Advent 2 2015

<The lack of a belief in magic and miracles and spiritual mystery in our modern life is a downfall and a poverty. A human life is worth as much as the respect it holds for these mysteries. We retain the child in us to the extent that we honor these mysteries. Look how children have open, wide-awake eyes. They know that they are surrounded by mystery. They are not yet bitter or world-weary; they still dream. We destroy the mystery because we sense that we have reach the boundary of dreaming….Living without mystery means a life with no Wonder, no gasp when confronted with daily miracles, unable to see the beauty in the world all around us. It means living with our heads down, our ears covered, immersed in our own preprogrammed soundtracks, not listening for the sudden giggle of a child or a bird's song, unavailable to notice the glorious golden light of Autumn splashed across our path, taking our journey for granted and not going beyond the world of calculation and exploitation. Living without mystery means not seeing the crucial processes of life at all and even denying that they exist and can bring life and joy and rejuvenation. ― sort of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, sort of