“We pass through the present with our eyes blindfolded. We are permitted merely to sense and guess at what we are actually experiencing. Only later when the cloth is untied can we glance at the past and find out what we have experienced and what meaning it has.”
Milan Kundera
I sometimes think I should have been born Libran - so often I see one side of something and then see the other side equally well. Perhaps I'm balanced and open-minded; or perhaps I'm indecisive and a fence-sitter!
This quote certainly brought me along to see both sides; because I think in my life I have experienced both of them.
I agree completely that often, things do not become clear or well-understood until there is distance between us; until we are far away enough to see clearly and perhaps to look with different eyes. Meaning can sometimes best be discerned after the passage of time.
At the same time, I think that being present, aware and mindful of the moment can be filled with meaning that makes sense of our life, the world and our place within it. Sometimes this understanding is clear and brilliant and so easily acknowledged at that very moment. Without having paid attention to it we would know less about ourselves and what we are doing and trying to be.
So I definitely recall those moments when I have come to understand things after time and distance; but I've also know moments of complete understanding in the present and the moment.
Looking back, trying to understand.
The Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres, Belgium. The poppy marks my great-grandfather's name.
Milan Kundera
I sometimes think I should have been born Libran - so often I see one side of something and then see the other side equally well. Perhaps I'm balanced and open-minded; or perhaps I'm indecisive and a fence-sitter!
This quote certainly brought me along to see both sides; because I think in my life I have experienced both of them.
I agree completely that often, things do not become clear or well-understood until there is distance between us; until we are far away enough to see clearly and perhaps to look with different eyes. Meaning can sometimes best be discerned after the passage of time.
At the same time, I think that being present, aware and mindful of the moment can be filled with meaning that makes sense of our life, the world and our place within it. Sometimes this understanding is clear and brilliant and so easily acknowledged at that very moment. Without having paid attention to it we would know less about ourselves and what we are doing and trying to be.
So I definitely recall those moments when I have come to understand things after time and distance; but I've also know moments of complete understanding in the present and the moment.
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| ©2008 Barry Smith |
The Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres, Belgium. The poppy marks my great-grandfather's name.
If you know your time of birth it would be interesting o go to astro.com and see where Libra is in your chart
ReplyDeleteI went and got lost, but will try again Trace!
DeleteI often have Aha! moments, once I've gained distance between major happenings in my life.
ReplyDeleteThey can be very real can't they Robyn - suddenly things all make sense...
Delete