More Blaise

How many of you watch shows on FoodTV or similar channels that highlight cuisine prepared by master chefs at elite restaurants? From time to time I see some of these shows, and I am amazed at how small a portion of food is served for the amount of money that is spent.

Such expensive food is of high quality and intended to be savored by the one consuming it. The chef has spent time meticulously preparing the entree so as to tantalize the palate of the diner. This meal is not to be swallowed in hurried mouthfuls with no thought to how the flavors complement and contrast one another. This is not a grease-laden, machine-produced circle of ground beef. This is an experience to be treasured. Each bite is to be slowly mascerated in order to absorb all the character present in the morsel. And time is allowed to elapse between each bite in order for it to be savored.

Some writings should be treated in the same way. The richness of the written word can be so grand that, in order to truly appreciate and understand the author, one must only nibble on what has been penned and take time to meditate on the ideas presented. This is the manner in which one should approach Blaise Pascal's Pensees. The profundity of what he says in so few words takes much time (at least for me) to truly comprehend. I encourage you to find a copy of Pensees, and start reading, slowly and intently, and see what you find.

I have been absorbing the following Pascal passage for a few weeks now. Feel free to let me know what you think of it.

"We never live only in the present. We remember the past and look forward to the future. If we find it too slow in coming we try to speed it up; or we recall the past to slow it down if it runs too fast. We are so unwise that we wander through ages which are not our own and never give a thought to the one thing that belongs to us. We are so frivolous that we think of those that are nothing and thoughtlessly overlook the one thing that exists. It is because the present moment is usually a painful one. We repress it because it hurts us. And if we find it pleasurable, we are sorry to see it pass away. We try to prop it up by thinking of the future, and think how we are going to plan things in a context where we have no control, for it is a time we are never sure of reaching.

"So let us examine our thoughts and we will find that we tend to be occupied entirely with the past or the future. We scarcely ever think of the present, and when we do so, it is only to see what light it may cast on our plans for the future. But the present moment is never our objective. The past and the present are our means, while the future alone is our goal. With this way of thinking we can never actually live, but instead live in hope. Since we are always planning how we are going to be happy, it is inevitable that we never are."

Wow. Take some time in the next few days and chew on that.