Deuteronomy 6-10
“The millions are awake
enough for a physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for
effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred million to a poetic or
divine life. To be awake is to be
alive…We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical
aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in
our soundest sleep. I know of no more
encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by
a conscious endeavor. It is something to
be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a
few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the
very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the
highest of arts. Every man is tasked to
make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most
elevated and critical hour.”
Walden, Thoreau
One of the greatest pitfalls of man is to choose not to be
alive. To be alive is to choose a life
of discipline, sacrifice and hard work.
Life is the greatest concept and conscious life is the greatest
gift. Unfortunately it is as Thoreau
stated, only one in a million will choose it.
The great misfortune today that I suspect was untrue in Thoreau’s day,
is that popular culture is continually lulling us to sleep and now it has been
coupled with technology, which makes it like anesthesia.
The greatest key to being alive is to choose daily, sometimes
moment by moment, to live in personal communion and relationship with God.
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