The Good-Morrow - John Donne

The Good-Morrow

I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I

Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?

But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?

Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?

’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.

If ever any beauty I did see,

Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.

And now good-morrow to our waking souls,

Which watch not one another out of fear;

For love, all love of other sights controls,

And makes one little room an everywhere.

Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,

Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,

Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,

And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;

Where can we find two better hemispheres,

Without sharp north, without declining west?

Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;

If our two loves be one, or, thou and I

Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.

By John Donne 1572–1631

Source: The Norton Anthology of Poetry Third Edition (1983)

strength from the integrity that comes from keeping promises

Finding Your Spiritual Strength

By NORRIS BURKES

Published: Sunday, December 16, 2012 at 3:36 a.m.

quote: 

"But here's the rub in the story. Samson didn't really get his strength from his hair. I know that's what Miss Myrtle taught in Sunday school, but the truth is a little more complicated than that.

Samson was a part of a religious order that took a vow before God not to cut his hair. He didn't get his strength from his hair. He got his strength from the integrity that came to him from keeping his promises. When he lost the integrity, he lost the source of his real strength.

The story ends with God restoring Samson's strength, and in a suicidal burst of energy, he literally brought the house down on himself and his enemies — not your typical hero ending, but Samson died, in touch once again with the source of his real strength."

 

http://www.theledger.com/article/20121216/
COLUMNISTS0420/121219440?p=2&tc=pg

 

The dangers of a fatalistic, pessimistic perception of history

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/opinion/sunday/friedman-the-full-israeli-experience.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121209

 

Op-Ed Columnist

The Full Israeli Experience

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Published: December 8, 2012

The dangers of a fatalistic, pessimistic perception of history:

quote: 

Today, alas, not only is the Israeli peace camp dead, but the most effective Israeli “bastard for peace,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak, is retiring. As I sat with Barak in his office the other day, he shared with me his parting advice to Israel’s next and sure-to-be-far-right government.

Huge political forces, with deep roots, are now playing out around Israel, particularly the rise of political Islam, said Barak. “We have to learn to accept it and see both sides of it and try to make it better. I am worried about our tendency to adopt a fatalistic, pessimistic perception of history. Because, once you adopt it, you are relieved from the responsibility to see the better aspects and seize the opportunities” when they arise.

If Israel just assumes that it’s only a matter of time before the moderate Palestinian leaders in the West Bank fall and Hamas takes over, “why try anything?” added Barak. “And, therefore, you lose sight of the opportunities and the will to seize opportunities. ...
I know that you can’t say when leaders raise this kind of pessimism that it is all just invented. It is not all invented, and you would be stupid if you did not look [at it] with open eyes.
But it is a major risk that you will not notice that you become enslaved by this pessimism in a way that will paralyze you from understanding that you can shape it. The world is full of risks, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a responsibility to do something about it — within your limits and the limits of realism — and avoid self-fulfilling prophecies that are extremely dangerous here.”

 

Value of Churches to the Community

The study, commissioned by Partners for Sacred Places, a religion-related historical preservation group in Philadelphia, assigns a dollar value to factors including the effect on individuals, safety net ministries, tourism and education. The study's first phase found that the average congregation in Philadelphia returned $4.3 million to its community. Raw data collected in Chicago suggests similar results, said Tuomi Forrest, executive vice president of Partners.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/religion/ct-met-church-water-fee-reversal-20121207,0,2604304.story

Chicago's religious leaders fight water fee

By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune reporter, December 7, 2012

Living Blissfully with the Mystery

Henry Miller’s Reflections on Writing

“Understanding is not a piercing of the mystery, but an acceptance of it, a living blissfully with it, in it, through and by it.”

Religion Among the Ranks of the Long Gray Line

B.J. Garrison

USMA Class of 2002

Religion Among the Ranks of the Long Gray Line

Posted: 12/06/2012 11:16 am

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bj-garrison/religion-among-the-ranks-of-the-long-gray-line_b_2250487.html

"Challenging Cadets, officers and NCOs to have meaningful discussions on all facets of Army life is one of the many reasons why the Academy exists. Rather than running away from the thought, we stress the need for critical thinking.

Is that hard to do in an atmosphere like West Point? Absolutely. But we revel in the difficult and solve the impossible. We members of the Long Gray Line have been taught to run to the problems and do what we can to help set things straight, and not run away cursing the ground of those who don't hold similar views as we retreat."