John’s gospel begins with “In the beginning was the Word. . .” so that we understand that even at creation, when God spoke the universe began. (I realize, of course, that I am pulling some quotes out of context here to serve my own purposes.) As a working poet, meaning that I work at my poetry, there are barely a few successes out of mostly amateur attempts. For a poem to have its strongest meaning, a poet works for succinctness and the best possible word. Even long poems that are well-crafted have been worked on until the essence of each word is brought forth. Prose writers have it much easier, but they too must be careful in word choices.
All this to say that over the years I have collected words that carry particular meaning for me. A friend once gave me a small blank book bound with a paisley pattern on red cloth. It became my repository for sayings that were important for me at the time. I began my record of quotes in 1985 and have been adding to them ever since. Sometimes I forget to do this, so that I’m only about halfway through the book even now. But I want to share some of these sayings with you, and perhaps they will take on different meanings for you:
- You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it. – Carl Jung
- Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force. – Dorothy Sayers (English writer and theologian)
- We must go slowly – there is not much time. – Women’s Theological Center, Boston
- For years I wanted to be older, and now I am. – Margaret Atwood, Canadian writer
- When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist. – Dom Helder Camara – priest
- Before I was enlightened, I chopped wood and carried water. After I was enlightened, I chopped wood and carried water. – Zen monk
- The early bird may get the worm, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese. – heard on Prairie Home Compani
- The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. – Frederick Buechner, Presbyterian minister and writer
- To confess that Christ is Godlike is now seen to be not so important as to affirm that God is Christlike and the Christlike love is the way God intends for the running of the Cosmos. – Bishop K.H. Ting, China
- Every human face is an icon of Christ, discovered by a prayerful person. – Catherine de Hueck Doherty
Joseph the lost will return;
Jacob should not sink into sadness.
Those who sit in the grief house
Will eventually sit in the garden. – Hafez, Islamic poet - Parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth. – Peter Ustinov
- We need the church. Christianity is not a solo activity. – Brian Jones, in Christian Century
So there you have a few samples from my book. I hope you find something worth remembering about them. We are becoming a culture of text messaging, with its abbreviated way of communicating, and as that takes place, we are losing some beautiful words and sounds and expressions. Let us hope for their preservation.
