Ten Thousand Truths?
There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousand truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.
~ Henry Ward Beecher, American preacher, lecturer, advocate for women’s suffrage, known for antislavery speeches.
My wish for you in 2023: May you find the truths that are seeking inlet in your heart.
(First published in April 2020)
(Header photo is copyright free by Giani Pralea at Pixabay)
As luck would have it, while searching for the quotation at the beginning of this post, I also found a poem by Laura Kelly Fanucci that has been shared on social media sites by hundreds of thousands. You might have already seen it. I thought that Fanucci's poem complemented the quotation about the truths that are sent to us while our minds are "shut up to them" so that they "bring us nothing".
The story of this poem has been told many times and I thought it would be a good idea to revisit it now, in 2023.
Although the coronavirus pandemic is never mentioned, it is clear that the poem is written for all of when we were (are) in self-imposed isolation.
The poem reinforces the importance of living a more purpose-filled life, a life of gratitude and appreciation for the small things that make our daily living worthwhile.
"When this is over, may we never again take for granted
A handshake with a stranger
Full shelves at the store
Conversations with neighbors
A crowded theater
Friday night out
The taste of communion
A routine checkup
The school rush each morning
Coffee with a friend
The stadium roaring
Each deep breath
A boring Tuesday
Life itself.
When this ends
may we find
that we have become
more like the people
we wanted to be
we were called to be
we hoped to be
and may we stay
that way — better
for each other
because of the worst."
Beautiful sentiments by the preacher and very relevant words by Laura. I trust that as much as I was enjoying life before this pandemic, I hope that how people are with one another today will last once this has passed. 🙏🤗
Sally, I think this crisis will forever change our lives in many ways that we can’t even fathom right now. But we certainly will be grateful for all the wonderful blessings in our lives, including friends like both of you….(I have always been grateful for that!)
Yes, I think we all hopefully will be more grateful for our blessings in this life and more aware of how we spend the time we have while here.
Madonna, I think we all will come out of this with a different perspective of our lives. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Happy Easter.
Superb tableau et superbe photo ,
Elena P.
Merci Éléna. Quelle belle surprise de voir ton commentaire! Joyeuses Pâques à vous deux et à la famille.