“Nature has many tricks wherewith she convinces man of his infinity, – the ceaseless flow of the tides, the fury of storm, the shock of the earthquake, the long roll of heavens artillery, – but the most tremendous, the most stupefying of all, is the passive phase of the White Silence. All movement ceases, the sky clears, the heavens are as brass; the slightest whisper seems sacrilege, and man becomes timid, affrighted at the sound of his own voice. Sole speck of life journeying across the ghostly wastes of a dead world, he trembles at his audacity, realizes that his is a maggots life, nothing more. Strange thoughts arise unsummoned, and the mystery of all things strives for utterance. And the fear of death, of God, of the universe, comes over him, – the hope of the Resurrection and the life, the yearning for immortality, the vain striving of the imprisoned essence, – it is then, if ever, man walks alone with God.”
~ Jack London
This share was inspired by the 10 ton meteorite falling out of the heavens in Siberia on Friday. (The long rolls of heavens artillery…The sky clears, the heavens are as brass…)
Jack London (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone.
Sources: Quote – thank you makebelieveboutique.com. Photo: midnightmartinis – “Portugal” – by Hélène Desplechin
Live & Learn 
Now that is writing at its most magnificent. It is not our sense of invincibility that inspires our faith, it is our fragility in the face of that which is greater than we are. This is really powerful to me.
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Yes Mimi. When I read the post, the quote snapped me to attention. If you haven’t checked out Make Believe Boutique’s blog, would encourage you to do so. She has wonderful posts and shares…
http://makebelieveboutique.com
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She is in my reader, but I should follow her so that I receive notifications when she posts.
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Beautiful image and writing, David. We should be frightened continuously if we had any sense. Thankfully we rarely do. I love Jack London — one of the first books I enjoyed as a young boy was Call of the Wild. I think of Buck realizing that he was no match for a man with a club. At times God through his religions as well as in our daily lives is like a man with a club. Do we need to be clubbed into sense when clubbing will only make us senseless?
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Well put Frank. I haven’t read any of Jack London’s book. Need to get him on my reading list. Thank you
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It is said of the Celts they fear nothing but the sky falling in. The meteorite is a reminder that humanity is not in control of nature. Yes, beautiful words.
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Yes, Alex, well stated. The Celts certainly had it right.
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Powerful words …
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They are…
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It’s a proof that Man is so powerful that he is able to think about and feel the mysteries of life and then gives them existence in the form of words. Very deep and powerful.
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Deep and powerful, it is exactly that Sonia.
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Reblogged this on This Touching Life and commented:
I was shaken this week by this Jack London quotation, though I tend to respond to what he calls “The White Silence” a bit differently. There is fear, yes, and smallness, but also a sense of being part of everything; of being insignificant, but part of the One. Back from a week in San Francisco, as well as at Pantheacon in San Jose – a huge gathering of crazy pagans, a great confluence of Tribe. It was fantastic, and as many magical gatherings do for me, reconnected me to Spirit.
Enjoy.
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