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Thoughts taken from John Mark Comer's book, "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry." "Little moments throughout our day wake us up to the reality of God all around us." Pg. 121 Today by Mary Oliver   Today I'm flying low and I'm not saying a word. I'm letting all of the voodoos of ambition sleep. The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth.   But I'm taking the day off. Quiet as a feather.   I hardly move though really I'm traveling a terrific distance. Stillness. One of the doors into the temple.   Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tested, tried, tempted.1. to test (objectively), i.e. endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline ἔρημος: 2048 érēmos – properly, an uncultivated, unpopulated place; a desolate (deserted) area; (figuratively) a barren, solitary place that also provides needed quiet (freedom from disturbance). In Scripture, a "desert" (2048 /érēmos) is ironically also where God richly grants His presence and provision for those seeking Him. The limitless Lord shows Himself strong in the "limiting" (difficult) scenes of life. (érēmos) in the strict sense expresses a lack of population (not merely "sparse vegetation") https://biblehub.com/greek/2048.htm   "From the call of Abraham to the exile of Israel, God repeatedly shapes His people in lonely places. The Greek Old Testament (LXX) uses erēmos to translate the Hebrew midbar, the setting of Sinai revelation, tabernacle worship, prophetic preparation, and chastening wanderings. By retaining this vocabulary, the New Testament presents a seamless continuation: the same God who met Israel in the desert now meets His people in Christ."   The wilderness is a place of strength: "that's why, over and over again, you see Jesus come back to the eremos." P. 125   "The friend of silence draws near unto God." John Climacus Pg. 132. Lewis quote.   Come away          He said to them, "Come away          to a deserted place all by yourselves          and rest a while."                           —Mark 6.31 Come away. The world will turn without you. Let go of the "have to," the should, the ought. Notice what you set down: the weight of expectations, the feeling of proving yourself to yourself. Notice how you feel, unburdened: At peace? Anxious? Free? Afraid? Waiting for the gavel to drop? Notice… What if it's OK? It's OK. Practice this sabbath exercise, this holy desertion so you may take it with you into the crowd. • You honor what is in your hands only if you hold it lightly. • Come away to the place of solitude where you already are, waiting for you. _________________      Steve Garnaas-Holmes  Unfolding Light  www.unfoldinglight.net    July 14, 2021   Published July 14, 2021 https://unfoldinglight.net/2021/07/page/2/  

Art: Flaming June, by Fredrick Leighton Welcome to Season 5 and the invitation to rest, pause and center.  For a link to the book "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry", please visit:  https://amzn.to/49k3yqX Sounding the Seasons Tangled in time, we go by hints and guesses,  Turning the wheel of each returning year. But in the midst of failures and successes We sometimes glimpse the love that casts out fear.  Sometimes the heart remembers its own reasons  And beats a Sanctus as we sing our story, Tracing the threads of grace, sounding the seasons  That lead at last through time to timeless glory.  From the first yearning for a Saviour's birth To the full joy of knowing sins forgiven, We start our journey here on God's good earth  To catch an echo of the choirs of heaven. I send these out, returning what was lent,  Turning to praise each 'moment's monument'. by Malcom Guite "Sounding the Seasons."   iOde My private portal to a world between, My placeless place of virtual exchange, I see through you though you remain unseen And make familiar what you once made strange.   You make a stranger means to make me 'friend' Whom I can 'touch' to 'like', to show I care. You make a means to every unknown end And make one little screen an everywhere.   I am familiar with a hundred faces, All famished for their fifteen minutes fame, I am half present in a hundred places But never present in the place I am.   I pull you from my pocket when you call I touch and swipe as I am bid to do, You do my bidding too, you do it all, What will you make of me, or I of you? https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/iode-a-little-poem-for-my-iphone/      

Welcome to a preview of the year's coming events, and Forbidden Adventure's "Exploring Ancient England."  To purchase "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry," click here: https://amzn.to/49k3yqX For more information about the tour or to sign up for it, click here: https://www.forbiddenadventure.com/unlocking-england Jerusalem ["And did those feet in ancient time"] BY WILLIAM BLAKE And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon Englands mountains green: And was the holy Lamb of God, On Englands pleasant pastures seen!   And did the Countenance Divine, Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here, Among these dark Satanic Mills?   Bring me my Bow of burning gold: Bring me my arrows of desire: Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold! Bring me my Chariot of fire!   I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand: Till we have built Jerusalem, In Englands green & pleasant Land. Source: Preface to Milton a Poem. (1810)   ..So, while the light fails On a winter's afternoon, in a secluded chapel History is now and England. With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.  Through the unknown, unremembered gate  When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning; At the source of the longest river The voice of the hidden waterfall And the children in the apple-tree Not known, because not looked for But heard, half-heard, in the stillness Between two waves of the sea. Quick now, here, now, always-- A condition of complete simplicity (Costing not less than everything) And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well When the tongues of flames are in-folded Into the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one. The Little Gidding is the last of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets.

Art by Wendy Keller "For Unto Us A Child is Born" Winter Solstice Night—PODCAST 2:   One of four cardinal points where the earths elliptical  celestial paths  align. Thinking of you. Holidays, while wonderful, may not always elicit triumphant and joyful tidings. Loss and grief seem to weigh in more heavily during the season. I know we've felt it with the loss of our nephew from suicide a year ago, the recent death of my uncle and aunt just 9 days apart, dear friends who experience the loss of a spouse, or child, others I love going through divorce, miscarriages, children away from home or estranged. I see you. More importantly you are seen and known in heaven.   I'm reminded Jesus came into a very imperfect world as well. He didn't wait for the "opportune moment"  but rather came in the fullness or meridian of time, into difficult circumstances, money scarcity, roman occupation, unwed mother, chased by Herod and the list continues.   In the Book of Mormon, we read of an outsider prophet, Samuel, who visits the people on the Americas prophesying of the Saviors birth. He tells them, in lovely Lady Hawke fashion, the night the Son of God is born, the sun will set, but the earth will remain lit as if the sun were shining. As the day approaches, evil builds. And those in power set aside a date for the believers, who wait for such a sign. If the sign doesn't occur by that date, they will all be put to death. I'd like to read a bit from the Book of 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. ( And if you don't have a Book of Mormon, I recommend it! From any theological standpoint, it's' a fascinating witness of Jesus Christ, and one for consideration regardless of your personal beliefs or affiliations.) And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people. 5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite. 6 And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain. 7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass. 8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain. 9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet. 10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful. 11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers. 12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: 13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. 14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given. 15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. So in this spirit, as we wait, with this stubborn hope, as Kate Bowler names it, I wanted to share a message my brother in law, Richard Green delivered last Sunday, about how the Lord has been with him through the darkness he and his family have experienced over the last year.This is hope in the trenches. This is audacious faith in the face of loss. This is the promise of a Savior. I hope it will find you in the dark of this winter solstice night tonight. And as one of my favorite artists, Noah Kahn sings, "DOn't let this darkness fool you. All lights turned off, can be turned on. I"ll drive all night. I'll call your mom." I hope this message feels like a call from a loving mom. And I thank Rich and his wife Whitney and his daughters Calais and Hilary for their amazing examples to me, of living in hope.  Merry Christmas my dear ones.  

Gods answer is a baby. Artwork: Tshikamba, Nativity Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,     neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth,     so are my ways higher than your ways     and my thoughts than your thoughts. TOUR INFORMATION!~ https://www.forbiddenadventure.com/unlocking-england Unlocking Ancient England with Mandy Green March 13-27, 2026 With special Guests: Margaret Barker Tom Bree & Guy Olgilvy $4,800 USD price per person Double Occupancy $5,900 USD price per person Single Occupancy   For Beginning Biblical Hebrew Lessons at the discounted rate please visit: https://projectillumination.thinkific.com/courses/beginning-biblical-hebrew    

Whoever you are, wherever you are, I hope you find a home and a place in this glorious conversation here at Reflecting Light. Welcome home.  "Perhaps the secret of living well is not having all the answer, but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company." Rachel Naomi Remen You're invited to join me and other truth seekers in this ongoing conversation in the U.K., March 13-27th, 2024 with Margaret Barker, Guy Ogilve, and Tom Bree! For more information, please visit: https://www.forbiddenadventure.com/unlocking-england "Then, after the consecration of the Holy Sacrifice of God, because He wished us also to be His sacrifice, a fact which was made clear when the Holy Sacrifice was first instituted, and because that Sacrifice is a sign of what we are, behold, when the Sacrifice is finished, we say the Lord's Prayer which you have received and recited. After this, the 'Peace be with you' is said, and the Christians embrace one another with the holy kiss. This is a sign of peace; as the lips indicate, let peace be made in your conscience, that is, when your lips draw near to those of your brother, do not let your heart withdraw from his. Hence, these are great and powerful sacraments." St. Augustine, SERMON 227, The Fathers of the Church,(1959), Roy Joseph Deferrari, Genera editor,  also, Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons, vol. 38, p. 197. See also: Sermon 227 in The Works of Saint Augustine: A New Translation for the 21st Century, (1993), Vol. 6, part, 3, p. 255. Keep on Keeping on like a bird that flew. "Tangled up in Blue." Bob Dylan 1974

The Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene, July 22, honors this remarkable woman. This podcast is a updated version of the most recent information about this singular disciple of Christ and the illuminating path she forged forward for the rest of us.  Additional reading: 

The Saturdays of our lives are sometimes our darkest hours, as we wait, like disciples of old, for the new life promised in Christ. In this episode, Mandy speaks to this darkness as we wait and hope.  artwork: The Grey Havens, by Matt Stewart, as seen in the Middle-earth Collectible Card Game INTO THE WEST, Lyrics by Annie Lennox, Produced by Howard Shore Lay down Your sweet and weary head The night is falling You have come to journey's end Sleep now And dream of the ones who came before They are calling From across the distant shore Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face? Soon you will see All of your fears will pass away Safe in my arms You're only sleeping What can you see On the horizon? Why do the white gulls call? Across the sea A pale moon rises The ships have come to carry you home And all will turn To silver glass A light on the water All Souls pass Hope fades Into the world of night Through shadows falling Out of memory and time Don't say We have come now to the end White shores are calling You and I will meet again And you'll be here in my arms Just sleeping And all will turn To silver glass A light on the water Grey ships pass Into the West   READING: For Holy Saturday: Pg. 174-175 From: Have a Beautiful Terrible Day by Kate Bowler. (SO MANY GEMS IN THIS BOOK! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!) To purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TX23pE or on Target: https://www.target.com/p/have-a-beautiful-terrible-day-by-kate-bowler-hardcover/-/A-89186641#lnk=sametab   HEBREWS 12:5-12 "My son, do not despise the c]"> [c]chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 Ifd]">[d] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened usas seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no e]"> [e]chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

Today's podcast features guests, Adelaide Roberts, Miss Wyoming For America Strong and Tyler Schwab, President and CEO of Libertas International, an organization committed to the rescue and after care of girls imprisoned in human trafficking. It's a tough and tender conversation--and an necessary one. To beat an evil of this magnitude, it's going to take all of us! Please listen to the end if possible. For more information about how you can help or to sponsor a girl, please visit: Libertas International.  If donating, please enter: REFLECTING LIGHT PODCAST into the memo space.

Better late than never! Mandy returns with Easter Greetings and a look at the beauty of the mayhem the first Easter, as recorded in the Book of Mark. Wishing you all some beautiful Easter mayhem. xoxo art by He Qi: Women Arriving at the Tomb He Qi Copyright 2021. Limited use. To Purchase Kate Bowlers book:  https://amzn.to/4anG81J    

Are we willing to ride out our storms knowing the Lord is in the boat with us? Matt 8, Luke 5. Image Credit: Yongsong Kim, "The Hand of God.'  https://yongsungkimart.com/products/the-hand-of-god-by-yongsung-kim?variant=40700331393189

With all of the focus on love the past month, it's important to remember to love ourselves. Join Mandy as she discusses how we are each "wonderfully and fearfully made," (Ps. 139:13-18). Love After Love The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other's welcome, and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life. © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes  

When was the last time your rested? TRULY rested? When was the last time you ceased from doing anything--totally stopped and just emjoyed existence? If you're like me, it's been too long. And that's why I recorded this podcast.  Exodus 20: 8-11Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. All other quotes taken from Chapter 5 of Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson. https://amzn.to/3SZrUhp TRY IT! SET A GOAL TO CEASE FROM EVERYTHING A FEW TIMES THIS WEEK AND BUILD UP FROM THERE. It's harder than you imagine! (Which means the Elohim probably had an idea of how important it would become to us as humans!) xoxo. Mandy

Small Kindnesses  Danusha Laméris I've been thinking about the way, when you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by. Or how strangers still say "bless you" when someone sneezes, a leftover from the Bubonic plague. "Don't die," we are saying. And sometimes, when you spill lemons from your grocery bag, someone else will help you pick them up. Mostly, we don't want to harm each other. We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot, and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder, and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass. We have so little of each other, now. So far from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange. What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these fleeting temples we make together when we say, "Here, have my seat," "Go ahead—you first," "I like your hat." From Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection (Green Writers Press, 2019). Posted by kind permission of the poet.   Small Kindnesses grateful.org "Am I then really all that which other men tell of, or am I only what I know of myself, restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage, struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat, yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness," Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Who Am I."   Welcome to RandomActsofKindness.org randomactsofkindness.org 2024_RAK_kindness_calendar PDF Document · 8.5 MB

"And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been." Rilke Word of the Year: "Affection" noun af·​fec·​tion ə-ˈfek-shən  Synonyms of affection 1: a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something : tender attachment : FONDNESS She had a deep affection for her parents. Middle English affeccioun "capacity for feeling, emotion, desire, love," borrowed from Anglo-French, "desire, love, inclination, partiality," borrowed from Latin affectiōn-, affectiō "frame of mind, feeling, feeling of attachment," from affec-(variant stem of afficere "to produce an effect on, exert an influence on") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns Referench: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affection philostorgos: tenderly loving Original Word:φιλόστοργος, ον Phonetic Spelling:(fil-os'-tor-gos) Definition:tenderly loving Usage:tenderly loving, kindly affectionate to Reference: https://biblehub.com/greek/5387.htm For the full text of the Jefferson Lecture 2012, by Wendell Barry, please visit: https://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/wendell-e-berry-biography Photo by Guy Mendes Quoted excerpts from the lecture: "Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever," [Margaret] said. "This craze for motion has only set in during the last hundred years. It may be followed by a civilization that won't be a movement, because it will rest upon the earth.E. M. Forster, Howards End (1910) p. "The term "imagination" in what I take to be its truest sense refers to a mental faculty that some people have used and thought about with the utmost seriousness. The sense of the verb "to imagine" contains the full richness of the verb "to see." To imagine is to see most clearly, familiarly, and understandingly with the eyes, but also to see inwardly, with "the mind's eye." It is to see, not passively, but with a force of vision and even with visionary force. To take it seriously we must give up at once any notion that imagination is disconnected from reality or truth or knowledge. It has nothing to do either with clever imitation of appearances or with "dreaming up." It does not depend upon one's attitude or point of view, but grasps securely the qualities of things seen or envisioned. I will say, from my own belief and experience, that imagination thrives on contact, on tangible connection. For humans to have a responsible relationship to the world, they must imagine their places in it. To have a place, to live and belong in a place, to live from a place without destroying it, we must imagine it. By imagination we see it illuminated by its own unique character and by our love for it. By imagination we recognize with sympathy the fellow members, human and nonhuman, with whom we share our place. By that local experience we see the need to grant a sort of preemptive sympathy to all the fellow members, the neighbors, with whom we share the world. As imagination enables sympathy, sympathy enables affection. And it is in affection that we find the possibility of a neighborly, kind, and conserving economy." "But the risk, I think, is only that affection is personal. If it is not personal, it is nothing; we don't, at least, have to worry about governmental or corporate affection. And one of the endeavors of human cultures, from the beginning, has been to qualify and direct the influence of emotion. The word "affection" and the terms of value that cluster around it—love, care, sympathy, mercy, forbearance, respect, reverence—have histories and meanings that raise the issue of worth. We should, as our culture has warned us over and over again, give our affection to things that are true, just, and beautiful. It is by imagination that knowledge is "carried to the heart" (to borrow again from Allen Tate). The faculties of the mind—reason, memory, feeling, intuition, imagination, and the rest—are not distinct from one another. Though some may be favored over others and some ignored, none functions alone. But the human mind, even in its wholeness, even in instances of greatest genius, is irremediably limited. Its several faculties, when we try to use them separately or specialize them, are even more limited. The fact is that we humans are not much to be trusted with what I am calling statistical knowledge, and the larger the statistical quantities the less we are to be trusted. We don't learn much from big numbers. We don't understand them very well, and we aren't much affected by them." ((Who Owns America? edited by Herbert Agar and Allen Tate, ISI Books, Wilmington, DE, 1999,  pages 109–114. (First published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1936.) [Nature] "As Albert Howard, Wes Jackson, and others have carefully understood, she can give us the right patterns and standards for agriculture. If we ignore or offend her, she enforces her will with punishment. She is always trying to tell us that we are not so superior or independent or alone or autonomous as we may think. She tells us in the voice of Edmund Spenser that she is of all creatures "the equall mother, / And knittest each to each, as brother unto brother." (The Faerie Queene, VII, vii, stanza XIV.) "To hear of a thousand deaths in war is terrible, and we "know" that it is. But as it registers on our hearts, it is not more terrible than one death fully imagined. The economic hardship of one farm family, if they are our neighbors, affects us more painfully than pages of statistics on the decline of the farm population. I can be heartstruck by grief and a kind of compassion at the sight of one gulley (and by shame if I caused it myself), but, conservationist though I am, I am not nearly so upset by an accounting of the tons of plowland sediment borne by the Mississippi River. Wallace Stevens wrote that "Imagination applied to the whole world is vapid in comparison to imagination applied to a detail." (Opus Posthumous, edited, with an Introduction by Samuel French Morse, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1957, page 176.) "But we need not wait, as we are doing, to be taught the absolute value of land and of land health by hunger and disease. Affection can teach us, and soon enough, if we grant appropriate standing to affection. For this we must look to the stickers, who "love the life they have made and the place they have made it in." "E. M. Forster's novel, Howards End, published in 1910. By then, Forster was aware of the implications of "rural decay," and in this novel he spoke, with some reason, of his fear that "the literature of the near future will probably ignore the country and seek inspiration from the town. . . . and those who care for the earth with sincerity may wait long ere the pendulum swings back to her again." (Howards End, page 15, 112). Margaret's premise, as she puts it to Henry, is the balance point of the book:  "It all turns on affection now . . . Affection. Don't you see?" (Ibid., page 214). To have beautiful buildings, for example, people obviously must want them to be beautiful and know how to make them beautiful, but evidently they also must love the places where the buildings are to be built. For a long time, in city and countryside, architecture has disregarded the nature and influence of places. It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness, to think that a thousand square miles are a thousand times more wonderful than one square mile . . . That is not imagination. No, it kills it. . . . Your universities? Oh, yes, you have learned men who collect . . . facts, and facts, and empires of facts. But which of them will rekindle the light within? (Ibid., page 30)." "The light within," I think, means affection, affection as motive and guide. Knowledge without affection leads us astray every time. Affection leads, by way of good work, to authentic hope. The factual knowledge, in which we seem more and more to be placing our trust, leads only to hope of the discovery, endlessly deferrable, of an ultimate fact or smallest particle that at last will explain everything. Margaret's premise, as she puts it to Henry, is the balance point of the book:  "It all turns on affection now . . . Affection. Don't you see?" The great reassurance of Forster's novel is the wholeheartedness of his language. It is to begin with a language not disturbed by mystery, by things unseen. But Forster's interest throughout is in soul-sustaining habitations: houses, households, earthly places where lives can be made and loved. In defense of such dwellings he uses, without irony or apology, the vocabulary that I have depended on in this talk:  truth, nature, imagination, affection, love, hope, beauty, joy. Those words are hard to keep still within definitions; they make the dictionary hum like a beehive. But in such words, in their resonance within their histories and in their associations with one another, we find our indispensable humanity, without which we are lost and in danger. Of the land-community much has been consumed, much has been wasted, almost nothing has flourished. But this has not been inevitable. We do not have to live as if we are alone.