My husband, Mark, was a soldier in WWII. He enlisted as soon as the Army would take him. As a young man of 18 he felt the truth of the mission. Mark was in the Signal Corps, climbing polls and connecting the wires for communication between the troops. This good man was buried in October, 2018, Ther…
My husband, Mark, was a soldier in WWII. He enlisted as soon as the Army would take him. As a young man of 18 he felt the truth of the mission. Mark was in the Signal Corps, climbing polls and connecting the wires for communication between the troops. This good man was buried in October, 2018, There is a strong resonance between the fascists in Germany in the 1930s-'40s and those now in America but not the same.
Thank you for leading me to the, Letter to an American”, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and to Christine's comment.
I was wavering with participation here. You remind me of a poem by Rumi:
Thank you Fern! From what I think I know of Rumi: that he was writing as one of an upper class left over after the Mongol destruction, it is amazing that he is holding out the light in the vicinity of such massive dark matter. This poem is a beautiful torch for us all in all times. As a European I felt well to read this letter to Americans from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and the question: would we do the same for you? We have to remind ourselves more often than we do. So, you have that close connection to WW II; I was born 1945 and always felt I have just been given all the opportunities and advantages. My father went to Finland as a doctor with the Swedish Ambulance during the war. Had the Nazis taken Sweden he would have been gone, because his mother was Jewish, and he had an idea that someone else would take care of my four older siblings if he had done this for Finland. My grandfather and the Ribbings are old nobility, so I am a bit of a left over upper class, after the liberal and social democratic reformation of the Swedish society! No comparison to Rumi. 🙂
Olof, you are a precious messenger.
My husband, Mark, was a soldier in WWII. He enlisted as soon as the Army would take him. As a young man of 18 he felt the truth of the mission. Mark was in the Signal Corps, climbing polls and connecting the wires for communication between the troops. This good man was buried in October, 2018, There is a strong resonance between the fascists in Germany in the 1930s-'40s and those now in America but not the same.
Thank you for leading me to the, Letter to an American”, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and to Christine's comment.
I was wavering with participation here. You remind me of a poem by Rumi:
THE GUEST HOUSE
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
even if they're a crowd of sorrows
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
***
Thank you, once more, Olof. 🌿
That's very good, Fern.
Thank you Fern! From what I think I know of Rumi: that he was writing as one of an upper class left over after the Mongol destruction, it is amazing that he is holding out the light in the vicinity of such massive dark matter. This poem is a beautiful torch for us all in all times. As a European I felt well to read this letter to Americans from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and the question: would we do the same for you? We have to remind ourselves more often than we do. So, you have that close connection to WW II; I was born 1945 and always felt I have just been given all the opportunities and advantages. My father went to Finland as a doctor with the Swedish Ambulance during the war. Had the Nazis taken Sweden he would have been gone, because his mother was Jewish, and he had an idea that someone else would take care of my four older siblings if he had done this for Finland. My grandfather and the Ribbings are old nobility, so I am a bit of a left over upper class, after the liberal and social democratic reformation of the Swedish society! No comparison to Rumi. 🙂