BURNT NORTON (No. 1 of ‘Four Quartets’)
At the still point of the turning world. …
<snip>
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.– T.S. Eliot
Humans created constellations in the sky to satisfy their need to find order even when none exists. The momentary pause of these leaves suggest notations for an autumn ballet to me.
The millpond bench seats are closely spaced rods so rain doesn’t puddle. but they act like strainers when it comes to oak leaves. You’ve seen one of these benches before and you’ll find them a major prop as Words4It grows.
Note: The format of this blog doesn’t lend itself to vertical images so, when I post one, it will usually be a thumbnail linked to a larger, more detailed image that opens in a new window.
IN THE STILLNESS IS THE DANCING by Reinhold Niebuhr. From book of same name, 1972
Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful makes complete sense in any
context of history,
therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, no matter how virtuous,
can be accomplished alone,
therefore we are saved by love.
I like the message, Barb, but would like it to be less tied to religious terminology because that colors what I feel are basic human needs/principles. Here is my feeble attempt to edit what Niebuhr wrote:
“… we must be saved by our vision of what will transpire after our departure.”
“… we must be saved by our belief that everyone seeks truth and beauty.”
“… we must be saved by altruism and cooperation with others.”
Hope/fatih/love tend to be words people define superficially. I think that lessens their importance.
Friendly rebuttal: “In the Stillness is the Dancing” poem was contributed purely for its title and similarity to your post. It was written sometime during Reinhold Niebuhr’s lifetime (1892-1971) Wikipedia. He was emminent theologian. It’s possible the words, hope, faith, and love were pure enough to precisely express his meaning. If I were to look for any religious connotation, it would have been “we must be saved.” Here is another quote by Carl Rogers, “The very essence of the creative is its novelty, and hence we have no standard by which to judge it.” On Becoming a Person, 1961.
I see your point better now, Barb. Both of us have remembered the line, “In the stillness is the dancing,” for decades. I’ve been searching for a term to identify words and phrases that imprint in our minds. All of us have our own set of them. Why? Are they tied to strong emotions, generate certain feelings, or act as safe harbors – sort of like “comfort food” for the mind? We must find some pleasure/purpose for giving them brain space. Maybe they are touchstones on our journeys or unresolved destinations.
[...] variation on a theme in a different medium. See the previous post with T.S. Eliot’s [...]