ANN’S MUSINGS – Memento mori
Posted on 17. May, 2012 by Ann in Ann's Musings, Journal
I was at a memorial service the other day for a very great and kind man who died unexpectedly while fully and deeply engaged in life.
I was reminded of this 5th century fresco I have seen several times at the Benedictine monastery of Sacro Speco (Sacred Cave) in Subiaco, Italy. This ancient painting shows death on horseback, stomping on people of all ages and brandishing a sword against those alive.
What shocked me when I first saw that fresco and what shocked me again upon learning of this death and so many others is that life (unlike light bulbs) does not come with a guaranteed life span. All we can do is live the all the days of our years deeply and abundantly.
Joe certainly did.
Here is an excerpt from an introduction he co-authored with his wife in a volume about the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore.
“Our human world is a world shaped by symbols, by images. We are bound to select from and simplify the infinite complexity of what we perceive. Somehow we must choose and act, must decide what to value and strive for, what to fear and guard against. For what can be quantified, we may have recourse to computers and their algorithms to enable us to select, simplify and act. For what is humanly meaningful, individually and collectively, for what is imbued with feeling and integral to who and what we know or imagine ourselves to be, we resort to more open, multivalent and suggestive symbolism, to images.”
Joe was a stirring example to all who knew him — modest, curious, warm, and always able to see the spirit of things, not only the letter. It is my humble hope that Classical Pursuits gives inquiring adults convivial access to the world of symbols and images from whence we derive meaning.
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Ann, this is a beautiful remembrance of a dear friend and an enduring idea. Here is a haiku I wrote that speaks to the override of technology on our feelings of identity.
hi my name is sue
am I an algorithm
or just a number
dear Ann,
Thanks for your memento mori and the shocking fresco from Subiaco, Italy. Death is shocking though we are always reminded that it is part of life. At this stage we lose more and more dear friends, the fabric keeps getting ripped away. Just before I went to London this May partly on writing project I got the news of the sudden death of very dear dear Toronto/Zaragoza friend Jesus Ara, in Spain. They had been neighbours during crucial Toronto years here when we first arrived, and became part of our family and we of theirs. He and wife retired home to Spain some years ago but we kept in close touch. In fact it is with them that my friend Kay and I drove the camino to Santiago de Compostella together some years back, stopping at ancient villages, picnics each day, Jesus with his wonderful knowledge and love of Spanish culture and literature and a very down to earth ,kind and honourable man too, being a great companion. We are grateful for these wonderful friends and we feel grief at their passing. Your friend Joe was such a man. Best, Heather
Benedict lived and established a religious community in Subiaco where he eventually died and was buried with his sister Scholastica. The Benedictine Rule lives on.The Camino in Spain as well.
Very moving, Ann. Made me think of the Lament of Callimachus on the passing of his friend Heraclitus. Life affirming conclusion:
”…yet are your pleasant voices, your nightingales awake,
For death he taketh all away, but them he cannot take. ” Glad to learn of Benedict’s wherabouts, he makes a very fine digestif.