Page 62 - To know things we have to have the world inside us
P. 62
“Slowly this tree has died. I have become
inspired by imperfection and see beauty in this.”
“I thought of the word ‘heart-wood’; this made me think of the heart of this tree
and the life within, and my own heart and the life within my own skin/bark.”
“There’s a tree, it’s in my garden… My husband wanted
to chop it down, “it’s ugly,” he said.
My boys are inspired; they love to climb it, watch it;
they are inspired by what it provides for us… apples,
play, wildlife, birds… They even made a birdhouse to sit
triumphantly in the middle of it… a home for their
feathered friends… a place for them... “
“Do you recognise your own beauty and
compare yourself to other nearby trees?”
“Can I find beauty in the ‘ugly’ part of the tree?”
“It is a buzz with activity.”
The bigger questions that arose were unexpected. The apparent conflict between beauty and ugliness. What
does it mean to be alive? What is the difference between ‘living’ and ‘being alive’? What does it mean to be useful?
Is it enough to be useful?
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