Friday, April 15, 2011

On Pain & Beauty

The Grey Goose

"He was suddenly overwhelmed by the revelation that what makes life worth living is, precisely, the emotions. But, then -- this was awful! -- maybe girls with their tears and laughter were getting more out of life. Shattering! He checked himself: showing one's emotions was not the thing: having them was. Still, he was dizzy with the revelation. What is beauty but something that is responded to with emotion? Courage, at least partly, is emotional. All the splendour of life. But if the best of life is, in fact, emotional, then one wanted the highest, purest emotions: and that meant joy. Joy was the highest. How did one find joy? In books it seemed to be found in love -- a great love -- though maybe for the saints there was joy in the love of God...So, if he wanted the heights of joy, he must have, if he could find it, a great love. But in the books, again, great joy through love seemed always to go hand in hand with frightful pain. Still, he thought, looking out across the meadow, still, the joy would be worth the pain -- if, indeed, they went together. If there were a choice -- and he suspected there was -- a choice between, on the one hand, the heights and depths and, on the other hand, some sort of safe, cautious middle way, he, for one, here and now chose the heights and the depths."
-Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy

2 comments:

  1. hmm, the heights and the depths. I love Sheldon, and I surely miss this book. Oh the grey goose...

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  2. Wow, cool post. I’d like to write like this too – taking time and real hard work to make a great article… but I put things off too much and never seem to get started. Thanks though. https://progressivepain.net/

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