Issue nº 117

The path of archery  |  Sure shots

From a mother to her daughter
     In the whole wide world there is no-one like me. I am the owner of my body, my thoughts, my ideas. The images that my eyes contemplate belong to me and I need to know how to choose them. I possess my own fantasies, my dreams, hopes and fears. Since I am owner of myself, I have to know myself intimately. There are aspects of myself that confound me, others that I do not know. But whether or not you agree with all that I am, this is authentic, this represents the moment that I am living.

From an Anglican bishop in the year 1100
     When I was young and free, I dreamed of changing the world. In maturity I discovered that the world would not change, so I decided to change my country. After some effort I ended up understanding that this too was impossible. At the end of my years I tried to change my family but they went on being the same as they were before.
      Now on my death bed I discover that my mission was to change myself. If I had done that, I would have been able to change my family. Then, with a little luck, that change would affect my country, and then – who knows – the whole wide world.

Midrach Rabba on Ecclesiastes
     When men come into the world, their hands are always closed as if they wanted to say: the whole world is mine and I am going to hold on to it.
      When men leave the world, their hands are always open as if they wanted to say: I have nothing in my power, all that I can take are my memories, all that I can leave are my examples.

Kahlil Gibran to Mary Haskell
     We are both trying to touch the limits of our existence. The great poets of the past always surrendered themselves to Life. They were not looking for some determined thing, nor were they trying to unravel secrets: they simply let their souls be overwhelmed by emotions. People are always seeking security, and sometimes they manage to achieve it: but security is an end in itself, and Life has no end. Poets are not those who write poetry, but all those whose heart is filled with the sacred spirit of Love.

Epictetus to his disciples
     Two things can happen when we meet someone: either we become friends, or we try to convince the other person to accept our convictions. The same happens when the ember meets another piece of coal: either it shares its fire with it, or it is suffocated by its size and ends up extinguished.
      As we are generally insecure at a first contact, we try indifference, arrogance or excessive humility. The result is that we stop being who we are and things start heading towards a strange world that does not belong to us.

Kandinsky on painting
     Painting is an art. And art is a power that should be aimed at developing the soul. If art does not do this job, the abyss that separates us from God is left without a bridge.
      The artist owes his talent to God and has to settle this debt. To do this, he has to work hard, know that he is free in his art but not in his commitment to life. Everything he feels and thinks is part of the raw material with which to improve the spiritual atmosphere around him.
      Beauty, whether in art or in a woman, cannot be empty; it has to be at the service of men and the world.