"Say, is there Beauty yet to find? And Certainty? and Quiet kind? Deep meadows yet, for to forget The lies, and truths, and pain? . . . oh! yet Stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?"
(From: Rupert Brooke: The Old Vicarage at Grantchester, 1912)
I try to make it my first line of defense to feel okay about taking care of myself and enjoying what's good in the world--that is, not feeling guilty that I do have much to enjoy and be grateful for.
There's a strong tendency, at least in my particular liberal American coastal elite culture, to feel guilty about enjoyment or preference. It's Yankee puritanism, I think, widely propagated and mutated into this weird liberal guilt and shame thing. I'd be interested in your view on it, coming from a different culture.
Like, do you feel guilty for having a safe and warm place to sleep at night, knowing that so many people don't have that? And if so, does that guilt make it impossible for you to even feel grateful for your blessing?
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And Certainty? and Quiet kind?
Deep meadows yet, for to forget
The lies, and truths, and pain? . . . oh! yet
Stands the Church clock at ten to three?
And is there honey still for tea?"
(From: Rupert Brooke: The Old Vicarage at Grantchester, 1912)
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Thank you, Soren. That was just perfect. There is honey still for tea.
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I try to make it my first line of defense to feel okay about taking care of myself and enjoying what's good in the world--that is, not feeling guilty that I do have much to enjoy and be grateful for.
There's a strong tendency, at least in my particular liberal American coastal elite culture, to feel guilty about enjoyment or preference. It's Yankee puritanism, I think, widely propagated and mutated into this weird liberal guilt and shame thing. I'd be interested in your view on it, coming from a different culture.
Like, do you feel guilty for having a safe and warm place to sleep at night, knowing that so many people don't have that? And if so, does that guilt make it impossible for you to even feel grateful for your blessing?
Reply
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