Wednesday 22 April 2020

Another beautiful day

I wake-up... at 03:30, with a migraine - third night in a row! But that aside... It's another beautiful day; and at least I was awake to appreciate it breaking, and to hear the dawn chorus take-over from the solo nightingale.

Over the last four weeks we have been experiencing the longest run of sunny early spring weather I can remember. This has made the... recent changes... into something of a golden era, when considered on a day-by-day basis - and that is how I have been considering them.

(That is, when I am not doing my circa hour-a-day of general, abstract, overviewing and prognosticating; results of which is what I what I tend to post here.)


A lot of what I am doing is meditative, in the sense of trying to become better at self-remembering, better at recognising that everything is alive and conscious; and more continuously-aware of the presence of Jesus Christ (the Holy Ghost) and the detailed creative activities of God.

This comes under the category of that imperative for Modern Man of becoming aware of that which is mostly unconscious - including those intuitions which we are so adept at denying, ignoring or suppressing.

Furthermore, is my attempt to enhance or strengthen 'thinking' in the direction of Final Participation - which means that my conviction that thinking is real, active and objective needs to become not-just-a-theory and develops into experiences.


Such experience is greatly rewarding, so long as I do not allow myself to be dismayed at how transient are my successes - which is inevitable in this mortal world.

When I am at my best I do not regard such imperfections and difficulties with life as being due to us living in a 'fallen' world; rather, I regard such limitations as being 'functional' (part of the divine plan for mortal life) and for my own good.

After all; it would not do me much good if I had as a routine the ability to experience each new day, in its many aspects of repetition and novelty. It is better for me that I am unable to sustain an ecstatic response to life; and am compelled to continue solving many variants of the same old problems, as well as having new problems challenge (and defeat) me on a frequent basis.

Thus I am encouraged to keep learning - about love, faith, and hope among many other things - which is what this mortal life is 'for'.


In some ways, the sunny and fresh days are not much distinguishable, one from the other, in terms of what I can do (and what I am allowed to do); but in other ways, every hour brings me up-against new limitations of my attitudes and knowledge, or reveals how partial and feeble were yesterday's (or last night's) 'answers'.

So I strive, and often succeed, in greeting each new dawn with hope and confidence.

  

14 comments:

James Higham said...

Until the weather changes and the rain sets in of course. But rain has a certain beauty to it as well, hush power.

Jacob Gittes said...

Minor point and not really about your wonderful post: the skies here have been unusually clear also at times, and I can feel the sun's rays more strongly. The lack of air travel is partly the cause. Make of that what you will... but jet contrails (or whatever they are) really do affect the whether and sunlight.

Epimetheus said...

That's interesting, that constant "failure" might be intended to provoke constant spiritual practice, as if to practice a musical instrument day after day. It's not optimal to play one song well once - it's best to keep improving and creatively embellishing that song, and to also move onto others more difficult.

Bruce Charlton said...

@J - http://spitfiresite.com/2010/09/battle-of-britain-15-september-1940.html

Bruce Charlton said...

@E - Yes - I find it helpful to recall the God is the creator and loves me; as creator he is able to make my life such that it is overall for my spritual benefit *potentially*, although it is up to me to make the best of the opportunities with which he present me.

Anonymous said...

A feel of Christian Animism about your post today - I feel that Christian Animists are at least partially correct whenever I step into the garden and smell the freshness, and feel the life.

Barry

Moonsphere said...

What a wonderful way for the powers of providence to work!

These weeks of sun have been a divinely sent challenge to those who seek to enslave us.

Bruce Charlton said...

@Barry - animistic Christian perleese!

Anonymous said...

Christian Animism - honest - there are such people - I'm not kidding. I was making a link between CA and the idea of original participation - everything is alive.

Ha - now scoff if you dare!

Barry

Epimetheus said...

There's a saying that keeps coming back to me: "Lessons will be repeated until they are learned." Challenges will be repeated until true growth is achieved, I guess...

Bruce Charlton said...

@Barry - You misunderstand; I have been animistic since long before I was a Christian

https://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/animism.html

So, I am now first a Christian, and the type of Christian (one descriptor, anyway) is animistic Christian. I have written scores of blog posts on this matter over the years - e.g. https://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/animism.html. In contrast, a Christian Animist would be an animist with some Christianised features.

Bruce Charlton said...

Epi - That's it, I think - except that sometimes (most often, it seems, nowadays) people will not learn; but instead harden their hearts and invert their values.

Epimetheus said...

So there's the morally-culpable spiritual failure of hardened hearts and inverted values, but also a kind of innocent spiritual dementia, where newly-learned spiritual insight trickles out of the mortal brain. No wonder we need an infinite well of living water...

Anonymous said...


"You misunderstand; I have been animistic since long before I was a Christian"

Oh, I see - sorry, I thought you were chortling at the concept. I shall read the linked piece with much interest.

Barry