The Meaning of Human Endeavour
by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin from
The Hymn of the Universe

            The aspect of life which most stirs my soul is the ability to share in an undertaking, in a reality, more enduring than myself:  it is in this spirit and with this purpose in view that I try to perfect myself and to accept things a little more.  When death lays its hand upon me it will leave intact these things, these ideas, these realities which are more solid and more precious than I;  moreover, my faith in Providence makes me believe that death comes at its own fixed moment, a moment of mysterious and special fruitfulness not only for the supernatural destiny of the soul but also for the further progress of the earth.

            Why then should I be afraid or filled with grief, if the essential thing in my life remains untouched, if the pattern will not be broken off but will be extended further without any harmful interruption of continuity?  The realities of faith cannot give us the same feeling of solidity as those of experience;  hence, inevitably and providentially, when we have to leave these for those we feel terrified and bewildered;  but that is the very moment at which we must ensure the triumph of adoration and trust and the joy of being part of a totality greater than ourselves.