In December of 1988, LIFE Magazine dedicated part of its issue to the
theme of the meaning of life. They queried the famous and the
not-so-famous. Garrison Keillor offered the following:
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To know and to serve God, of course, is why we’re here, a clear truth
that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernible
but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard.
But a little faith will see you through. What else will except faith in
such a cynical, corrupt time. When the country goes temporarily to the
dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees
and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word. Time to shut
up and be beautiful, and wait for morning. Yahooism, when in power, is
deaf, and neither satire nor the Gospel will stay its brutal hand, but
hang on, another chapter follows. Our brave hopes for changing the world
all sank within view of their home port, and we have become the very
people we used to make fun of, the old and hesitant, but never mind,
that’s not the whole story either. So hang on.
What keeps our faith cheerful is the extreme persistence of gentleness
and humour. Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith
rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through
storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and
flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids – all the places
where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through. Even in a time of
elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the
campfires of gentle people. Lacking any other purpose in life, it would
be good enough to live for their sake.
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Ursula, warming herself by your campfire...
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