Passion

If I were to wish for anything I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of what can be, for the eye, which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating as possibility?

Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or, as quoted in The Art of Possibility, page 113.

God and war

For those interested in following another discussion currently taking place at Holden Village, see the God, War and the Law Web site and posts by Charlie Mays.

Eschewing comfort

From the quote in the comment box at whoopsy daisy! today:

To the degree we're not living our dreams, our comfort zone has more control of us than we have over ourselves. -- Peter McWilliams

From an interview with Jules Dervaes of PTF:

You must be prepared to sacrifice to achieve results and, also, to stay the course over the long haul. No dream of any worth can be realized cheaply. The fulfillment of a dream comes only at a cost; so, at every stage of its development, you must be willing to step up and pay the price—whatever it is!

Quote

It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment or the courage, to pay the price...One has to abandon altogether the search for security, and reach out to the risk of living with both arms. One has to embrace the world like a lover. One has to accept pain as a condition of existence. One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing. One needs a will stubborn in conflict, but apt always to total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying.

Morris L. West in The Shoes of the Fisherman. Quoted in Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? by John Powell, SJ, page 119.

(I just discovered another movie for my Netflix queue: The Shoes of the Fisherman [1968].)

Path to Freedom

From tomorrow's paper, a story about the Path to Freedom family: "O, Pioneers in Pasadena," by Joe Robinson.

"We believe that a step backward is progress," says Dervaes, a former beekeeper, teacher and constant gardener trapped in the wrong century. "Some people might feel we're regressing, but I feel we're progressing to a better life. We've lost that independence and the things that make us truly happy. The people that got us here must have done something right. We want to repeat that for the next generation."

And a short guide to beginning a micro-farm: "Novice's guide to an urban homestead."

Mouw's Musings

The president of Fuller Seminary now writes a blog at Mouw's Musings. Familiar title! But, undoubtedly, his musings will be much more erudite than mine.

Seeing things in a different way

Shhh...I'm not really here. But I couldn't resist linking to this article in the LA Times (via PTF): "She's L.A.'s Pedal Pusher," about a young woman, Monica Howe, who is promoting bicycle riding as "everyday transportation" in Los Angeles.

To ride a bike in L.A. is to examine the accepted ways of doing things [...] It's a way of stepping out and seeing things in a different way.