The earth has grown old with its burden of care, But at Christmas it always is young.
Phillips BrooksRead
We do not want to lose our grief, because our grief is bound up with our love and we could not cease to mourn without being robbed of our affections.
Interpretation
Grief and love are interconnected, and losing one means losing the other.
This quote by Phillips Brooks emphasizes the profound connection between love and grief. It suggests that the feelings of sorrow we experience when losing someone are tied to the love we have for them; thus, to let go of our grief would also mean letting go of the love and affection we hold for that person. Mourning becomes an expression of the love we continue to have, indicating that both emotions coexist and shape our experiences of loss.
In practice
In a eulogy to honor a loved one who has passed away.
The earth has grown old with its burden of care, But at Christmas it always is young.
We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. You must undertake something so great that you cannot accomplish it unaided.
The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden.
To believe in the God over us and around us and not in the God within us - that would be a powerless and fruitless faith.
To say, 'well done' to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge.
Think of life as a voyage. The truest liver of the truest life is like a voyager who, as he sails, is not indifferent to all the beauty of the sea around him.
It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart- kiss me, dear, just once before I lose my dream forever." -Jane-
I do not know how to love God except by loving the poor. I do not know how to serve God except by serving the poor.... Here, within this great city of nine million people, we must, in this neighborhood, on this street, in this parish, regain a sense of community which is the basis for peace in the world.
We only regard those unions as real examples of love and real marriages in which a fixed and unalterable decision has been taken. If men or women contemplate an escape, they do not collect all their powers for the task. In none of the serious and important tasks of life do we arrange such a "getaway." We cannot love and be limited.
Then there is the usual scene when lovers are excited with each other, quarrels, entreaties, reproaches, and then fondling reconcilement.
Romances paint at full length people's wooing. But only give a bust of marriages.
I was in the parking lot, with the key in the car, and I thought to myself: If this is my last night on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting or with this woman? I ran across the parking lot, asked her if she'd have dinner with me. She said yes, we walked into town, and we've been together ever since.
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