Apropos Of Nothing

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 153, 29 June 1940, Page 2 (Supplement)

Apropos Of Nothing

By ... , ReO.,C. W. Chandler

LIFE- is full of paradoxes.., Not • the least;, of ; {these .;' is that which pertains .to :bur individual security. Banks : and insurance companies occupy, the largest buildings in every <-..; ciftr /They breathe stability. With "the. rarest possible -exceptions . they , are 'as ■ stable, as they - look. .They, com-, prise mankind's -most* stolid .bulwarks against adversity. Between them they seem to be equal to every emergency. By their aid we minimise biir risks. Now.- for the/ paradox:.' Life is utterly, .Insecure. We can bank on nothing.-.We /live' by/faith./.We.'are a'; hair's "breadth from disaster every :moment of/our, lives. We are iii-temporary . possession.' /.a physical .'mechanism .about which ,we '.know next to nothing.-.■■>;•.■:.■.,:■:.:•,-:; . . //.- The position ' is - analogous to a man ': sitting; at '..the ■wheel and working the controls':.of-.. a delicate machine . about" the internal operation of'which' he' is in ■ complete -, ignorance. The /engine stops, and out. he gets. From that moment he is a' disembodied spirit from the engine's point 'of' view.. Bereft of 'power. Just so are : we, as individuals, operating a. "machine". that .can; "peter ■■ out"../without a moment's warning, and thereby- strip our souls of every element' ol "tangible .reality. . ■.-.-.»'. ,■,'■■'■ ..'•':_-.. Clamping The Hatches '.{■, ">.;'',/..'y/ " K It's a'terrible thing to be certaln-about; anything. It'ia the 'element:of ''uncer-; /taanty/that lends interest to 'life' Once' the' mind . becomes .positive about;;. any . issue, it- is ..proof .against -.the further, revelation '.of ; truth. Too/ many' "-'U3 have clamped down the hatches oh our : thinking about a number.of grave issues. As a result, we are more-concerned about being consistent than we are about the truth..'-.:.- ■ //-,:. ---..:. /.-"' -:-':■ /-..' ■ To "unmake" the . mind when once'it •has been made up is a great "deal harder - than unpicking a garment -or than demolishing i building. Our mental edifices are not very sightly. They stand, like the rude dwellings of our forefathers amidst the concrete terraces of streamlined modernity:- -.-■ -■< ■ , ■/'// -, .;■'■:■ - Our instincts are miles ahead of /our intellects. Consequently conduct; is. less than one-tenth deliberate, anymore than .nine-tenths;. unconsidered. ; //other words, we are one part Jekyll and nine parts Hyde. Homo, Sapiens is,in .the pro- ■ cess . - of . • emerging. ; / He : has not yet emerged. He ■' has ' barely got •his/head out of the muck. The little bit that is '•' protruding gets kicked back during _ a period of mass desperation like/the pre sent. ■.'.■'■;■'■:": ;•;/', .".""/■'- /, •■'. The nations of ■ the world are much -.like a crowd of apaches. They are show- ; ing their love for peace by "knockin' 'er abaht." / When -they are suffering re- /- covery they will then begin to realise '/.what fools the-v have bepji. -:./'-./

We.Christians resemble children with blots on their copy books. When peace : is/restored,- I think' .'Sod' ought 'to "keep us-in," and make us do it all over again. Start again from- the beginning,' with the Faith'we have profaned. Maybe a'.] that is happening ..now/ is.the result of . our being made - to. "touch, toes."-- . ;• Too Sureof:Qatselves:' >.';<■' '-; One-of the main;'causes of our present /ills is that one or.' two .'men' too;. •'taiti of. themselves: aid' of' their' opinions! I:'once heard' of . a poor fellow who ' thought he'was a" poached egg. He was 'walking around looking for a piece of toast to sit on.' Other'men of -that ilk have* imagined themselves to be ; Napoleons '/arid Alexanders. There ; is no ;limit..to.'.tricks that "cocksiirencss" can play'with the mind. "Whom "the gods devour they'first make mad." When any man proclaims the Tightness of his cause .too vehemently, beware' of-'him. He -is seldom'right,- nor is ho- to be, trusted. Quietness "and'assurance always'go hand in hand.> -.. ]■"■.' '■:■■■■'- ,-'■'.:■ ;.-•;' ■■'. •='•_. -. 'I;''have seen 'tlie'wicked" in;.-.great /power,' and "Spreading ', himself';like'.; a /green bay tree. Yet he passed aWay, and 10, he -was'not; yea 'sought,' Him; but he-:•'could.'■'not /". be 'found,". -Say? /'.the ISsalmie't Lb all:the pbm'p of yesterday is; one.-with 'Nineveh. and .Tyre.'/ Whit .s'eeihe'd to' be-so'substantial proved to.be ;as/'iigh'i/a's*,a'iV/^4li'that''this age will bequeath'to posterity will l>e heaps of -steel"'"and../ concrete, like rubbish cast ■into''the void.'/ Only the intangibles will 'endure. Only those clear gains that have /been/ woven' by time into the character of the race lia've.any lasting quality. ,'.'lt is because. we are at the copy book stage.of'our spiritual development that we-so vainly, endeavour, to invest with some " enduring •;" 'quality': those .-' things which are ephemeral.'- '■'•'- Nothing is certain.''Nothing is secure: Ho who saves his'life shall' lose it. The very security for which '.; we.,, strive is "always ; beyond oUr reach. ..It: is the carrot that lures the donkey.on. Just when the poor v beast thinks'he"has his feet .upon- firm ground,. arid.is ready to grasp, the prize, everything/';dissolves into nothingness.. It is the' -.element of uncertainty that has brought' forth; the plaintive cry, "0 Thou Who-change'st not, "abide with me.".'..-',. -."-;. '"■'•■■ £'~■ " Bereft of God life 'is meaningless and futile. ."Much ado about nothing" can be" said of all our restless activity, un-less-there is a Divine purpose.- all /our striving. The sense of the' eternal in man'alone accounts for. the -recklessness with which he will "give and hazard all he hath" for the achievement of an ideal. Men will only fight for such .intangibles as truth, freedom and justice. .Whilst the Jekyll in each one of us may all too often be subservieut to the Hyde, it is to Jekyll that any appeal 'must be made that involves anything in nature of heroic sacrifice. ;

■:•• Only' the /truly.'; great ones such as Buddha, Confucius, Socrates and -Christ have--awakened .to the true nature of ?,reality/'Ka'gawa. and Gandhi: and other. -like souls have, grasped the meaning of the words that Jesus addressed -to the -rich young man'.;. "Sell aft that thou ■liast'.''/:'./arid/come, follow Mc." Possessions are a curse' when they give' men a '.false'- sense of stability. "Thou fool, this'night- thy., soul, may be required' of -tiibe.;" '-. Disillusionment,' so far. as'this world/is concerned,'- is the gateway that -leads to' enlightenment. -