Maybe this was partly what Sunday Mass was for: to stop the whirling world outside the big doors and think.
A song keeps playing in my head, stuck on the same phrase like a needle skipping on the record–CDs and DVDs don’t do that.
You gotta know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
From The Gambler by Kenny Rogers of course. One of my sisters used to get disgusted because my dad would quote from guests and host of the Merv Griffin show. But I was always proud of him. He’d read daily papers front to back, watch the news. And he had a gentleness, a fairness without judgement of anyone. Merv Griffin isn’t Plato, nor is Kenny Rogers, but things come back at us from a base that’s laid in time and wisdom learned.
Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy is something I wish I’d read sooner in time. But whenever, it leaves its mark upon my mind. The important things of living are intangible, cannot be held nor seen and will never disintegrate unless to be forgotten–and even so, they are still there. Just not recalled.
Peace and beauty, wisdom and good. Unspoiled by human nature’s greed and self-importance. That’s where my mind is headed this Sunday day.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology