Sunday, July 11, 2010
January 8
by David Lehman
The wind does whistle but it also hums
if you say it does, because you have
that power: language makes it possible,
and you have the choice: you can revile
the slogans and shibboleths of groupthink
or you can watch TV commercials as if
they were aesthetic products to be
appreciated and analyzed: not much
of a choice, is it: let's go beyond
"either/or" and see if we can't just ignore
what offends our nostrils, and makes
something out of our minds, out of our
minds in both senses: let's see
what happens when the imagination as
conceived by Wallace Stevens marries
the language as conceived by millions daily
From The Evening Sun, 2002.
The wind does whistle but it also hums
if you say it does, because you have
that power: language makes it possible,
and you have the choice: you can revile
the slogans and shibboleths of groupthink
or you can watch TV commercials as if
they were aesthetic products to be
appreciated and analyzed: not much
of a choice, is it: let's go beyond
"either/or" and see if we can't just ignore
what offends our nostrils, and makes
something out of our minds, out of our
minds in both senses: let's see
what happens when the imagination as
conceived by Wallace Stevens marries
the language as conceived by millions daily
From The Evening Sun, 2002.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Correction: Casey doesn't know what ephemeral means
I don't know what ephemeral means. I improperly used that lovely word in my last post. I meant religious ideas that are theoretical and unprovable.
Thought of the day
"There is no God higher than the truth."--Mahatma Ghandi
Comment: I agree with this statement, but it also brings up a lot of big questions. First and foremost, what is the truth? Does any one person know the truth? Can we, in our lifetimes, claim to finally know the truth? Ideas and concepts that are ephemeral and ethereal like the presence of God, the beginning of the universe, the existence of Grace, the immortal soul, Heaven and Hell...I can not prove that these concepts are true, but I also can not prove that they are false. Are these things that we can not prove the whole basis for "faith"? But does that diminish our faith in things that are real, that are hard-earned and proven.
I guess, for me, the only truths I know are my values. And I think that that's what Ghandi means when he says the truth. No God is greater than your values. You should not go against your values in the name of religion. Religion should uphold and bolster the values most dear to your heart. The ones that you know in your gut. If this is what Ghandi means then I could not agree with him more.
But then again I was not brought up in a creedal religion. Perhaps if I had been raised within a religion I would feel differently. Does anyone else have a different perspective? Your thoughts, as always, are welcome.
Comment: I agree with this statement, but it also brings up a lot of big questions. First and foremost, what is the truth? Does any one person know the truth? Can we, in our lifetimes, claim to finally know the truth? Ideas and concepts that are ephemeral and ethereal like the presence of God, the beginning of the universe, the existence of Grace, the immortal soul, Heaven and Hell...I can not prove that these concepts are true, but I also can not prove that they are false. Are these things that we can not prove the whole basis for "faith"? But does that diminish our faith in things that are real, that are hard-earned and proven.
I guess, for me, the only truths I know are my values. And I think that that's what Ghandi means when he says the truth. No God is greater than your values. You should not go against your values in the name of religion. Religion should uphold and bolster the values most dear to your heart. The ones that you know in your gut. If this is what Ghandi means then I could not agree with him more.
But then again I was not brought up in a creedal religion. Perhaps if I had been raised within a religion I would feel differently. Does anyone else have a different perspective? Your thoughts, as always, are welcome.
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