Skip to main content

Learning from the World

Everyone dies. It's what they do. What good does caring do anyone?

It's a paraphrase from Sherlock the BBC series. I've been watching it (again) whilst waiting on planes and other modes of transportation. It's delightfully well written and acted and I find myself fully immersed in the programs. I also, incidentally, like that they're so long - it makes time for a story arc to fully develop and for characters to grow and change.

Travelling the world does things for your perspective, whether it's the conversations you have with other brave travelers (because let's be honest, traveling is a brave thing - not in the sense of having to avoid dangers, because we mostly live in a fairly safe world, but rather in the sense of leaving one's comfort zone and getting out into the world; the farther away from home you travel, the more brave one must become) (although, with the advent of jet travel, some of that bravery is mitigated by the speed at which one travels - maybe travelling by train and boat was slower and less reliable, but it was still part of the adventure and made one adventurous) or if one can get a taste of the local flavor (knowing that living someplace foreign is healthy if terribly difficult at times)...

And I put that in the perspective of what's happened in Florida. Because it's just tragic. It really is. And while there's a certain kind of fatalism about the quote from Sherlock above, I'm interested in the question - what good does it do?

What good does it do to care?

It's not as easy a question as it seems. I'm still thinking about it (obviously). I don't know that I have any conclusions. But what I do know is this:

I can't not care. I am compelled to care by something that is as much a part of me as breathing. I can sooner force myself to stop breathing than to stop caring. I love. I care.

I love you. With all my heart and soul, I do. You are glorious and wonderful and beautiful - which is the right term - beautiful... Full of beauty... Perfection in your complete humanity, any alteration diminishing what is so delightfully radiant...

I will never, ever stop loving you. Even when you hurt me so much I can scarcely think... I stand with my heart ripped asunder and my soul exposed and raw... And I love you. Intensely. Completely. With utter and reckless abandon...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baptism

Yesterday Ellie was baptized. She turned eight on January 27, 2020, and she made the decision to be baptized. I want to tell you a little bit about Ellie. I have never met a child that is quite like Ellie. She is full of life and fire and joy and light. She knows no fear and is infectious in her passion for life and for goodness and for FUN!!! Above all things, she seeks the joy and fun in life. She is also wickedly clever and funny, she’s a delight to be around and makes everyone feel so good. Because she is happy, she wants everyone else to be happy. I first met sweet Elizabeth in 2018, and on the day I met her she was not feeling well. We decided that a movie would be a fun thing for a sick little girl, so I brought one of my favorites to share with her - The Neverending Story. When I got to the house, I picked her right up. It had been a very long time since I was able to pick up a girl, and she snuggled right into my arms. Her poor sick body was warm, but I was more impressed ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Excommunication

My heart is heavy this morning. I read that Kate Kelly and others are being brought up on Church disciplinary action. For those who are unfamiliar with the process/proceedings of LDS Church discipline, it can be a bit mystifying. There are several levels of censure that the Church may impose. These range from a simple removal of some privileges for a short period of time to the most severe action - excommunication. When one is excommunicated, the person's membership in the Church is terminated. It is a very extreme measure, and for the faithful it can be a very difficult thing to consider. What people don't understand - what is nearly impossible for someone outside the proceedings to understand - is the amount of love felt. It's discipline. It's intended to be harsh (at times). And it's intended to be unpleasant. But it is done with love and care for the person. Since excommunication is such an extreme measure, it is really only very rarely applied. There are ...
18 comments
Read more

Ephesus

Paul got around. Ephesus is right on the Aegean Sea, on the coast of present-day Turkey. Yesterday he was in Galatia, which was much more towards the middle of Turkey. And when he actually wrote these letters, he was in Rome... So the man could travel. He probably walked. Today's item of interest comes from chapter one in Ephesians. Verses 18 and 19 are particularly interesting: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power This is not the first time Paul talks about an inheritance. In Galatians he talks about the inheritance that comes of being part of the Abrahamic Covenant. He notes that we are joint-heirs through and with Christ. In Ephesians, he uses the word "adoption" - that we are adopted as the Children of Jesus Chris...
7 comments
Read more