for you, from me.
anything and everything i can ever know about the world will always be limited. i could harness every ounce of my knowledge and learn everything there is for me to know, and it still would never be complete. my knowledge can only ever be true for me. what i learn about the world is influenced by my every experience, every choice, and every piece of knowledge previously learned. it would be the utmost in ego to assume that anything i know would be absolutely true for anyone else.
however, i do think that i must have some purpose. if i was put on this earth and in this life to simply serve myself– what good would that do? human beings are, by nature, social creatures. we interact with each other in a way that profoundly influences our individual experiences. if we were to fully embrace isolatory individualism, i believe our world would quickly find its demise. for this reason, i continually push myself into the uncomfortable position of some kind of public existence.
i realize what i know is likely not what you know. but i find great value in discovering how we all intersect, creating a community of experiences, choices, skills, and knowledge. even if my role in that is merely sharing my own (and only my own) truth. i cannot assume to know my value, be it great or minuscule. but, for me, the incalculable worth of my knowledge is much less important than the act of sharing it. it is perhaps the greatest thing i am able to give, making it a rather important part of my experience as a human being.
what makes us a part of the world are the things we choose to share. what we give of our selves to the collective whole– that will be our legacy. my gift is only as great as my ability to use and share it. if i cannot share, i may become nothing more than a waste of my potential. and even though that would allow for a more comfortable existence for me, it would also be a shame.
so today i pick up my pen with intent to write something for you. for you, from me. because it is really all i am able to give. and i hope it is enough. even though the paper i write on and the web domain you read at are impermanent, the resonance of my soul’s words on your soul’s ears could possibly be great. and the point of connection between the writing and the reading is what propels us all forward.
our ability and our desire to share may not be congruent, but i believe we must push ourselves to whichever end is greatest for it is possibly the very point of our being at all. and while i cannot claim to know much, i know i am moved by a force far greater than myself. and that i must share that which i do know in an effort to be a part of the world instead of just being apart.
i intend to fold up these words and tuck them away inside myself for the times that are most trying. when the fear of losing what i know feels greater than the joy of gaining that which i do not. because it is in those moments that i must remember that to participate is to live. and i would like to be alive.
Tags: alive, choice, collective whole, connection, ego, existence, gift, humanity, individualism, isolation, knowledge, participation, possibility, potential, purpose, sharing, worth
Categories:
daily life