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Humble Pie, of Sorts
This entry was posted on 2/4/2010 8:41 AM and is filed under secrets to peace.
I have a confession to make.
Yesterday, when I mailed out the Secret with
the quote from Henri F. Amiel, I was being
rather myopic. Focusing on how the wording
“turned me off” I, quite possibly, missed
Amiel’s meaning.
When Henri died he left, as his legacy over
17,000 pages of journal writing behind. This
work was translated into English, by Mary
Ward, between Amiel’s death in 1881 and
Ward’s death in 1920. I could not ascertain
an exact date. The tenth edition of the
translation is available as a free 301 page
download at Project Gutenberg. I will read it
when I feel moved to do so.
In skimming this writing and examining some
of the other quotes attributed to Amiel, I
think that I mis-read his quote. It is quite
possible that I focused on the wrong part of
the message, entirely.
Evidence seems to indicate that what Amiel
was attempting to verbalize was not that
nature could fail, but that our mission here
is to become the greatest expression of
Nature we are capable of becoming. When we do
so, I suppose it is obvious that Nature has
succeeded in us.
For me, the word “succeed” implies, by its
very nature, the possibility of not
succeeding, which I still maintain nature can
never do. I think of a flower. Most flowers
have a short life. They spring forth with
some type of greenery, rush towards an
explosion of color, and then wilt, either
finished or in preparation for another
season, another cycle. When my rose bush has
buds which do not open, do not complete their
demonstration, as roses, I have never once
considered the possibility that nature
has failed. When people, go through their entire
lives and never consider that they are
something more than the flesh and bones of
their body, I do not think of nature as failing.
What I really did not consider, however, is
that in such cases, Nature is not supported.
It is a resource which has not been utilized,
in the unexamined life.
Nature, of course, can not fail. It does not
fail when a rose bud does not become an open
expression of the Rose. It does not fail when
a human stays stuck in a concept of self
which does not expand beyond some
hydro-carbon based idea. But, perhaps
succeeding, in these examples, is a word
without opposite. Perhaps, succeeding is when
Nature has full expression, or at least
greater expression, since we may not have a
clue what full expression looks like.
I am saying all of this to point out that
even a person (me) who prides themselves in
being open minded can sometimes fixate on one
small idea and miss the bigger picture. I am
also writing to thank, those of you, who
called me on my near-sightedness. When I did
more research on this 19th Century
philosopher he had some pretty profound
things to say. For example:
"The man who has no refuge in himself, who
lives, so to speak, in his front rooms, in
the outer whirlwind of things and opinions,
is not properly a personality at all. He
floats with the current, who does not guide
himself according to higher principles, who
has no ideal, no convictions--such a man is a
mere article of furniture--a thing moved,
instead of a living and moving being--an
echo, not a voice. The man who has no inner
life is the slave of his surroundings, as the
barometer is the obedient servant of the air
at rest, and the weathercock the humble
servant of the air in motion."
I received several thoughtful responses
yesterday, which opened my eyes to the
possibility that I was taking this man’s
writing out of context. Of all the research,
I did yesterday, on Amiel, I think this above
quote best clarifies what he meant by the
quote I referenced. Nature succeeds when we
connect with the divine within us; when we
become co-creators and are not just blown
through life like a fallen leaf.
Thank you, each, especially those who
participate in these writings, both publicly
and privately, for making this great fun and
more importantly for turning a monologue into
a dialogue and opening the door for greater
understanding.
I appreciate each of you and value your
perspective, even when, maybe especially
when, it differs from my own.
Thank you!
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