> Be warned, future prophets: when revealing your path to enlightenment, try to fit it into the first few pages, huh?
>

(-: No sweat! I once started writing, very slowly in grade 6, some thoughts which attempted to answer Oeras' lament about universal meaninglessness. I should dig it up...


> Here is my version of the Hazelnut Thing.
>
> "And in this he showed me a little thing, the size of a hazel nut, [...] And I was answered generally thus, 'It is all that is made.'
> [snip]
>
> it actually goes the other way. Something can have value *because* somebody loves it. Being loved makes that thing important in itself. (I'm not sure if this will make any sense to anyone. I can't figure out how to put it so it even makes sense to *me*.)
>

That makes perfect sense to me. I could use a crudely mundane analogy to explain it -- for example, there are certain substances which, by most rights, should be considered foul and disagreeable (such as myrrh, civet oil, and ambergris). Instead they were made valuable because SOMEBODY along the way 'loved' such items. Being treasured made these smelly items important of themselves (as demonstrated, not in the least, by an increase in their commodity market value). I think the point Julian emphasizes is that God will love the smallest particle of Creation regardless of whether it has any value whatsoever to anyone else.


> In terms of the discussion in this thread, it somehow doesn't matter so much if the universe finally vanishes in a Horrendous Space Kablooie, if it has been given this sort of importance through the existence of people who cared about various small bits of it and found it beautiful.
>
> Finally, I find that image of space, time, life, the universe and everything, seen held in the palm of your hand, to be very poetic and beautiful.
>

Yes... I think the calming and moving aspect comes from Julian's visionary solace that says: everything in the universe is in good hands. Or at least it's comparable to a more temperate and certainly less frenetic version of "Horton Hears a Who"...

Wolfspirit