It is impossible to see how good work might be accomplished by people who think that our life in this world either signifies nothing or has only a negative significance. If, on the other hand, we believe that we are living souls, God's dust and God's breath, acting our parts among other creatures all made of the same dust and breath as ourselves; and if we understand that we are free, within the obvious limits of moral human life, to do evil or good to ourselves and to the other creatures - then all our acts have a supreme significance. If it is true that we are living souls and morally free, then all of us are artists. All of us are makers, within mortal terms and limits, of our lives, of one another's lives, of things we need and use.. If we think of ourselves as living souls, immortal creatures, living in the midst of a Creation that is mostly mysterious, and if we see that everything we make or do cannot help but have an everlasting significance for ourselves, for others, and for the world, then we see why some religious teachers have understood work as a form of prayer.. Work connects us both to Creation and to eternity. (pg. 316, Christianity and the Survival of Creation) . Wendell Berry
About This Quote

It is impossible to see how good work might be accomplished by people who think that our life in this world either signifies nothing or has only a negative significance.If, on the other hand, we believe that we are living souls, God's dust and God's breath, acting our parts among other creatures all made of the same dust and breath as ourselves; and if we understand that we are free, within the obvious limits of moral human life, to do evil or good to ourselves and to the other creatures - then all our acts have a supreme significance. If it is true that we are living souls and morally free, then all of us are artists. All of us are makers, within mortal terms and limits, of our lives, of one another's lives, of things we need and use...If we think of ourselves as living souls, immortal creatures, living in the midst of a Creation that is mostly mysterious, and if we see that everything we make or do cannot help but have an everlasting significance for ourselves, for others, and for the world, then we see why some religious teachers have understood work as a form of prayer...Work connects us both to Creation and to eternity. (pg. 316, Christianity and the Survival of Creation)

Source: The Art Of The Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

Some Similar Quotes
  1. A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her. - Oscar Wilde
  2. Most men claim to desire driven, independent and confident women. Yet when confronted with such a creature reverence often evolves into resent. For just like women, men need to be needed. - Tiffany Madison
  3. It's good to let God pick a man for you. We don't do so well when we pick them ourselves. They end up lipsticks in a drawer, all those wrong colors you thought looked so good in the package. - Deb Caletti
  4. The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too - Vincent Van Gogh
  5. A gentleman holds my hand. A man pulls my hair. A soulmate will do both. - Alessandra Torre
More Quotes By Wendell Berry
  1. Behind every successful athlete there is a responsible coach.
  2. It is impossible for an uneducated man to rebel.
  3. It is in the time of peace that the instruments of war are built.
  4. We hear the world governments talking about peace but we know each government is busy secretly making weapons capable of destroying the entire planet.
  5. Some of us will be long forgotten before we are even dead. Most will never be remembered at all, not even by family.
Related Topics