The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning, but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life.
The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun, and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon.
It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. (paragraph breaks added)
Source: Orthodoxy, GK Chesterton
Love the macro!
And the scanning electron microscope that shows ticks on ticks on ticks. Beautifully crafted little beasts, perfectly made for their world. It’s not the strongest that survive, but the fittest. “That which fits.” That’s what Darwin meant.
Barbara – Thanks! They are interesting, aren’t they? I find that I can even watch a spider through the camera lens, and I’ve been avoiding them For Ever.
Did you ever hear the later adaptation that Julie Andrews did of “Favourite things”?
Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in strings,
These are a few of my favourite things….
She sang it, apparently, to commemorate her 69th birthday, as a special appearance at the Radio City Music Hall benefit for the AARP. Got a standing O that lasted four minutes…
Jim T
Jim T – I think I did hear it at some point. I’m also working on an adaptation for my weekly movie challenge – blessedly, without the singing. Well, without me singing.