On Sun, 15 Oct 2000, Alison wrote...
>I read that quote (in I think In Search of our Mother's Gardens) at a
>rather tricky juncture of my life, and I remember it with a concomitant
>luminosity...
Thanks for the explanation. I can certainly see that the activities you
mention, motherhood and writing poetry, could be well described as "love
made visible". But I'm not at all sure that it's a good *general*
description. Not all the activities we might categorise as 'work' are
visible manifestations of love. (For example, my tramping round garages
trying to get someone to fix my car the other day didn't have much to do
with love, and it felt like hard work.) Nor are all the activities we
would not describe as 'work' not visible manifestations of love. (For
example, taking my wife out for a surprise meal isn't work, but is an
act of love.)
I agree that if one does something out of love, then that dignifies the
activity, and I agree that dignity is important. But work isn't
intrinsically dignified; it's the reason you do it that may make it so.
Best,
--
Peter
http://www.hphoward.demon.co.uk/poetry/
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