The way you went back and forth between the fish, the birds, and the clouds and your inner dialogue was such wonderful writing. And the way you used that technique to highlight how we don’t need to wring meaning out of every moment, and that we can instead just ‘be’ with everything around us - was absolutely amazing.
I am prone to searching really hard in everything I see for some sort of ‘deep universal answer’ - and whenever I catch myself doing so, and stop myself and just try to enjoy the walk I’m on or the spot I’m sitting - I feel I get more clarity than I do from all the searching.
Beautiful! You capture the restlessness of our rational mind so well, its insistence on driving the conversation and supplying metaphors and analogies to “make meaning.” None of that impulse is wrong but it can cloud the mystery of direct experience. The fish and the bird sought to connect, even in their strangeness. In rare quiet moments like that, I’ve heard the message to let metaphor lie and be present with, in David Abram’s words, “the magic of the real.”
I once heard someone say “Life is a lemon and I want my money back.” Ah, the meaning of Life. The forever quest that keeps us searching, yearning for more instead of just be. Lest there be dragons. Nice piece, Priya!
🏞 Making space for dragons
This was great Priya.
The way you went back and forth between the fish, the birds, and the clouds and your inner dialogue was such wonderful writing. And the way you used that technique to highlight how we don’t need to wring meaning out of every moment, and that we can instead just ‘be’ with everything around us - was absolutely amazing.
I am prone to searching really hard in everything I see for some sort of ‘deep universal answer’ - and whenever I catch myself doing so, and stop myself and just try to enjoy the walk I’m on or the spot I’m sitting - I feel I get more clarity than I do from all the searching.
Thanks Priya, great piece.
Beautiful! You capture the restlessness of our rational mind so well, its insistence on driving the conversation and supplying metaphors and analogies to “make meaning.” None of that impulse is wrong but it can cloud the mystery of direct experience. The fish and the bird sought to connect, even in their strangeness. In rare quiet moments like that, I’ve heard the message to let metaphor lie and be present with, in David Abram’s words, “the magic of the real.”
I’m so curious about that dragon.
I once heard someone say “Life is a lemon and I want my money back.” Ah, the meaning of Life. The forever quest that keeps us searching, yearning for more instead of just be. Lest there be dragons. Nice piece, Priya!