The Island of Man.
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 12 comments link this post"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
-- John Donne; Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII:
An island.
Any man's death diminishes me.
How is this death? Abandonment is a death for a person, slowly stripping them of their humanity, the humanity that comes not from flesh and bone, but from being allowed into the chorus, the music, of the rest of us. Humans do not thrive apart from others. His diminishment is mine as well.
I am involved in mankind.
No man is an island, and no island is a man.
Labels: essay, relationships
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 8/15/2007 12:16:00 AM
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12 Comments:
I don't remember where, but it was a conservative Evangelical blog.
Someone asked, how do we Christians reach out to those who are different. I think he used the term misfit.
I thought ... wasn't that ALL Jesus did? Well, I can think of a lot of useless pat answers.
At times, I feel like the guy your email acquaintance is talking about. But then there are people who are much worse then me. Lots of them, which leads me to wonder if the world is a big huge case for fatalism.
By 
David Cho, at
15/8/07 10:27
I love the writings of John Donne, and I have used these exact words in funeral meditations at times, especially for those people I don't know all that well or who have outlived most of their friends and family.
I believe, however, that one of the paradoxes of our lives is that while we are all interconnected and anyone's death diminishes us all, we also live our lives, by and large, in isolation from each other.
We are disconnected from each other in a way that even love cannot bridge. All of us, to one degree or another, live inside our own skins and heads and though we constantly seek and ocassionally find connections, even deep connections, with others, we are ultimately alone.
Of course there is the church, the body of of Christ, which at it's best can be a living and loving community. There is also the indwelling spirit and presence of Christ within us. But even so, our human communities (church included) always end up failing us, and even God can seem distant, silent, and absent at times.
I don't mean to be pessimistic here, and obviously I have gone off topic a little, but this paradox of being both connected to others while also being ultimately alone seems to me to be one of the defining characteristics of what it means to be human.
By 
Will, at
15/8/07 13:58
Oh geez! Will's been drinking the Sartre Kool Aid again.
By Jim, at
15/8/07 20:01
The Jim and Will Vaudeville Show strikes again.
By Julie, at
15/8/07 20:14
You try to post a thoughtful comment. Try to be at least a little deep; go below the surface of things. And what does some gumbah do? He cracks a joke. A philosophy joke even. It's bad enough I've gotta see this guy every day, let alone deal with his "humor" on the world wide web. Geez indeed!
But I do have to hand it to him, he was funny this time.
By Will, at
15/8/07 22:24
The word "gumbah" is a funny word.
However, this post is SERIOUS and I am DISAPPOINTED in the lack of SERIOUSNESS and RESPECT with which you two gumbahs are showing it.
By Julie, at
15/8/07 22:33
Hey, I was serious. I couldn't have been more serious. It's all his fault!
I also just discovered that the word gumbah I used might actually be spelled goomba or goombah. As in
goombah - n. Slang
A companion or associate, especially an older friend who acts as a patron, protector, or adviser. [Probably alteration of Italian compare, godfather, from Medieval Latin compater; see compadre.
That's for the language, spelling and word usage police that lurk out there in the internet ether.
By Will, at
16/8/07 00:02
Now define "oompah loompah."
By Julie, at
16/8/07 00:06
From the Urban Dictionary:
1. A native of Loompaland, usually tending towards attributes of small size, an orange commplexion, and green hair; the first recorded information of them comes to us from Roahld Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2. Someone who has one, or all, of these attributes; used usually as an insult or in a derogatory manner. As in " John's new girlfriend is an Oompa-Loompa."
3. Girls that can oftenly be found in high schools and sororities throughout all of California. With orange skin of their own brought on by excessive use of fake tanner, they resemble the dwarfed creatures mentioned in the above definition. Some people believe this to be sexy. Others would rather shoot themselves in the foot.
And though you did not ask, here's a song (imagine the music, if you will):
Oompa loompa doompety doo
I've got a perfect puzzle for you
Oompa loompa doompety dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me
What do you get when you guzzle down sweets
Eating as much as an elephant eats
What are you at, getting terribly fat
What do you think will come of that
I don't like the look of it
Oompa loompa doompety da
If you're not greedy, you will go far
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa Doompety do
Doompety do
Finally, you can work on remembering your high school or college genetics classes at the Oompah Loompah Genetics site here:
http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/oompahgenetics.html
By Will, at
16/8/07 00:25
I am a goombah and proud of it. The most common contemporary usage of the word is as a sort of slur on Italians.
Italians, however, being the resourceful lot that we are, choose to stick together as in community, as in 'not alone,' and have usurped the term from the unwashed masses. We now use it to refer to each other.
I am a goombah and proud of it.
By Jim, at
16/8/07 06:09
How might I become acquainted with the lot of you??
I was pulled in by the post and meditated on it for a few minutes before reading and being highly amused by the comments.
And I think I'd like to be a part of this party.
Any chance??
~Leah
By Leah, at
31/8/07 14:32
Leah, by leaving a comment, you're a part of this party. Enjoy the punch and hors d'oeuvres.
By Julie R. Neidlinger, at
31/8/07 14:43
