Keeping company
01/08/16 05:24
I have many friends that I have never met face to face. Most of them are authors, whose words I have read. Some writers offer a deep connection that keeps me coming back to read more. The advent of Internet blogging has provided me an additional window on some of these friends. The briefer, more informal writings help me to see how that individual thinks and processes information. One of those friends with whom I’ve never shared the same room is Parker Palmer. His books and ideas have been pivotal in my way of understanding myself and my calling. His blog frequently inspires me and, on more than a few occasions has inspired my own.
Last Wednesday, Parker included a beautiful Mary Oliver poem in his blog. Mary Oliver is another of those friends I have never met. Here is that poem:
Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds
will never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.
Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.
I am a firm believer in seeking answers to questions. One of the things I love most about scientists and others who employ systematic methodologies to seeking answers is that they contribute to our understanding of the world. I read there words of Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist who has an understanding of how plants convert the energy of the sun into sugars that can be used by other plants, fungi and animals to sustain life. Her scientifically accurate analysis of how grass nourishes a mammal helps me and others to understand the complex photosynthetic and metabolic processes.
Analysis, however enlightening, does not in the end remove the sense of wonder. That is something that I treasure about Kimmerer’s writing. She never loses her respect and joy at the processes she observes. More importantly, with each new truth that she discovers, she understands that there are even more questions to be answered, even more mysteries to explore. From what I know, her being another friend I have never met, she has never lost her sense of wonder at the ways of plants.
It is the last two lines of Oliver’s poem which are most inspiring for me today: “Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.”
Note that she doesn’t say, “Let me condemn those . . .” or “Let me argue with those . . .” or “Let me make enemies of those . . .” in reference to the ones who think they have answers. Only “Let me keep my distance.” As I read, I imagine a respectful distance. I imagine Oliver to be saying, “I have no need of thinking I have the answers. The truth is never something that is fully possessed.”
I know some of those from whom Mary Oliver chooses to keep her distance. After a long time of searching they experience a “Eureka!” moment and convince themselves that the search is over. The discovery they have made seems sufficient for their quest and from that point on they think their discovery answers all of their questions. Other, in my option more interesting scientists, make a discovery and use it as a springboard for more explorations. Each new discovery raises a thousand new questions and they understand that ultimately the truth is always beyond our grasp. They abandon their certainty and open their eyes to the wonder of on-going exploration.
Still, Oliver’s poem invites no enmity between us and those who think they have the answers - only a respectful distance.
And, with joy, Oliver speaks of those whose company she chooses to keep: “Let me keep company always with those who say, “Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.
Like Parker Palmer, I am delighted that Mary Oliver is one of those people who can say “Look!” and cause me to laugh in astonishment and bow my head. Her words give me joy and offer such a deep response to a world that otherwise might feel drab and dreary. Instead they bring delight and awe and wonder into the world in such a way that makes me want to look again, to discover even more questions, to explore even more deeply.
I have long considered myself to be a bit of a scholar. I love to read and research and to seek wisdom and truth knowing fully that wisdom and truth are goals and not items that can ever be fully possessed. I enjoy the process of putting the fullest capacities of my rational mind into discovery. My field of research has, for the most part, not been the natural world, but rather the world of human ideas. I revel in the words of philosophers, ancient and modern. I find deep joy in the juxtaposition of concepts in poem and prose. I find endless possibilities in the exploration of words and ideas. It is my way of honoring the commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” I have long believed that the love of God is well expressed in rational thought and intense mental activity. There is no threat to wonder caused by intense academic study. It is only the belief that one knows all the answers that separates us from the love of God. Searching for more truth and light keeps the passion of love alive.
With Oliver and Palmer and a great community of other friends and thinkers, I find great joy and energy.
“Let me keep company always with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.”
Last Wednesday, Parker included a beautiful Mary Oliver poem in his blog. Mary Oliver is another of those friends I have never met. Here is that poem:
"Mysteries, Yes"
by Mary OliverTruly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds
will never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.
Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.
I am a firm believer in seeking answers to questions. One of the things I love most about scientists and others who employ systematic methodologies to seeking answers is that they contribute to our understanding of the world. I read there words of Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist who has an understanding of how plants convert the energy of the sun into sugars that can be used by other plants, fungi and animals to sustain life. Her scientifically accurate analysis of how grass nourishes a mammal helps me and others to understand the complex photosynthetic and metabolic processes.
Analysis, however enlightening, does not in the end remove the sense of wonder. That is something that I treasure about Kimmerer’s writing. She never loses her respect and joy at the processes she observes. More importantly, with each new truth that she discovers, she understands that there are even more questions to be answered, even more mysteries to explore. From what I know, her being another friend I have never met, she has never lost her sense of wonder at the ways of plants.
It is the last two lines of Oliver’s poem which are most inspiring for me today: “Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.”
Note that she doesn’t say, “Let me condemn those . . .” or “Let me argue with those . . .” or “Let me make enemies of those . . .” in reference to the ones who think they have answers. Only “Let me keep my distance.” As I read, I imagine a respectful distance. I imagine Oliver to be saying, “I have no need of thinking I have the answers. The truth is never something that is fully possessed.”
I know some of those from whom Mary Oliver chooses to keep her distance. After a long time of searching they experience a “Eureka!” moment and convince themselves that the search is over. The discovery they have made seems sufficient for their quest and from that point on they think their discovery answers all of their questions. Other, in my option more interesting scientists, make a discovery and use it as a springboard for more explorations. Each new discovery raises a thousand new questions and they understand that ultimately the truth is always beyond our grasp. They abandon their certainty and open their eyes to the wonder of on-going exploration.
Still, Oliver’s poem invites no enmity between us and those who think they have the answers - only a respectful distance.
And, with joy, Oliver speaks of those whose company she chooses to keep: “Let me keep company always with those who say, “Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.
Like Parker Palmer, I am delighted that Mary Oliver is one of those people who can say “Look!” and cause me to laugh in astonishment and bow my head. Her words give me joy and offer such a deep response to a world that otherwise might feel drab and dreary. Instead they bring delight and awe and wonder into the world in such a way that makes me want to look again, to discover even more questions, to explore even more deeply.
I have long considered myself to be a bit of a scholar. I love to read and research and to seek wisdom and truth knowing fully that wisdom and truth are goals and not items that can ever be fully possessed. I enjoy the process of putting the fullest capacities of my rational mind into discovery. My field of research has, for the most part, not been the natural world, but rather the world of human ideas. I revel in the words of philosophers, ancient and modern. I find deep joy in the juxtaposition of concepts in poem and prose. I find endless possibilities in the exploration of words and ideas. It is my way of honoring the commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” I have long believed that the love of God is well expressed in rational thought and intense mental activity. There is no threat to wonder caused by intense academic study. It is only the belief that one knows all the answers that separates us from the love of God. Searching for more truth and light keeps the passion of love alive.
With Oliver and Palmer and a great community of other friends and thinkers, I find great joy and energy.
“Let me keep company always with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.”