paradise lost - paradise regained I

Eden, Shambhala, Hy Brasil, Atlantis. Across time and across cultures, we have sought a place to live a better life. In the case of Eden and Shambhala they have been intimately linked with religious and spiritual development. In the case of Hy Brasil and Atlantis they have weaved their way through our cultures.

They all evoke images of paradise where happiness and peace are shared by all, in a long living and abundant life. The beauty of these paradises is only surpassed by their inaccessibility. In spite of our best efforts we can not gain entry to the garden, or find the mountain kingdom or sail to the island.

We have fallen from grace like Icarus fell to the ground and continue to be bound to this more earthly realm. Yet as we walk on this earth we wonder how this paradise lost may be a paradise regained. Our youthful wanderings are begun in naivete, searching for new and plenty. But as we wander we may wonder that the only paradise to be regained is one of our own making and solely within the mind. No longer looking toward the sun, we can turn our attention to the earth and busy ourselves with activities that ward off idleness, vice and want.

Voltaire expresses it best in Candide, ' il faut cultiver notre jardin'. A theme also alluded to by Brueghel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'. Breughel casts Icarus in a minor role and the simple ploughman in a major role. One falling from the sun in a vain attempt to enter a paradise lost, the other realizing that under his feet lies a paradise very much regained.



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eden
shambhala
hy brasil
atlantis
icarus
candide
brueghel the elder