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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Extraordinary and Eternal

The thing that made me fall madly in love with Rilke in the first place was this:

Winning does not tempt that man. This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively by constantly greater beings.
And also:
What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights us is so great! If only we would let ourselves be dominated as things do by some immense storm, we would become strong too, and not need names. When we win it's with small things,
and the triumph itself makes us small. What is extraordinary and eternal does not want to be bent by us.

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It is natural to go through life experiencing peaks and troughs. In fact, it is the natural order of the world. We ebb and flow. Ebb and flow. Always somewhere in the continum of flux. It is how we grow, the way we move in this ocean of the living.

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And I think that Rilke is all about how to move in the flux. Winning does not temp the man. If only we would let ourselves be dominated as things do by some immense storm. Perhaps what we are all in need of is a great trouncing! By something so extraordinary and eternal that we would forever be marked and changed by the experience. Thrown to and fro until we learn to cling and at the same time let go. Be taken right to the edge, so that in the face of every ounce of fear that has ever considered living inside of us... we could stand with a bold and courageous heart against the small things that make us small.

3 comments:

Bob said...

Interesting thoughts!

I feel we are always out of our depth...such powerful forces are at work all the time....but we refuse to recognise this.

Angela said...

Hey Bob, I believe you are right, that there are powerful forces always at work. Always out of our depth, like how you put that. Hope you are well. I found myself missing you this week and wanting to connect. Glad you came by for a visit.

breathe as me said...

bending with the wind and the storms and remembering inside those storms it is all transient... what blows in today blows out tomorrow... what we inhale we exhale... the tides rise and fall...

and remembering the same thing during the peaks... moving and swaying and allowing and surrendering...

and just experiencing it all...

( by the way, i think it does often take a great trouncing to wake us up...)