Thursday, November 09, 2017

Wisdom for today

When my father’s father had a difficult task to accomplish, he went to a certain place in the forest, lit a fire, and immersed himself in silent prayer. And his task was accomplished.
Later on, when my father’s father was faced with the same task, he went to the same place in the forest and said, “We no longer know how to light a fire, but we still know the prayer.” And his task was accomplished.
Later, my father had to accomplish the same task. He also went to the forest and said, “We no longer know how to light a fire. We no longer know the mystery of prayer, but we still know the exact place in the forest where it took place. And that should suffice.” And it did suffice.
But when I was faced with the same task, I stayed at home and said, “We no longer know how to light a fire. We no longer know the prayer. We don’t even know where the place in the forest is, but we still know how to tell the story.”
Jean Luc Godard