Islands

+John Donne+

“So they gathered up the driftwood made it watertight


And drifted rudderless to the horizon


I’m confused and I’m scared he said

 and we got no land in sight


But I’ve got you dear to keep my eyes on…

We’re on our way to the last island


Don’t look back don’t think twice


Oh we’re on our way to the last island


Something to call our own won’t that be nice

I’m on my way to the last island


Gonna find my piece of paradise


Oh I’m on my way to the last island


Something to call my own

won’t that be nice”

The Last Island by Peter Mayer and Roger Guth

Today is the day the church celebrates the life of John Donne. He is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. You can read more about his life and his work here.

Perhaps his most popular words are about the inter-connectedness of all people.  His phrase, “No man is an island” gives testimony to the fact that we are all related to one another.

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” John Donne

I think Peter’s song, “The Last Island” is not something that is prescriptive, in other words something that we should attempt to follow or emulate, but rather it is “descriptive” of the desire to have one’s own island, “a piece of paradise.”

So today we have the opportunity to contrast community versus isolation. I am most grateful for organizations that foster community as opposed to the tide of “having my way.”

Blessings to you today as you celebrate being connected and related to one another.

Peace,

rtg