Sunday, April 6, 2014

The immortal power............................

"If you have a good heart you will always have some lightness of heart;  you will always have the power of enjoying special human feasts, and positive human good news.  But the heart which is there to be lightened will also be there to be hurt;  and really if you only want to be happy, to be steadily and stupidly happy like the animals, it may be well worth your while not to have a heart at all.  Fortunately, however, being happy is not so important as having a jolly time.  Philosophers are happy;  saints have a jolly time.  The important thing in life is not to keep a steady system of pleasure and composure (which can be done quite well by hardening one's heart or thickening one's head), but to keep alive in oneself the immortal power of astonishment and laughter and a kind of young reverence."
-G. K Chesterton, as excerpted from Common Sense 101:  Lessons from G. K. Chesterton

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