22 December 2009
Gratitude to Thomas Berry
Posted by Biophile under: Community News .
“Thomas Berry flipped wigs everywhere he went, because Thomas has a way of making you feel the immensity, the magnificence, and the mystery of the cosmos. He baptizes you into the presence of the galaxies, and transmits the sacredness and unity of the universe. Berry makes you feel your cosmic identity, and your connection to the earth and the universe as an unfolding process.” ~ Drew Dellinger
I will never forget the moment that Thomas Berry’s core message clicked as I was reading his “Dream of the Earth”. It was the first time in my entire life that I genuinely experienced a synergy. Everything clicked. Everything connected. Everything all of a sudden made sense, and had a living, vibrant, connective context within which to make sense as it continually unfolded. Needless to say he left quite an impression on me, and I experience a depth of gratitude towards him that is usually reserved for parents or an intimate. Having passed away earlier this year at the wondrous age of 94, Thomas Berry has left us a legacy that has the power to help transform our world. Or to use one of his most beloved phrases, to help usher in an era of “mutually enhancing human earth relations”.
There are numerous biographies, eulogies, memorials, and further testaments regarding the profound vision that Berry has left us with online, and if the reader is unfamiliar with his work then I most whole heartedly recommend it. There are great overviews of his life from The New York Times and The LA Times, along with eulogies found on his own website, www.thomasberry.org. My favorite tribute however comes from poet Drew Dellinger, and I can’t recommend it, or Dellinger himself, enough.
If our lives are measured by the extent that we have left the world a better place then when we found it, we would need to dig out the tape used for M.L.King, Gandhi and company, the one usually reserved for prophets and saints. The pages of this blog were originally inspired by Thomas’ message to learn and tell the Universe Story in order to firmly establish a meaningful context within which to lead our lives, and it is my fullest intention of continuing The Great Work of our times by highlighting as many efforts to inspire and nurture balanced human earth relations as possible.
Thank you father Thomas. The world is indeed a much better place for your having been. I will close this post with a clip of Thomas sharing a most powerful perspective in his own words.
Peace,
Ericuni
