Remaining CoGnIzAnT

I'm going to vent a lil'

I find myself taking baby-steps towards exercising my faculty of reason. And in the process, I discover:

That, I have remained stuck within the boundaries set by word labels, with seemingly, no depth. The lines below, from Shakespeare's lyrical tale of Romeo and Juliet, captures the essence of my thought-process.

Juliet:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

That, there is more to everything, than meets the eye.

That, there is enough religion to incite war, but not enough religion to instill tolerance.

That, everytime I look within myself, there lies the answer.

Et cetera...

βλεπομεν γαρ αρτι δι εσοπτρου εν αινιγματι

The title to this blog-post is in Greek. It's closest translation is: "For now we see through a glass, darkly". The phrase refers to a vision, of the love of God, that the prophets had.

The line's borrowed from one of my favorite passages' in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 1:13. It speaks of love in it's purest and strongest form. In a way, it uses the word love as being synonymous to a higher power, God. In the original Greek versions, the word agape has been used in place of love. The most common translation of the word agape is the "love of God for mankind", described in verses 4 through 13.

The passage goes as so -

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I find these lines really touch my heart, and hence, it's found it's place through another representation on the blog.

Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,

Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy,

Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,

Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,

Whose strong hands were skilled at the plans and the lathe,

Be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,

Your strength in out hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,

Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,

Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,

Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,

Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,

Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,

Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

 

Text: Jan Struther, 1901-1953, Copyright - Oxford University Press

Tune: SALNE, 10 11 11 12; Gaelic; harm. by Erik Routley, 1917 - 1982, Copyright - 1975, Hope Publishing Co.

The Remanants...

A friend shared these poetic lines with me which I enjoyed reading so very much that I felt the need to post it here on my virtual space. Goes as so --

The tide recedes, but leaves behind bright seashells on the sand.
The sun goes down, but gentle warmth still lingers on the land.
The music stops, yet echoes on in sweet, soulful refrains.
For every joy that passes, something beautiful remains!!

I felt further inspired to add a few lines of my own which only enhanced the experience for me --

A walk under the starry night sky might come to end once you reach the front door step of your house, 

but the visuals your eyes captured along the way - you carry on, 

the fragrances that you inhaled - lingers on...
Bliss! Life is bliss!