Today's the anniversary of the (1970) death of E.M. Forster, author of Howard's End, the story of the Wilcox and Schelgel families, including the romance of Henry and Margaret, whose hope was to change Henry and make of him a more humane individual. This passage sums up her plan - and its results:
It did not seem so difficult. She need trouble him with no gift of her own. She would only point out the salvation that was latent in his own soul, and in the soul of every man. Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer. Only connect... Nor was the message difficult to give. It need not take the form of a good "talking." By quiet indications the bridge would be built and span their lives with beauty.
But she failed. For there was one quality in Henry for which she was never prepared, however much she reminded herself of it: his obtuseness. He simply did not notice things, and there was no more to be said. (Chapter 22)
Only connect!
It seems so simple, Lord,
not difficult at all...
Only connect
the prose with the passion,
facts with faith,
the void with fulfillment,
the plain with magnificence,
the parts with their whole,
the self with the other,
the one with the many,
the flesh with the spirit,
the mundane with the holy,
the wild with the tame,
the mind with the heart
the lost with the seeker,
the beast with beauty,
vulnerability with healing,
grief with blessing,
despair with dreams,
indifference with wonder
and the sun
with the moon and the stars...
Only connect!
But like Henry Wilcox, Lord,
I can be obtuse.
Like Henry, I fail to notice things:
simple things,
the simplest of things,
things so simple it's a wonder
how I miss them
no, not a wonder
- it's a shame...
Help me notice things, Lord,
help me notice the simple things
and help me only to connect...
Make me aware
of everything around me,
the things I take for granted,
the ordinary simple things
that brim with grace and glory...
Attune my senses, Lord,
my vision and my hearing,
my touch and taste and smell
to connect and make me one
with you and all my neighbors,
with the world in which I live...
Help me notice things, Lord,
help me notice the simplest of things
and help me only to connect... Wake my mind and stir my heart, Lord,
rouse my drowsy, lazy soul
and summon from within me
a desire to connect,
to live no more in fragments
but as one, in love, with you...
Help me notice things, Lord,
help me notice the simple things;
change my obtuse self, Lord,Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
I searched high and low for a "connecting song" appropriate for our prayer, but I wasn't able to "connect" with such a composition. I hope the Getty's song on wisdom will bring us within striking distance of making that connection...
Perfect Wisdom of Our God by Keith and Kristyn Getty
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
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