Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Hawthorn bloom in May

Last Friday, June 17^th was the anniversary of John Cowper Powys’s death.   Death is something he often addresses in both his philosophical books and in his works of fiction but this is not a gloomy focus on something we would rather ignore.  It is a source of life-affirming advice.

In the modern world, we tend to hide death away.  Of course, we see images on tv of wars, murders, and natural disasters but in our day-to-day lives we are protected from it.  People in the past dealt with death on a regular basis when infant mortality rates were high, maternal mortality during childbirth  often occurred, infectious diseases were rife and there was no safety net of a welfare state or the NHS.   Today, most people die in hospital or in residential care rather than in their own homes and the care of the deceased is then put into the hands of undertakers.  We tend to shy away from anything associated with death, not wanting to face the inevitable and is reflected in our attitudes to aging and death.  Many people seek ‘eternal youth’ and spend much time and money in fighting the inevitable processes of aging by undergoing radical cosmetic surgery, injecting ‘filler’s and other materials into their body.  There is nothing wrong with maintaining and caring for an aging body but there is a prevailing culture of youth that refuses to accept the inevitable.  Of course, this is fuelled by advertising, and companies and businesses who depend on such ideas for their success.  We have all heard of the experiments in ‘freezing’ bodies so that the person can be woken into life again at a later date; the promise of eternal life.  JCP believed that such attitides and beliefs are the cause of many of our problems.

Powys reminds us of the inevitability of death.  “Look around you” he tells us, observe nature and the cycle of life and death.  Everything - plant, fungi, fish, bird, animal, human being - comes into being and dies.  When we fully recognise this natural process we will be less afraid of it.  “Life is short” is a cliché that trips off our tongues but how often do we stop and fully consider what this means?  If we stop and really think about it we will come to a deep understanding of this one and only sure and inevitable fact of life - our own death – and this can instil in us the desire to change how we live.  When we fully realise how short and precious life is we will be more likely to make the most of the time we have and not fritter our lives away.  Recognising we all share the same fate can lead us to treat others with more understanding, empathy and compassion. 

Looking at the inevitability of our own death may not be something we want to do but it can have a positive impact on our quality of life.  It can lead to change and to  transforming the way in which we live.  The fact that life is short will cease to be a tired cliché and instead will be the mantra by which we live. We will make better use of ever precious moment and really live rather than merely exisiting.

Experiencing Life

"...Just to behold the sun rise or set,  just to catch a fleeting glimpse of the crescent moon,  just to feel the cold, clear long-travelled air upon your face,  just to note certain feathery clouds or certain twisted branches – are these experiences nothing to set over against the wearisome monotony of a meaningless commercial job?  

 If they are nothing to set against your worries and your discomforts, why then have you allowed something in you- a sixth sense given by the First Cause – to grow atrophied and dead!"

(John Cowper Powys, In Defence of Sensuality)

 

 

John Cowper Powys & Aspects of EU Referendum

In the run-up to the EU Referendum we are witnessing a debate that is negative in tone and content.  Instead of informative arguments about the benefits of remaining or leaving the EU, we have soundbites and discussions that focus on immigration.  In the main, immigrants are depicted as economic, social and terror threats, detrimental to the country.  Conveniently overlooked is the fact that huge numbers of Britons work and live abroad and are thus immigrants to other countries.  Innovations in science and technology, and increasing globalisation results in the movement of people in both directions.  Often too, those espousing anti-immigration propaganda are themselves the offspring of immigrants to this country.  Currently, examples of double standards and hypocrisy abound.  

More worrying still is the danger this anti-immigration rhetoric will do in the long run.  Politicians tend to focus on the short-term and do whatever they feel is necessary to win power.  The issue of immigration is well-known for stirring strong sentiments and so is being utilised as a means to an end.  But whatever the outcome of the Referendum, the consequences are potentially dangerous for immigrants and their families, and for our society as a whole. 

The focusing on differences, on 'the other,' with us as 'good' and the strangers/the different as 'bad,' is the oldest trick in the book and history tells us that it never ends well.  It may be relatively easy to stir emotions but once ignited it can prove very difficult to quench the fire.  Peoples' ideas and beliefs are translated into actions and the stronger the feeling the more extreme the behaviour.
  

John Cowper Powys, at the time of the Second World War, identified the dangers of  "depersonalising the personal in each other" and pointed out that when this happens "not only does respect for personality vanish from the world, but a deadly, unnatural anger takes its place."  There is a warning there that is relevant to day. 

Quote from Mortal Strife (p92)