From Cynicism to Love

"Pity would be no more, If we did not make somebody Poor; And Mercy no more could be, If all were as happy as we."
William Blake - The Human Abstract - Songs of Experience

Blake here asserts that pity only exists because man has created the state of poverty, and likewise that we have created happiness and unhappiness and therefore we need mercy to console the unhappy. These are difficult comments to attack, and strike me in a new way each time I read them.

Ghandi once said "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

He is right.

Let's forget reality for a moment and view the world idealistically. If all people acted the way Christ did, there would be no need for mercy and pity, there would be no evil, and there would be no hate.

Back to reality, we are not all like Christ, nor are we all Christian. So where does this leave us?

Let's now examine this from the opposite perspective. If we all did behave as Christ, and had from the beginning, there would have been no need for him to come. If we had behaved as Christ from the start he would have no purpose to serve. Some could argue that he therefore still served no purpose, but I would beg to differ.

Humans are not like Christ. We do not love fully, we do not always choose the right path, and we (Christians) need his guidance.

So lets take Blake head on, and explore his thoughts a bit more. His statements are quite true but he neglects a number of key facts. Without unhappiness there can be no mercy, but without unhappiness there can be no happiness. Without Pity there can be no Joy.

Blake's Poem ends: "the Gods of the earth and sea Sought through Nature to find this Tree, But their search was all in vain: There grows one in the Human Brain."

The middle of the poem is concerned with the creation of peace through fear, as well as Cruelty, false humility, Mystery, and Deceit.

These are all creations of man, yes. I would argue a few new ideas.

Love is the only force that cannot be held back,
Like Thunder it shakes the earth.
Like a great wave it pushes all else away, under, out
It is the only thing you get more of the more you give it away.

Without love there is fear
Without love there is hate
Without love there is nothing
But take heart, love does not keep score

Love does not grow tired of waiting,
Like the prodigal son, you are welcomed back by love
Wrapped in its arms so strong until you finally give in
Love will not give up on you,

There is no limit on love, you cannot be left out
All who want shall receive if they will only give
All that is required is all you have
All your hate, lies and guilt must be cast away

Dive in headfirst
Dive in to love
Don't check to make sure its deep enough, it is, I swear
Dive in to love, the Love that before the world was made is

Many things he said, all were important
But above all remember this
Faith, hope, and love will be all that remain
But the greatest? Love.

A few other thoughts on love:

There is only one happiness in life -- to love and to be loved.

George Sand
1804-1876, French Novelist

“Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is.”

Gary Zukav

“We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.”

Mother Teresa

And a personal favorite from a book that means so much to me:

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”


Morrie Schwartz - Tuesdays with Morrie