Re-Imagine

25/02/2023

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.

How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds will
never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.

Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.

Let me keep company always with those who say
“Look!” and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads. ~Mary Oliver

(Evidence: Poems https://amzn.to/3ZkHhBe)

25/02/2023

"Even when we have a sacred book, we still choose as truth whatever suits our own prejudices."

"Whose authority? The Old Testament? The New Testament? The Koran? People choose the book considered holy by the community in which they are born, and out of that book they choose the parts they like, ignoring the others. As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles. And so, even when we have a sacred book, we still choose as truth whatever suits our own prejudices."

— Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays (1950), Ch. XII: An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish, p. 81

Unpopular Essays is a collection of Bertrand Russell’s more controversial works, reaffirming his liberal values. Written to "combat ... the growth in dogmatism" on first publication in 1950 it met with critical acclaim and a wide readership. Unpopular Essays has since become one of his most accessible and popular books.

24/02/2023