We Are Not Dreaming
Last night after dusk I saw the planet Venus suspended, a glowing large star, behind the silhouette of the tall maple in the distance. I felt the comfort of knowing that Venus remains for me, as it did for my father, my grandfather, and for so many past generations. The enjoyment of that glimpse was momentary but as real as this table in the corner of Starbucks at which I write in the morning. Humans will never possess Venus, survey it’s surface into lots for the construction of subdivisions. At least I hope not. We will ever be able to enjoy it as looked at from a garden gate.
This morning I had the pleasure of responding to a note from a friend who shared some ideas and musings on the subject of truth. It is a gift when we can share our wrestling with what is means to create meaning between us, as humans. Some have lost all hope that meaning is possible. To wit that anything that is said that strikes one as disagreeable, or is not immediately understandable — must be “false news.” This is a recipe for defeat and a harbinger of chaos.
The poet Czeslaw Milosz speaks to our dilemma:
HOPE
Hope is with you when you believe
The earth is not a dream but living flesh,
The sight, touch, and hearing do not lie,
That all things you have ever seen here
Are like a garden looked at from a gate.You cannot enter. But you’ve sure it’s there.
Could we but look more clearly and wisely
We might discover somewhere in the garden
A strange new flower and a unnamed star.Some people say we should not trust our eyes,
That there is nothing, just a seeming,
These are the ones who have no hope.
They think that the moment we turn away,
The world, behind our backs, ceases to exist,
As if snatched up by the hands of thieves.
