Re: More on contemplation of death

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: : I actually agree with everything you said...at least for the most part without disecting comments that could be misconstrued. Which I think is where I really took exception with Bob's post. I went back and looked at what he wrote and once more what jumped out at me is the question he used to illustrate contemplating death. I think the question, "if I would die tomorrow, what would I do today" is so cleche and full of bad movies that strive at real meaning that it is hard for me to percieve the question in any other light. I would not have cued at the post otherwise. Interesting how our brains trigger. I think it is my constant watchhound aganinst the easy-pseudo answer, or as you called it, "pseudo-contemplative philosophy learned by rote"... : : Makes more sense now. Bob's comment didn't trigger this response with me, as I wouldn't consider responding to such an exhortation by quitting my job or being derelict in my responsibilities. I would rather consider what priorities I may have overlooked in my blinded mad dash to meet my temporal deadlines, etc. I would resolve to attend to those important things daily, and not to let my continuing temporal urgencies keep me from (or blind me to) what is truly important. : On June 11th, 1995, speaking at Crossover, I asked the same question Bob did, in a variety of ways and from a variety of perspectives. I don't think anyone went out and quit their jobs or headed for the hills--hope not. They looked at the souls around them and saw what was real and eternal -- GOD IS, AND WE ARE. Our love and our worship endures. They spoke to each other, they told their friends how much they meant to them, and they took time to appreciate the beauty of the lives God had given them. And then 6 days later, on June 17th, our beloved friend Win drowned in Tampa Bay. The response to the exhortation validated it, and its timeliness confirmed the origin. : Myself, I have not seen many respond with the reaction which you fear, but perhaps you have. But I have seen many respond to the exhortation as our family did at Crossover on June 11, 1995. And I have seen the peace such preparation imparted on June 18th, when our little building packed with those whose lives Win had touched. So for me, I could not feel such a comment as Bob's ever to be cliche, unless perhaps it seemed so untimely and contrived as to necessarily be uninspired and disingenuous. But I would find it difficult to offer such an exhortation when it is not timely. : : : : All in all, I agree and I think bob is quite intelligent enough to carry on such a debate. But you're right, contemplating death in the correct fashion leads to a deep understanding that can't be rivaled. I think of the poem Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross. This is one of the most beautiful representations of this type of contemplation. Incidently Lorena McKennet adapted it to song in the most beautiful rendering. And she's a pagan. She says in the liner notes that she found real Truth and passion in the deep love the writer expresses for his God. : : On a dark night, Kindled in love with yearnings--oh, happy chance!-- : I went forth without being observed, My house being now at rest. : In darkness and secure, By the secret ladder, disguised--oh, happy chance!-- : In darkness and in concealment, My house being now at rest. : In the happy night, In secret, when none saw me, : Nor I beheld aught, Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart. : This light guided me More surely than the light of noonday : To the place where he (well I knew who!) was awaiting me-- A place where none appeared. : Oh, night that guided me, Oh, night more lovely than the dawn, : Oh, night that joined Beloved with lover, Lover transformed in the Beloved! : Upon my flowery breast, Kept wholly for himself alone, : There he stayed sleeping, and I caressed him, And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze. : The breeze blew from the turret As I parted his locks; : With his gentle hand he wounded my neck And caused all my senses to be suspended. : I remained, lost in oblivion; My face I reclined on the Beloved. : All ceased and I abandoned myself, Leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies. : For anyone interested, the book Dark Night of the Soul (2 books originally) is an exposition of the poem, and is part of a larger composite work beginning with The Ascent of Carmel (3 books). : You can find the text of Dark Night here: : http://www.ccel.org/j/john_cross/dark_night/dark_night.html : The Ascent of Carmel here: : http://www.ccel.org/j/john_cross/ascent/ascent.html : Many classic works available online here: : http://www.ccel.org/

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