Sunday, July 09, 2006

Winning? Really?


From someone who has had his fair share of them...I have decided that no-one ever wins a fight

9 comments:

mister tumnus said...

reminds me of this bit from 'the sound and the fury' by william faulkner:


'When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight oclock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfather’s and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it’s rather excruciating-ly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father’s. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools.'

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

same sentiment but a much better collection and arrangement of words than I could manage - I am particularly moved and stretched by the line 'they are not even fought'

...going to ponder that one today whilst in the heat of the city

mister tumnus said...

'victory is an illusion...' makes me remember the tendancy of the church i used to go to to march and wave flags 'proclaiming victory' over whatever (the land, the people).

it also reminds me of leonard cohen: 'i've seen your flag on the marble arch. but love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah'.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

'a cold and broken hallelujah' god, save us from our stupidity - am glad god makes him/herself small enough to hear us - just wish i could return the favour

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

ps, oh those wonderful masturbatory songs - so glad that's all behind me...sorry it's still around

mister tumnus said...

for a terrible moment there i thought you were referring to the works of mr cohen...

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

gosh no, if only we could embrace songs such as he writes in church....if only

Nikita said...

Stumbled across your blog whilst searching for fellow bloggers in Guernsey. I myself am just discovering religion after battling with addictions for many years. I lived with abuse, mental illness and a lot of alcohol but slowly I am learning that this was all my doing, and God is somehow helping with that. I am just 17.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

Niki

I hope your journey into faith is a good one. For what it's worth I think religion, too often, avoids the dark nights of the soul (as it seems you know much about) by hiding behind platitudes and false assurances. Nothing is more irrelevant than feeble religious piousness in the face of stark life-threatening darkness. Religion can be guilty of sentimentalising the light and demonizing the dark.

I think if we turn to spirituality to find only a positive and wholesome attitiude, we use spirituality to avoid life's dark beauty and more importantly what we learn from it and how we grow through the struggles. Religion then easily becomes a defense and avoidance.

Of course this is not the real purpose of religion, and the religious traditions of the world, full of wisdom and goodness are our best source of guidance in the dark.

But there is real religion and there is the empty shell of religion. We need to know the difference. Our lives are at stake