My grandmother, Eileen J. Garrett, optimistically founded her two incarnations of TOMORROW MAGAZINE, both literary and psychic themed with the core belief there is always a Tomorrow. Obviously, especially in the midst of a pandemic we understand that for far too many there is no Tomorrow unless you take into consideration the survival hypothesis of life after death which is something else altogether.
Literary Tomorrow Magazine published by Creative Age Press ran during World War II and the post war era from 1941-1951. In reading her monthly penned editorials I have resonated to many of her statements and herewith share them with you realizing that in the midst of the horror of the Covid-19 virus war as in the horror of World War II we are facing similar challenges and seeming potentials.
Perhaps you will share an appreciation for these thoughts as I do. In the words of Garrett with my own italics:
“In these days of confusion, it is not to be wondered at that each one seeks recess from the unexpected and hazardous trend of events. Yet no one can help being stirred by the knowledge that projects are being shaped and characters formed which will make this moment’s history outstanding a thousand years from now. Gradually the control of the world is slipping from the fingers of incapacity, and we are fast becoming the children of the greatest revolution in the history of mankind.” (Sept. 1942)
“Yesterday’s world, as brave and fine as we thought it, is speeding away from us… Let us make a pact to recognize this, so that we do not fail ourselves in this immortal moment of change which is ours to live gloriously. Yesterday’s consciousness is a thing of the past, but there is in its place today’s nimble awareness. The hovering shrouds of yesterday’s intolerance are being torn and rent—making kindred of all—and mixing the dust of race and color, wherever life is lost…Our participation in life is, alas, too painfully short. Before we have time to realize the wonder of our being or give name to the emotion of life that holds us in a fiery sway, we are already passing away like a full-blown flower. Let us, while we have time, relate ourselves to the building of a new world where the total process allows the creator and the creation to be one and the same…For in the midst of the most desperate and ruthlessly brutal upheaval ever conceived, we must prepare a new and nobler impulse.” (Dec. 1942)
“Today we are facing a crisis in our way of life. To trace any broad outline of the future in the fermentation of ideas is a very difficult task. But one thing is certain: waiting for things to happen and leaving the burden to others who can shoulder them leads to a heritage of distrust, and breeds conflict. The way is through ourselves, for we are the intimate and personal pattern of immortality. Through our minds and creative spirit we participate in the divine vocation, and we shape the pattern of today and the immortal tomorrow. Joy is born from sorrow; both beget understanding, and hope takes the part of pain and chaos. Whether we are waking or sleeping they are responsible for the never-ending dualism—a dualism which in the moving drama of the universe, we must fulfill in matter and space. Great sorrows and joys will be our portion in the days to come. They will banish our indifference, and split the clouds of complacency apart—giving us richness in human experience. The action of these forces fortunately does not depend on our ability to understand or to maintain ourselves in the face of evolution. We must live in the environment of spirit and matter, and thus grasp the reality that we are of the community of the new-divine. Life in itself is an act of faith, we accept it, we accept immortality.” (Feb. 1943)
“Thus, whatever are our struggles and beliefs, one thing is certain, however inadequate we may feel… or however lowly is our lot: There is a deep meaning for us in life.” (April 1943)
It seems for us who have been lucky enough to pass through this crucible we have work to do. Stay safe and let’s see what we can fashion out of this disaster. Till next month I wish you all health, optimism and for our future, productivity.