Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, Feb 25, 2009




How frail the human heart must be - a mirrored pool of thought.

- Sylvia Plath, poet, who met her poet husband Ted Hughes
On this day in London, 1956.


I have read Sylvia Plath. In many ways, exquisite in her mastery of words, and in her expression of feelings. Overpowering at times. But, as to the human heart and its frailty, I don’t disagree with her, I just think that it is not always the case. The human heart can be desperately frail. But. In my view, the human heart is powerful, and strong, and resilient.

Think about your own heart. Think of all the assaults it has withstood. Think of all the times you have thought that your heart would be ripped apart and destroyed. And then you found that it was not so. It might have taken some time. But one’s heart can rebound, from the worst of assaults.

The key to this resiliency of the heart is the knowledge that one is loved. Loved beyond all the “changes and chances of this mortal life” that assail us. And this is why Christians have the “God” they have. (Or, some Christians anyway.) We, and many other religionists, have the intuitive intelligence to know what we need to survive being human with zest and courage and confidence. Christians have a “God” whose ultimate nature is “Unconditional Love”. We know that no matter how much we have “screwed up” (if I may quote our President), we can move beyond. The heart can be so susceptible to crushing injustice and callousness! But if we know that we are unconditionally loved, then even when all the vulnerability of our heart is exposed, we cannot be destroyed. We know that we can reflect the tender thoughts and feelings we have, as in a “mirrored pool of thought” – as we must! - and that we will not be destroyed.

Religion is fraught with problems. But – bottom line – the Gospel anchors us in God’s Unconditional Love. Wrapped in this, our hearts shall never fail, nor be conquered.

Brian+

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