Wednesday, December 24, 2008

 

Holiday Prayer


A loved one is going through a difficult illness and, on top of the big issues, some smaller, but not insignificant, annoyances, exacerbated by bureaucrats, have cropped up to make matters worse ... okay, making the bureaucrat squirm was a minor consolation.

One thing that never occurred to me was that somehow the universe was interested. Neither I nor my love sense any animus or support, approval or condemnation from above and beyond.

Strangely, people fear indifference but I find it comforting. Life sucks ... and sometimes doesn't ... and sometimes is the exact opposite of that ... and then you still die. How horrible a thought it is that every sling and arrow we suffer was loosed by some anal retentive bean counter capable of making a cosmos full of wonder but obsessed with the minutia of the brief flickerings of ephemerals like us.

On the other hand, we have had many close friends and relatives -- good, intelligent and loving people -- tell us that they are praying for us. And I find myself genuinely grateful for their efforts. We may not think it will do us much good with the universe but it is comforting to bask ourselves in the warmth of their shared humanity.

That's all the holiness me and mine need.
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Comments:
"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."

Marcus Cole, Babylon 5: A Late Delivery from Avalon

Best Wishes for a Happy Christmas to you and yours.
 
And the same to you, Ian!
 
In lieu of prayers, I offer up my thoughts. I'll be holding you both in my heart. May the bureaucrats wither before you, modern medicine deliver on its promises, and the big issues melt away.

And at least there's comfort in knowing this was nothing personal. A lot of people can't understand that, but it's much easier to deal with such things when we know there's no Big Beard In the Sky out to get us, innit?

There's little enough I can do from way over here, but if you need a sympathetic ear, you know where to find me. Best of luck!

Oh, and Joyeaux Solstice!
 
Cheers, all!
 
In lieu of prayers, I offer up my thoughts. I'll be holding you both in my heart.

That's what I think prayers are ... kindly thoughts hoping for the best and expressing shared humanity. I'm as genuinely grateful for your, Ian's and TN's thoughts as for any prayers and for the same reasons.

Happy Humanity Day!
 
Yeah, and a bet you'd be an atheist in a foxhole too...or at least an agnostic...if anyone could ever get you in a foxhole.

Do take care of yourself and your loved one.
 
... if anyone could ever get you in a foxhole

They tried, they tried ... but I out foxed 'em.

Thanks for the thought.
 
"One thing that never occurred to me was that somehow the universe was interested."

Ah, but it is interested! There are collections of atoms that you refer to as "loved ones" that are not indifferent at all ;)
 
Belated best wishes to you and your loved one.
 
Thank you.
 
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