Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

But at my back I always hear

Time's winged chariot hurrying near;

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

Thy beauty shall no more be found,

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long preserv'd virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust.

The grave's a fine and private place,

But none I think do there embrace.



Now therefore …..,
… 
Let us roll all our strength, and all

Our sweetness, up into one ball;

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Thorough the iron gates of life. …..

- Andrew Marvell, English poet, born
on this day, 1621, in Winestead-in-
Holderness, Yorkshire ( from “To his
Coy Mistress”)

It is not, does not have to be, a choice between tearing “pleasures ….. through the iron gates of life” and “deserts of vast eternity”! Isn’t that a great phrase! “Deserts of Vast Eternity”. It pictures beautifully what “Eternity” as painted by many religions would be: boring!

To my mind, everything, every state of being, is meant to be lived fully – and we will perhaps forgive Marvell if he is using this lofty image to try and seduce his girlfriend. This earthly Life, whatever Afterlife may be forthcoming - they are there to be lived to the full! No religion has ever been duller that when it has tried to minimize the enjoyment of this present Life lest it annoy “God” and “God” deprive you of the “next”. Very silly thinking.

There are, of course, some simple principles to guide us in all this, primarily having to do with deep respect of the other’s person. But on the whole, Life is filled with too many simple Pleasures to be enjoyed for it to have been either an accident or a trap! If “God” provides this, She must be a Delight!

I’ve heard “Eat, drink, and be merry” disparaged by many a pinched, puckered mind. To them I say “Fie”! I intend to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry as fully and judiciously as possible, in the sure and certain hope that, upon arrival at the Pearly Gates, I shall be welcomed by a charming carousing lot who have managed to ED&BM guided by the Light of Love.

Brian+