Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Humanity I love you because when you're hard
up you pawn your intelligence to buy a drink.

- e.e.cummings, poet, born on this date, 1894

I’m devoted to e. e. cummings. Because, many years ago when I was a “young monk” I did a retreat for a private school for girls. And when one of the girls who participated graduated, she wrote a poem in her yearbook in the “miniscule” case a la cummings ….. and mentioned me as one of the people she was glad to have encountered. How sweet! That got me reading cummings – and for awhile, I eschewed capitalization! (Most of my friends now wish I would eschew the exclamation point!!! Dream on, friends!)

Because of the ability of human beings, when “hard up”, to pawn their intelligence and buy a drink, I have come to appreciate and love human character/nature in its reality. Bless poets like cummings for leading us to see the charm and mystery and paradoxical nature of ourselves.

“Pawning your intelligence to buy a drink” is, for me, a metaphor, and a theological principle at that. What it says is that when all else collapses – brain, reason, diplomacy, etc. – we human beings, if we are smart, sit down with our fellow human beings and have a drink and eat a good meal and chit chat with a little buzz on and listen to each other and consider each other as brothers and sisters. And when we awake in the morning a little hazy, we retain a little of the things we learned about each other.

Jesus was very smart. He knew that gathering together in thanksgiving was the quintessential setting for becoming open to each other, to “honouring” each other despite whatever uncomfortableness we might feel. Though we are fast losing it, this would be true of families – a meal together weaves webs of love and connection and sympathy.

I think it is important to recognize that we human beings are complex and brilliant. But that at critical moments when complexity and brilliance fail us, we must resort to basics if we wish to survive. Eat, Drink, Talk. Most important, Listen to each other, and be interested in each other. At base, we are all the same. Each and all worthy of respect and of honour.

“Humanity I love you”. This is a worthy life-giving idea to live by.

Brian+