur our prayers or serve our gods. We dare not bring this up in the course of our days; it is too fearful to contemplate, but in the quiet places in the backs of our minds, it is always there.
We love anyway...
Strangely… even though we know that death lies in hidden dark corners, we love anyway. Perhaps we cannot help it because it’s in our natures to love. Perhaps we know what the philosopher, Ernest Holmes, meant when he said that “the life that has not loved has not lived…,” that the risk of painful loss is worth taking to have the fullest experience of being alive. It almost seems a bit perverse, doesn’t it, that something that brings so much joy can also bring so much sorrow!
It's a dance we do...
It’s a dance we do, then… loving the beauties in our lives and yet hoping, somehow, that this time death will not touch them. A bit dispiriting at times, maybe, but yet we do it… we do it because not to do it creates its own agony. Puzzling, perhaps, but part of our humanity, I suppose…
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You may also enjoy "On Revelation."
John and I celebrate 37 years of marriage on the 14th (yes Valentine's Day) and through all the ups and downs, we have the belief that LOVE is worth it.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed, Love is definitely worth all that it takes!
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