Night Thoughts

People who educate themselves, who live by their conscience,
who seek wisdom in daily life, are the most longing-filled souls
on earth. I am fortunate to know a few of these.

Gandhi said at a crossroads in his education that he once
believed God was Truth, but had come to understand that
Truth is God. What a conscientious wisdom to find. What
a shift from conformity to responsibility.

There are many who repeat the word "Amen" until it
literally turns into "Money."

I was delighted to learn that when Icelanders are asked
if they "believe" in God, they are apt to say no, that they
"accept" God. It is more of a welcome than a claim, more
of a steady embrace than a followed script.

All this talk of happiness now...

Is it a conspiracy? Is it a means by which people shine the
surface brighter so as to deflect attention from the depths?
The kinds of happiness which I am invited to seek most
often make me want to take a nap.

Happiness? It has its moments, its resonant epiphanies,
but in some forms it's overrated, too often a pyramid game.
If it excludes grief and witness, compassion and mercy, our
sadnesses and instructive solitudes, it loses some meaning.

I go on living among the self-educated, conscientious and
longing-filled souls who awaken my life.

Their lives touching mine provide a tenderness which makes
my heart stronger.

A kind of happiness which is deep, enlivening.

DL