The Inner Valley

Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings. *******   ✍ Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( Copenhagen, Denmark, 5 May 1813 ~ Copenhagen, 11 November 1855). ◙ Peter Nicolai Arbo

Gracias quiero dar al divino Laberinto de los efectos y de las causa s Por la diversidad de las criaturas Que forman este singular universo, Por la razón, que no cesará de soñar Con un plano del laberinto, Por el rostro de Elena y la perseverancia de Ulises, Por el amor, que nos deja ver a los otros Como los ve la divinidad, Por el firme diamante y el agua suelta, Por el álgebra, palacio de preciosos cristales, Por las místicas monedas de Ángel Silicio, Por Schopenhauer, Que acaso descifró el universo, Por el fulgor del fuego Que ningún ser humano puede mirar sin un asombro antiguo, Por la caoba, el cedro y el sándalo, Por el pan y la sal, Por el misterio de la rosa Que prodiga calor y que no lo ve, Por ciertas vísperas y días de 1955, Por los duros troperos que en la llanura Arrean los animales y el alba, Por la mañana en Montevideo, Por el arte de la amistad, Por el último día de Sócrates, Por las palabras que en un crepúsculo se d

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago, Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.  *******   Excerpt from `Song of Myself´. ✍ Walt Whitman (West Hills, Hantington, Long Island [U.S.], May 31, 1819 ~ Camden, New Jersey [U.S.], March 26, 1892).    ◙ Jacopo Comin ~ "Tintoretto".

Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."       And he answered:       Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.       And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.       And how else can it be?       The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.       Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?       And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?       When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.       When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.       Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."       But I say unto you, they are inseparable.       Togeth

That is no country for old men. The young In one another's arms, birds in the trees – Those dying generations – at their song, The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long Whatever is begotten, born, and dies. Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect. An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing For every tatter in its mortal dress, Nor is there singing school but studying Monuments of its own magnificence; And therefore I have sailed the seas and come To the holy city of Byzantium. O sages standing in God's holy fire As in the gold mosaic of a wall, Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre, And be the singing-masters of my soul. Consume my heart away; sick with desire And fastened to a dying animal It knows not what it is; and gather me Into the artifice of eternity. Once out of nature I

Lin Hui of Kia took to flight, Pursued by enemies. He threw away the precious jade, Symbol of his rank, And took his infant child on his back. Why did he take the child And leave the jade, Which was worth a small fortune, Whereas the child, if sold, Would bring him only a paltry sum? Lin Hui said: “My bond with the jade symbol and with my office Was the bond of egoism. My bond with the child was the bond of Tao.” “Where egoism is the bond, Friendship is dissolved When calamity comes. Where Tao is the bond, Friendship is made perfect By calamity.” “The friendship of wise men Is tasteless as water. The friendship of fools Is sweet as wine. But the tastelessness of the wise Brings true affection. The savor of fools’ company Ends in hatred.” ✍ Thomas Merton (Prades, France,  January 31, 1915 ~ Bangkok, Thailand, December 10, 1968). ' The Way of Chuang Tzu ' . ◙ Gustave Doré  ******* La Huí