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Retired from 10 years in the Canadian Navy, and 28 years in the Canadian Diplomatic Service, with postings in Beijing, Mexico City, Sri Lanka, Romania, Abu Dhabi, Guyana, Ireland, Trinidad, and, last but not least, India.

Friday 16 October 2015

On the Evil of Death-bed Conversion: A tribute to my Grandfather George


He was a well read, and self-educated man.
His grasp of basic quantum mechanics,
and cosmology, was phenomenal.
An advocate of progress and scientific development,
he abhorred retrogression in a society.

As an intelligent man he understood
that our highest accolade was to learn,
and to teach.
Alone, in a religious society,
he came to understand, and embrace,
the concept of atheism, and humanism.
His life reflected these concepts.
He did not reject religious superstition willy-nilly,
but only after careful thought, study,
and multitudinous discussions,
some heated, some calm and reasoned.
He was content with his decisions,
and his life reflected that contentment.

Diminished by his insidious disease
with the pain roaring through mind and body,
he had no strength to reflect, to contemplate,
to regret.
His family stayed near, but ultimately
he was alone with his anguish.
The whispered prayers, and quiet sadness
of religious kin, dripped into his failing consciousness
as, with a final act of love,
he accepted the exhortations,
and let their Jesus offer them,
not him, a final comfort.

Somewhere in the multiverse,
he hunts duck, moose, deer, 
and converses with Bertrand Russell,
and Robert Service and Jack London
are pleased to receive his critique
of their work.
There is no sign, in this iteration,
of manna,
of harps,
of milk and honey.

Elsewhere, through time and
Mandelbrot spirals,
a grandson recognises and 
accepts the greatness,
the strength, the determination,
the intelligence
of this good man,
and continues to think,
and to question.
Always.

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The Ancient Hippie

The Ancient Hippie
Natraj dances with us all.

Welcome, and Namaste

Greetings fellow travellers,

For you American friends visiting, you will notice that this old Canadian uses Canadian English in this blog: kindly bear with me. As I blog primarily on subjects that are vitally interesting to me, I appreciate all feedback.

As I tend to be a bit of a language usage freak, I will, as required, edit obscenity and rude comments. That said, I welcome your opinions and discussion.

May your Dharma be clear

Peace

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumb'red here,
While these visions did appear."


Puck’s epilogue to A Midsummer Night’s Dream