So
often our friends are openings into wisdom. Recently, I had afternoon tea (really old fashioned) with a dear and insightful friend. We
treasure these times for the conversation, or sometimes we read to one
another poetry that we have found meaningful. This day was just meandering around our
lives and how we perceive the end of life, and what is after this life. We
talked about the thin veil to seeing that seems to be getting thinner with such
incredible new knowledge of the universe. What are our personal connections
between scientific learning and religious or philosophical thoughts and mores?
How do we connect this past with now? Do we?
Does it matter? All questions, little resolve.
I thought of this as I was standing on the
upper level of the San Francisco Art Institute recently. This sixties-modern
building in early morning could have been Thebes
or even Petra
“Negative Capability, that is when man is capable of
being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after
fact & reason — “
John Keats, Letters of John Keats to His Family and Friends
Coincidental that you write of end of life today, Duff. A friend has died, and I commented to my son that "he died too young." My son replied that the man had lived several years beyond 70, so was on bonus time. I will turn 70 in May, and I had to really think about that - "bonus time." End of life remains a mystery even though we are more technologically advanced than just a few years ago. I really don't fret to know what is beyond the thin veil. I intend to try to live as fully as possible on my bonus time. Your photo has captured a fine interpretation of that thin veil. On another note, I came upon the Book of Questions when I was cleaning my bookshelves. I opened it randomly and the question was, "How would you feel about your body being dumped in the forest after your death?" There is no right answer, of course - but it made me think about my own true feelings and what my response might be. Perhaps I'll use some of the questions in the book on my blog. My grands are here, so it's busy. Hectic but nice. (A bonus for me!)
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