{"id":1881,"date":"2009-05-20T12:31:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-20T12:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2009\/05\/e-e-cummings-2\/"},"modified":"2009-05-20T12:31:00","modified_gmt":"2009-05-20T12:31:00","slug":"e-e-cummings-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2009\/05\/e-e-cummings-2.html","title":{"rendered":"e.e.cummings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>may my heart always be open to little birds
<\/span><\/em>\n
who are the secrets of living<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
whatever they sing is better than to know<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
and if men should not hear them men are old <\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
may my mind stroll about hungry<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
and fearless and thirsty and supple<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
and even if it\u2019s sunday may i be wrong<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
for whenever men are right they are not young<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
and may myself do nothing usefully<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
and love yourself so more than truly<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
there\u2019s never been quite such a fool who could fail<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
pulling all the sky over him with one smile <\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

This is one of my favorite e.e.cummings poems. I especially like the middle stanza. It\u2019s something religious people should memorize. I say this because we who are religious have a penchant for being right, and too often being right means other people are wrong and that leads to self righteousness which is the most terrible sin of all because by its very nature it does not allow us to see that we are wrong.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

If we can say, \u2018even on a sunday may i be wrong\u2019 it means we can still learn something. The person who knows it all can never know it all because he doesn\u2019t know that there are things he doesn\u2019t know yet. As soon as I say, \u2018even on a sunday may i be wrong\u2019 the world opens out and we can learn. Then our minds will be hungry and fearless and thirsty and supple. Then our hearts will be open to all that is beautiful, good and true.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Another benefit: if we can say that we\u2019re wrong, then we are young. It\u2019s old to be sure of everything. It\u2019s old to be suspicious of something new. It\u2019s old to be right about everything. It\u2019s young to be unsure. Its young to make mistakes its young to still be learning. Its young to be wrong.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Does this mean, as Catholics, we do not enjoy the security and certainty of our faith? No, but that security and certainty means something different than what we often think it means. The certainty and security are not meant to make us comfortable and complacent or smug or self righteous. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Yes, we have our dogmas and morality, but these are not an end, but a means to an end. They are not the journey, but the map for the journey. What we have is a certain and secure map for the journey that we can trust. The adventure of faith still has to be embarked on, and that is an adventure that will always be full of personal uncertainty, risk and thrill.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re reading this and you think you\u2019re right\u2013you\u2019re wrong, and if you think you\u2019re wrong\u2026well at least you\u2019ve got something right.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

may my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living whatever they sing is better than to know and if men should not hear them men are old may my mind stroll about hungry and fearless and thirsty and supple and even if it\u2019s sunday may i be wrong for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":557,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\ne.e.cummings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"may my heart always be open to little birdswho are the secrets of livingwhatever they sing is better than to knowand if men should not hear them men are\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2009\/05\/e-e-cummings-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"e.e.cummings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"may my heart always be open to little birdswho are the secrets of livingwhatever they sing is better than to knowand if men should not hear them men are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2009\/05\/e-e-cummings-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fr. 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