HEAD(hed), (n.) 1. the top part of the human body or the front part of an animal where the eyes, nose, east and mouth are. "Your brain is in your head." DIBS(dibz), (n.) 2. a thick, sweet syrup made in countries of the East, especially the Middle East, from grape juice or dates. [Arabic "debs"]--World Book Dictionary, 1976.
One probably wonders what I’m working on. As an Independent Scholar, as I am not attached to a University, I am writing a commentary on the first book of a personal journal written by a 2nd Century Roman Emperor. In that book he lists 16 names and describes what each person contributed to his life. That’s the short version. I’ve covered the first 8 so far and hit a wall. Now I’ve gone back and am editing Chapters 1-3 to keep my mojo going. Not sure when I’ll be done but hopefully by years’ end. I already have another project lined up.
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What Is A "Dark Night Of The Soul"? Suffering In Love
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"One dark night,
fired with love's urgent longings
-- ah, the sheer grace! --
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled."
(St. John of the Cross, the mid-1500's)
One aspect of the "the dark night of the soul" can be described as that time in a person's life when God wants to draw him/her closer to Himself and that person has either no desire for God and resists His wooing or that person hears God's call and follows.
When The Lover calls, the Beloved at first is overwhelmed with unconditional love and may resist, but when at last giving in to the call, the Beloved realizes one has a decision to make, another "dark night," as it were. One must either leave the current state (mind, heart) and steal away "fired with love's urgent longings" or remain in the dark night of separation from God.
The night is also dark because the soul is being led by God into a "night" of uncertainty, of taking The Beloved away from everything he or she once knew . . . a night of pain, of second-guessing, or tears, of dying. Again, a "night" of decision. The Beloved overshadows with grace if only the Beloved would accept it . . .
. . . and in John's poem, grace is accepted and The Beloved goes to meet The Lover on a dark night, fired by love, sneaking out of the house . . .
One probably wonders what I’m working on. As an Independent Scholar, as I am not attached to a University, I am writing a commentary on the first book of a personal journal written by a 2nd Century Roman Emperor. In that book he lists 16 names and describes what each person contributed to his life. That’s the short version. I’ve covered the first 8 so far and hit a wall. Now I’ve gone back and am editing Chapters 1-3 to keep my mojo going. Not sure when I’ll be done but hopefully by years’ end. I already have another project lined up.
I'm nearly finished reading Joan Didion's collection of essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem. The book was discovered through another book I was reading, Jon Krakauer's Eiger Dreams . If Jon felt this book was good enough to pack along on a mountain climbing expedition, then I'm interested. Took me three tries, but I finally found my copy on Amazon. One of the best book buys I've made. Joan selected the title of this book from William Butler Yeats' classic poem, Second Coming . The book title is shared with one of her larger essays, a record of encounters with people in the 1960's drug culture. Didion's book is divided into three distinct parts: "Life Styles In The Golden Land," a collection of articles capturing the California experience of the 1960's; "Personals," a few of essays of the first-hand nature; and "Seven Places Of The Mind", some thoughts about those parts of California that are now long gone. One essay...
