Do you suffer what a French paleontologist called "the
distress that makes human wills founder daily under the
crushing number of living things and stars"? For the
world is as glorious as ever, and exalting, but for
credibility's sake let's start with the bad news. An
infant is a pucker of the earth's thin skin; so are we. We
arise like budding yeasts and break off; we forget our
beginnings. A mammal swells and circles and lays him
down. You and I have finished swelling; our circling
periods are playing out, but we can still leave footprints
in a trail whose end we do know. Buddhism notes that it
is always a mistake to think your soul can go it alone.
For the Time Being
distress that makes human wills founder daily under the
crushing number of living things and stars"? For the
world is as glorious as ever, and exalting, but for
credibility's sake let's start with the bad news. An
infant is a pucker of the earth's thin skin; so are we. We
arise like budding yeasts and break off; we forget our
beginnings. A mammal swells and circles and lays him
down. You and I have finished swelling; our circling
periods are playing out, but we can still leave footprints
in a trail whose end we do know. Buddhism notes that it
is always a mistake to think your soul can go it alone.
For the Time Being
Annie Dillard