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[Jan. 28th, 2010|12:52 am] |
 Hans Selye (1907-1982) endocrinologist.
Selye's one and only poem, or prayer - Selye didn't know which,
"perhaps both, perhaps neither" - was written at a time in his life
when he reached an important crossroad between "the safe but by now
commonplace and the hazardous but still excitingly new."
Almighty Drive who, through the ages,
Have kept men trying to master Nature by understanding,
Give me faith-for that is what I need most now.
This is a rare and solemn moment in my life:
I stumbled across what seems to be
A new path into the unknown.
A road that promises to lead me closer to You:
The law behind the unknown.
I think I have the instinctive feeling,
And patiently, through the years, I have acquired the kind of knowledge
Needed to explore Your laws.
But my faith was weakened by this apprenticeship.
No longer can it steer me steadily towards my goal.
For I have come to distrust faith and overvalue proof.
So, let reverence for the unfailing power of all Your known laws
Be the source of my faith in the worth of discovering the next commandment.
Sometimes I feel lonesome, uncertain on my new trail,
For where I go no one has been before
And there is no one with whom to share the things I see-or think I see.
Still, to succeed, I must convince others to follow me and help;
For I also need their faith in me to reinforce my own
Which has so little evidence to lean on now,
For now is the beginning.
A long and hazardous course lies between me and my goal,
How could I travel alone?
How could I force this fog of half-understanding,
That confuses my sense of direction?
The other shore is not in sight-alas, there may be none:
Yet I-like all those who, before me,
Have succumbed to the lure of the vast unknown
Must take this risk in exchange
For each chance to experience the thrill of discovery.
And that thrill I need, or my mind will perish,
For-thanks to You-it was not built to stand
The stale security of well-charted shore waters
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I cannot know whether You listen,
But I do know that I must pray:
Almighty Drive who, through the ages,
Have kept men trying to master Nature by understanding.
Give me faith now-for that is what I need most.
Hans Selye
From Dream to Discovery |
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