028 | A Morning Thought

That which loves the kernel and the oil / inside the nut has no interest in shells. / The value of a body / stems form the soul. The value of soul / derives from presence. / Soul cannot live without a connection there. - Rumi

Another trip around the sun brings more love, family, presence, and connection than ever before, as each aforementioned word takes on new meaning, surpassing a depth previously unknown, and impossible to imagine. To say I could have guessed, and known as I do now, the value of the soul, of presence, and the connection that lives between, would be both a lie and a truth. A lie because I do not know anything at all, but a truth because in the unknown is a solace that all is known.

How did we get here? The answer is embodied in the words above (a quote I have written about before) - by loving the kernel and the oil inside the nut, with little interest in the shell that shelters the presence of the soul within. Trust, and vulnerability, undoubtably play an unrelenting and indescribably important role as well. For loving that which is inside the nut is not enough - what is missing is the net zero, maybe even negative, expectation of anything in return, which requires a vulnerable mind and trusting body - the two combined build the soul.

We have connections in our life that represent the mind, these are bonds through intellect and conversation, connections on a view of the world, and the language we understand when deciphering that which we cannot. Then we have connections in our life that represent the body, physical attributes and attractions, resonances on a tangible and bodily scale. And then there are those connections that supersede, frictionlessly blending the two pillars to build the soul, one soul, one person with whom it is shared fully, others with whom parts may connect, but only there is only one that can encompass the full spectrum. You do not know until you know, and when you finally do, all constructs of the life you led before fade, and are redefined. Time stops, and ceases to exist. Passions grow, are rediscovered, and inspiration is found. Everywhere. In the way that a countertop is cleaned, or a bed made. How earrings are put into place, a tooth is brushed, a door unlocked, and so on. That which you believed was understood about yourself is nothing compared to the way it is now. A level of comprehension that needs no words, just a stare, conveyance through the soul, the windows of which are the most beautiful eyes that ever existed.

Where do we go from here? I do not know. The same as I do not fully know how we got to where we currently stand in the first place. Continuing to trust, be vulnerable, and dream is my only answer. Living in a dream, dreaming while you live, everything is both as unreal and real as it can be. When you know, the key is to just, say, yes.