Escape the Dark Destructive Force

　　光明將至的榮耀

　　“I feel the coming glory of the light.” This last line of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s sonnet “Credo” expresses the general basis of my belief. It is my task to clear away the debris of dead emotions, regrets, and petty ambitions that the quickening light may come through. The five senses and the mystery of the breath draw in the wonder of the world, and with that the glory of God. I may seldom rise to moments of exaltation, but I try to keep myself prepared for them. Thus, I oppose the desire for oblivion that gnaws at our roots even as the light is summoning us to bloom.

　　The desire for oblivion conspires against the soul from outer circumstances and also from within oneself. Its agents are worry and resentment, envy and show. Its impulse is to seek things that are equally disappointing whether they are missed or acquired. Its result is an abject conviction that everything is futile. By meditation and prayer, I can escape that dark, destructive force and win my way back to the beauties of the world and the joy of God.

　　“我感到光明將至的榮耀”是埃德溫.阿林頓.羅賓遜的十四行詩《信條》中的最后一行，概括了我的基本信仰。我的任務便是清除死去的情感、悔恨和卑鄙欲望的殘骸，迎接加速前進的光明。五種感官和神秘的氣息感受這奇妙的世界，并隨之沐浴上帝的榮光。我很少有欣喜若狂的時候，但仍努力準備迎接這一時刻的來臨。因此，我反對棄世逃遁，這種想法即使在上帝的榮光召喚我們大顯身手時也在內(nèi)心深處噬咬著我們。

　　棄世逃遁的想法無論是受外來的影響還是來自我們自身都不利于我們的靈魂。其誘因為焦慮、怨恨、嫉妒和矯飾;其促成因素是尋求無論失去還是得到都同樣令人失望的東西;其后果是產(chǎn)生一種怯懦的想法，認為一切均是徒勞。在冥思與祈禱中，我可以避開這種罪惡的破壞力，重新回到美麗的世界，重享上帝給我的喜樂。

　　I believe in my survival after death. Like many others before me, I have experienced “intimations of immortality.” I can no more explain these than the brown seed can explain the flowering tree. Deep in the soil in time’s midwinter, my very stirring and unease seems a kind of growing pain toward June.