grace........................

     And now I remind myself that I must heed William Blake's warning not to attempt to cling to a sublime experience, but rather allow it to come and go with grace.  In another of his metaphysical poems, the four-line jewel called "Eternity," he writes:

            He who binds to himself a joy

            Does the winged life destroy;

            But he who kisses the joy as it flies

            Lives in Eternity's sunrise.

    I stand and raise my glass.  "It is a great privilege to be here," I say.  Then, smiling, I add, "In fact, it is a great privilege simply to be." 

-Daniel Klein, Travels with Epicurus