I am periodically prone to ambushes from the adversary -- or something -- that let me know I've wasted my life and that all this spirituality business is a rationalization. A dodge. So I know very well how to be a skeptic.
Deep faith is only that of the skeptic who prays.
Moreover,
There is some collusion between skepticism and faith: both undermine human presumptuousness.
Back when I first dabbled in philosophy, I was drawn to existentialism. In hindsight, I was probably just depressed, because if depression had an ideology it would be the meaninglessness of existentialism.
Dávila has many aphorisms that go to this darker side of life, for example, how could he say this if he didn't know this?
He who does not search for God at the bottom of his soul finds nothing there but mud.
Or this:
When providence gives us the destiny we desire, we soon discover that to accept it requires a desolating resignation.
Indeed,
Who is more than the miserable site of an epiphany?
But Señor, I find your little epiphanies to be quite helpful. Don't be so hard on yourself.
Self-satisfaction is pathetic proof of lowliness.
Men are less mediocre when they do not think themselves obligated not to be.
Maybe you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed?
Man is nothing but the spectator of his impotence.
Any satisfaction is a form of forgetfulness.
That's not very promising. Have you made no progress?
There is no spiritual victory that is not necessary to win anew each day.
That's at least a form of victory, no?
Every life is an unsuccessful experiment.
He who wishes to avoid grotesque collapses should look for nothing in space or time that will fulfill him.
Nothing? Are you sure you're not an existentialist in disguise?
The briefest commotion of the soul makes us feel that our existence is like a grave that is being filled.
Man does not have the power to do anything important. Only to hope that what he does will have an important result.
Now, on the other hand,
God sometimes prunes our branches like an impatient gardener.
And
Faith in God does not solve problems, but makes them ridiculous.
Defeats are never definitive when they are accepted in good humor.
40 comments:
Every life is an unsuccessful experiment.
Oof - I felt that.
I'm haunted by something Churchill -- who accomplished as much as it is possible to accomplish in a single lifetime -- said when he was out of power in the late '50s: "I have achieved a great deal to achieve nothing in the end." Nothing in space or time sufficed.
Later he said "I feel like an aeroplane at the end of its flight, in the dusk, petrol running out, in search of a safe landing" -- a spectator of his impotence.
We all wrestle doubt daily. What a drag , and it never lets up. Fie. There is wisdom in smoking a little pot periodically to keep one's head in the Good Zone. God did not create the cannabis plant to just sit around looking pretty. Use her. The gifts of God for the people of God. Amen
I’ve always felt (presumed) that presumptuousness is original sin.
Gagdad, arise ye and smite the adversary this day. Thank you Good Dr.
We must remember, those who are not against us are for us.
How is everyone doing? I'm getting by OK. To feel virtuous daily, floss your teeth. This builds morale. Move up to washing dishes. Escalate to food shopping, rise even higher to cooking and eating a nutritious meal, leave the dishes in the sink for the next day, and cap it all off with a satisfying nights sleep. We'll all be right as rain with this regimen. Sound as a hound. And we had best be. Many of us will go over the top tomorrow.
The early morning assault was a success! Objectives met. Now consolidating the position and planning an advance. Who is with me?
Did you know: Life is a war? You are a soldier? You can put on the armor of God?
Did:
You know this world is always taking?
You know your heart is close to breaking?
Jesus calls us to lay down our heavy burdens.
Weary traveler, restless soul, you were never meant to walk this road alone.
Someday soon we'll make it home.
It will all be worth it, so just hold on.
Weary traveler, you won't be weary long.
God only knows what you've been through.
God only knows what to say about you.
God only knows the real you.
Regards, Colonel Trench. Carry on.
So I typically fall behind here when working on a post or series of them, and then catch up. For the last few months, actually since May, I've been wrapped up in one (well, 17 posts in one, so far... yeh...) but feeling the lack of OC led me to a rather unexpected, possibly questionably Raccoon-ish thing to do. I drive into work twice a week, and I discovered that it was possible to, instead of putting on the radio or podcasts, I could have my phone read me the last few OC posts during my drive in and back.
Oddly enough, it's been rather enjoyable. It's easy to have it repeat a line or paragraph while driving, it's kinda fun figuring out the puns it stumbles over, and it makes the mindlessly foolish commute, into a wonderfully useless activity.
It's also spared ya'll more than a few unnecessary comments (the posts on Being almost made it from my 'notepad' to comments, but you recovered nicely and it wasn't needed).
This is... what, the 2nd? 3rd? break in that time? Anyway, hi Julie & Gagdad, just wanted to say I only appear to have dissappeared, and I hope this hiatus also fails.
Van
Hi Van! I never would have thought of using text to speech for a post, but that's rather brilliant for anyone who needs to listen rather than read.
Good morning One Cosmos community.
Today, a sinner goes out into the world with the best of intentions. Pray for me, friends. My relationships are filled with tension and strife.
I cannot see the correct way forward. Is there a correct way forward? Is it not to remember God and to surrender all to Him at every moment? What other way is there?
Pray for me, friends. I hurt.
Your faithful servant, Trench
;-)
Yet another tremendous day breasted as if it was a storm-driven comber; oh to slide down the frothy backside of the giant wave and into the slumber of the bed...the warm embrace of a loved one...a temporary stay of travail.
I've tasted suffering; I've been embraced by the painful buffering; I've been bound by doubts. But a melody is made when You play these rusty keys; we must be tuned like instruments. I know - even in the madness, there is peace
Drowning out the voices all around me; through all of this chaos You were writing a symphony, a symphony....
Rest well, beloved of Christ ye all, peace be with you.
Love from Trench.
Good evening all and sundry. Are we of good cheer? In my misshapen hands I hold a bottle of very old, very expensive Scotch whisky. I do not drink, so I ponder this bottle and ask, "What is the universe trying to tell me right now?" There is a message in everything.
Good morning. Did you floss your teeth today? If not, do you plan to?
Here is a podcast by two artificial people discussing OCUG:
One Cosmos Under God Discussion
That was weird. How disorienting it must be to be famous -- to constantly hear oneself being discussed in the third person.
Wow, that is crazy - aside from a few weird mispronunciations, I would not have guessed that was an AI conversation. That, and I doubt that very many real podcasters would spend that much time dissecting the blog's contents without going off on major tangents, and while maintaining a level of objectivity without getting lost in the weeds.
I'm still waiting for Feser's Immortal Souls: A Treatise on Human Nature, which I'm hoping will be suitable blogging material, or at least provide the basis for an intelligent dialogue.
Julie I noticed the misprounciation of the blog's name as well. However it actually isn't a mispronounciation in the way we think, since the blog title is:
One Cʘsmos
I don't know which alphabet that "O" comes from, but the pronouncuation might be correct for all I know.
I was bummed it wouldn't play from my phone for my drive, but... yeah... weird. It also definitely captures the, what... the 'archetype' of host & sidekick? Interesting.
Watching the news out of Florida today, I hope Mrs. G's mom is doing ok.
Indeed. I fully expect my place near Sarasota to be seriously damaged this time (barely escaped Helene). But that's only stuff. We're safely out of state now, and my thoughts are for our neighbors in the area, many of whom are older and could not easily evacuate.
Glad you were able to evacuate, Technully. I hope you and your family stay safe, and that the damage is as minimal as possible.
We lived in Broward, inland from Ft. Lauderdale, still have friends there. A lot of them don't have the means to evacuate. Earlier this week I thought they weren't going to get hit by this one too badly, but watching all the tornado warnings going through where we lived has us worried.
That's a coincidence, Technully -- my mother-in-law is in Sarasota and got flooded out of the house. Wife was visiting there trying to help her out, and now they're stuck in a Sarasota hotel, but at least one that can withstand a cat. 5 hurricane. It's been too chaotic around here to think about blogging...
Glad to hear they are in a safe place; they'll be in our prayers.
Prayers out to everyone!
Panel, your ABCs. Absolve, Bless, Consecrate. Forgive, Uplift, Offer. You all are hereby deputized. You are apostles of the Word. Go forth with only your sandals and one tunic. Visit all of the settlements. Speak the Word. Share the herb and the wine of the people. Go amongst them and light fires of faith among the benighted ones.
After report back here and tell us what happened. TY.
Yep!
Tomorrow is Indigenous Peoples Day. Please show love to the indigenous near you. On this day I customarily travel out to Zzyzyx, California, to meet with a small band of Mohave indigenous whom have resisted contact and avoided assimilation for centuries. University interns staffing the Zzyzyx pupfish research installation say the pupfish pond is routinely raided by the band and they want it stopped. Numbers of the critically-endangered pupfish continue to plummet. Offering the band trout or catfish in lieu of the pupfish has not put a dent in these raids. I expect I will have to endure another tedious meeting with Tah-wah-bah-nee, the band's front-man, about respecting the sacred pupfish without eating it.
But anyway, get out there, show love. Trench is about one fourth Absaroka, so maybe its my day too.
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! Dr. G, did you know you were a prominent Costanoan in a former life? You supplied hard-to-find materials for canoes and were held in very high-esteem. The ocean-going canoes made with your stuff are so durable some still exist today in museums. There is one such in Port Hueneme I believe.
You say, right, such baloney. But Colonel T and Petey have met in sidereal space. That should tell you something.
To Indigenous Peoples Everywhere: A Hearty Happy Columbus Day!
Happy Human Sacrifice Day.
I was hoping to enjoy this one, but it is not recommended: . I don't think I could wring a single post out of it.
That's unfortunate. He seems reasonably intelligent on Substack, but on the couple of occasions there's been a note or a post that might have been fodder for an interesting conversation you can only comment if you pay to subscribe.
It's mostly a generic history of science with a lot of flowery adjectives tossed in when physics starts getting weird in the 20th century. Reminds me of what the Aphorist says: Only ideas save us from adjectives.
Good Evening. How is everyone? Enjoying the slanting autumnal sunlight? The sublime way the shadows lengthen in the gloaming?
Let us reflect today on how thankful we are for each other.
Remember the words of Jesus. "I came not to be serve, but to serve." Jesus spoke to two apostles who stated they wanted to be be beside Jesus, to his left and to his right, when full glory came to pass. Jesus advised the apostles that the two persons who would be beside him were "to be appointed."
The two turned out to be condemned thieves. The thief on the right cross said to Jesus "Remember me when you come into your Kingdom." Jesus replied to him "This very day you shall sit beside me in Paradise."
His faith brought him instant salvation. Something to think about. Doubt is everywhere, doubt happens everyday. But it is not the way.
Love from the Trenchite faction inhabiting SouthEastern Cali.
Love from
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