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Aug 9, 2022Liked by Jonathan Geltner

Beautiful, thank you

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Beautiful reflections, Jonathan. When you contrast the Marian consent that is so different from the titanic quest to “save the world,” I am reminded of Desmond’s distinction between the gentle, almost invisible passio essendi, the receptive gift of being that is metaphysically prior, i.e., “before” but not in a temporal sense, to all becoming, and the conatus essendi, the striving in which all our modern projects of improvement, whether individual or political, are treated as comprehensive of human action. And it is lovely, too, the meditation on craft, and the intimacy of the hands and the earth, a freshness and a bond from which a different, sacred song may emerge. There is deep wisdom in actions that require slowness, contemplative care. The tales of wonder that simply appear quaint and perhaps impossibly distant to an age brought up in the virtual world become less so when silence is suddenly revealed to be a dark plenitude. Funny how the mundane world that fancies itself free of celestial daydreams and spiritual wool gathering more and more finds itself lost in disincarnation where the soul slumbers in soporific electric dreams. The gamut of enthusiasms fostered on social media never rise to the high dream, the oneiric realm where depths and height coincide. But I believe the poets are beginning to discover a new spring of hope, even as we wrestle with demons and apocalyptic anxiety.

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