“If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had really been there, and if he found that flower in his hand when he awoke - Aye! and what then?”
― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Anima Poetae from the Unpublished Note-Books of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
It is also possible to imagine paradise on earth, no matter what your religion. Think about this quote:
"You cannot avoid paradise;
You can only avoid seeing it."
~Charlotte Joko Beck
Beck seems to say that our paradise is waiting for us. It is up to us to go find it.
The world before us is made up of our physical, mental and social sensations. What do you remember when you wake up each morning? Do you see the blame in the world or the beauty? Do you see the stranger's smile, the fragrant garden, and the gifts you have been given, such as sight itself?
I would like to believe that no matter how horrible the events of the Boston Marathon Massacre are, we have also seen evidence of the goodness of humanity in those who helped these victims of the bomb blast. Each person that lost their life was struck down in their youth. Yet when we remember them, what we see is "a dream daughter", an ambitious, beautiful and talented Chinese graduate student from Boston University and an 8-year old boy with a wish for peace.
What we remember about these souls who died and what we see is their love. Love that is this beautiful can never die. To their friends and families we express our sorrow and gratitude that they were here.
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