In Response to "Vacillation"

Hi everybody! :D

     I hope that you have all been enjoying yourselves! :) I apologize for the delay in posting this. Last week we were busy enjoying our visiting aunt and gallivanting around the state, and this week has been full of errands and preparations for a move (which will hopefully take place this weekend -- yay! :D).

     The last post was a little open-ended, I think. Now, though, we can finally tie up the subject. :) Last time, we basked in a few powerful lines from W.B. Yeats' poem, "Vacillation." For what it was worth, I also offered a few thoughts on the poet's worldview, claiming that in this excerpt alone there was sufficient evidence to conclude that Yeats was not a nihilist. Indeed, he seemed to be quite far from it.

    Perhaps you reacted to these noble verses the same way that I did. Perhaps your heart thrilled with inspiration and strength. You may have looked on the poet anew, as a brave man, an honorable man, a towering and vibrant spirit.

    I wish that I could have spoken with Yeats. Not that I would have anything particularly valuable to say, or that I could say it well. What Christ has to say, though, is exceedingly valuable. It is what every person needs to hear, about the way we approach death, and about the measuring rod we use to weigh the worthiness of all our endeavors. At this point, from the struggle with Christianity apparent in his work, I'm afraid Yeats might have simply tuned out of our hypothetical conversation. I hope that he embraced it in the end, however, since it is the fullest, brightest, and grandest approach that a human can have towards death.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Via Blue Ghost)

    "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33 NKJV)

    "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
        Fear God and keep His commandments,
        For this is man's all.
        For God will bring every work into judgment,
        Including every secret thing,
        Whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14)

     "He has shown you, O man, what is good;
     And what does the Lord require of you
     But to do justly,
     To love mercy,
     And to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

     "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" (Matthew 22:37)

      "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39)

      I know, you've heard them before. Please go back and read them again, though. Listen to them. Really listen.
   
      These are not empty words, Yeats. Neither are they a damnation to drudgery. These are the supreme orders of the Maker and Master of the universe, the One who holds the swirling galaxies to His eye for inspection. The One who crafted effortlessly all the beauties of life that you so admire, from gargantuan, ethereal nebulae to the flawless spheres of electrons, spinning wildly in their endless dances. This One, who is making all things beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11), has directives for you. You laugh at the idea that the Infinite One could possibly be concerned with how you conduct yourself in your brief lifetime, but I tell you that in the perfection of His sovereign artistry, it is His will that not a single atom swerve astray. Christ Himself told us this (Matthew 10:29). You were right to think that there can be dignity in death, but it does not come through selfish pride in our finite works (which are, after all, only minuscule threads in the cosmic tapestry of His story). Our dignity comes to us through our straining and sweating as knights of His kingdom. It comes to us as the honored and glorified members of His plan, which is the grandest purpose, the most spell-binding scheme that you could possibly imagine. A magnificent structure that spans millennia, worlds, even the infinite chasms that you yourself, Yeats, have felt between souls. There is no cause more truly splendid than this. Nothing else glows so fiercely with the light of God's terrible majesty. I hope that you discovered this before the end, Yeats, because this and this alone is that for which it is truly worth dying.

Goodbye, my friend (for I hope that is what we would have been, had we met). I hope to see you at the glorious end. May your soul have felt the grandeur of hearing our Leader say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
 

   

Gilded Words: Yeats

(Via George Charles Beresford)

"No longer in Lethean foliage caught

Begin the preparation for your death

And from the fortieth winter by that thought

Test every work of intellect or faith

And everything that your own hands have wrought,
And call those works extravagance of breath

That are not suited for such men as come

Proud, open-eyed and laughing to the tomb."

                                                                            

                                                                – W. B. Yeats, from "Vacillation," part III.     

Hello, all! :)

        Welcome to my next post series, Gilded Words! :D As you can see, it is simply a collection of excerpts drawn from my daily reading, taken whenever I have found something that I've loved and thought might interest you, as well. I hope that these authors' snippets will be as beneficial to you as they have been to me. :)

        For today's excerpt, I selected a passage from The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats that is dear to me. I have not always agreed with Yeats' worldview. Like any good poet will, however, he sometimes strikes a vein of gold* hidden amongst what seems to be the chaotic jumble of life, as seen from our finite perspective. At times  I think that this occurs despite himself, as a result of his subconscious picking away at the apparent disorder of the universe and looking for structure and purpose, like it is in all of our natures to do.  Though he claims that he "would be – for no knowledge is worth a straw –/ Ignorant and wanton as the dawn,"  the content and even the very style of his poetry belie his inherent, human desire for meaning.

      In this stanza, for example, an attempt to dismiss Yeats' attitude as so-called "brave nihilism" dissolves upon further consideration. The main reason for this is fairly simple: Namely, that there is no dignity in death for the nihilist. Death for the nihilist is, of course, simply a nothingness, the end of human experience, the last eternal silence, the only infinite thing in nihilistic philosophy. Because humans do not experience anything lasting, there is no enduring purpose, and thus nothing to do but fulfill one's own desires while one still has desires to fill. No delight is an "extravagance of breath," no matter what its consequences might be. 

      Yeats' approach, however, is markedly different. What allows men to go "Proud, open-eyed and laughing to the tomb"? According to the previous lines, it is only certain works, measured by an apparently exacting scale (which itself is also contrary to nihilism), that allow men to carry themselves with confidence and honor into the grave. Thus, by claiming an objective standard of worth, by maintaining a dignified attitude towards death, and by implying that the value of one's work gives purpose to life, Yeats precludes the possibility of hopeless nihilism in his philosophy.

     If what a man believes about death reveals what he believes about life, and if my half-baked syllogisms are sound,  it warms my heart to know that Yeats had a more hopeful approach towards death than one would assume from the rest of his pretensions about life.

What do you think? Does Yeats sound like a nihilist to you?

With that, I will bid you adieu, and wish you merry success in all your endeavors. :) Best!

L.

* Get it? ;D Heh heh.

Tuneful Tuesday: It's Rainin'

 Hi there, everybody! :D

      I hope you're all enjoying some beautiful winter weather! Here in our little swatch of North Carolina, we've been loving the gorgeous rainy days the season has brought us.  As Oregonians at heart, we know that this weather is perfect for so many delights, far more than most people realize. These kinds of days cheer our hearts, and we've lately been spotted romping through marvelously splashy puddles as well as nestling cozily in our little apartment, each of us with a stack of books to keep company.

      Cloudy, chilly days are ideal for cuddling with a pet and listening to one's favorite music, so I'd like to share some with you, dear reader. If you happen to be a heliophile and you are wilting away under clouds today, I also hope that this will cheer you up a little! A note about the name:  Much as I have enjoyed "Music Mondays" over at the blog of the lovely Katie, to copy her title and schedule would simply be bad taste. ;) Thus, it is with the straightest of faces that I now present Practically Absurd's latest feature,

       Though this lovely song may not entirely share our warm approach to storms,  I thought that the subject matter would be a fitting way to kick off the new post series. :) Enjoy!

What about you? What are a few of your favorite rainy day songs? :)

Resolved to be Resolute

Hello, all! :D

(Via Luca Barcellona)

   

     I hope your year is off to a great start! No doubt most of you have picked a few festive-yet-daunting resolutions to overhang you in the coming year.  I salute you, my fellow overly-ambitious souls, and wish you all the greatest success! :D

    

     While Christmas has always been my favorite holiday (I’m a sucker for red and green, ginger snaps, and general jollity), I’ve lately become increasingly fond of New Year’s Day.  I think that the older I get, the more I appreciate a symbolic fresh start on life.  (“Symbolic” because, of course, we have the ability to begin life afresh each day, and even each moment.  It’s nice, though, to have the promise of a brand new year to give us an extra boost.) Sadly, however, as a newcomer to the confident spirit of this particular holiday, I have yet to make many goals weightier than my trademark New Year’s Notes to Self, of which I have a fair few.  ;D

    

      I do have one resolution for this year, though.  I’m trying not to hate being known. This blog is a part of that project.

     

      Speaking of goals, I do have one list I’ve recently begun!  I stumbled across the pattern for it a few months ago on a lovely site called Little Luck Tree, and I thought that any comrades-in-plans out there might like it, too. J The idea, as you can see, is to achieve a certain number of goals before you reach a certain age. I wrote my list in December, and now have about eight months to complete it. ;) So here is my version, laughably simple in some places, but ridiculously unrealistic in the main.  Enjoy!

21 Before 21!

1.    Read 21+ new books.

2.    Lose 21+ pounds.

3.    Make a new friend.

4.    Memorize Psalm 21 and Proverbs 21.
5.    Do 21 hours of community service.

6.       Hike five new trails.

7.       Curl 21 pounds bilaterally (21 reps). [What was I thinking?!]

8.       Do 21 push-ups.

9.       Run a 5k.

10.   Finish that picnic blanket!

11.  Join a bookclub.

12.   Write 210 pages. [Reduced from 2,100, believe it or not. :D Heh heh.]

13.   Find 21 resources for The Plan. [Will have more to post about that soon, I hope! J]

14.   Read 21+ new theology books.

15.   Write 21 poems. [Heh, yeah right.]

16.   Translate 21+ pages of Nada, by Carmen Laforet.

17.   Explore 21 new places.  [Shouldn’t be too difficult, actually, since I just moved to a new state a few weeks ago.]

18.  Join a team (ministry, volunteer, professional, etc.).

19.  Write 21 letters.

20.   Do 21 drawings.

21.   Make a list of 21 good things about myself.  [My mother’s suggestion.  Probably the most challenging.]

  

             How about you? Do you have any goals for this year? Have you ever used a tool like the "X Before X" pattern for setting goals? Which goal that you've accomplished has been your favorite?

         Best of luck, adventurers!  Here’s a sappy song to send you on your way. J

Happy New Year!

Howdy, cyber pilgrim!

     Pleased to meet you!  I hope that you’ll enjoy each of your visits here.  If you’d like to leave a comment, send a note, or join the conversation elsewise, I’d be delighted to hear from you!

     I’m so excited to begin this project with you, dear reader.  An adventure awaits us, full of silliness and seriousness, whimsy and pragmatism, and our travels will wander happily through as many realms as strike our fancy or ignite our imagination.  Before beginning this odyssey, however, it seems fitting both to thank God for providing this fresh start and to pay a brief but deeply heartfelt homage to my greatest inspiration: my family.

      If not for my family, all the wonders of the world would not stir me.  They are my reason to live, and they daily fill my spirit with laughter, my heart with warmth, my mind with reflection, and my soul with prayer.  I could go on forever about the virtues, beauties, and quirks of each one, and they are each precious to me. I'm now pleased to dedicate this blog, such as it is, to those who come second in my heart only to God.

Thank you so much, guys, for everything  you do! I love you!

L.