the spark of understanding
arcs between
the consciousness and the object
like the flash of an electrical arc
like the meeting of a stream with the lake
like the moment the lightning finds earth
like when spontaneous romance blooms
and they both know they are welcome
into each other to flow.
like when two disconnected jigsaw puzzle sections
find each other with a newly-clasped link.
satisfaction of the lover
when it meets its beloved.
satisfaction at the meeting
of the seeker with the sought.
understanding is an outreach of consciousness
when it finds what was dark just before.
tis the lighting of sections we perceive
but into which we have not yet come to grow.
like the moment one comes upon sonder,
like an action yields the satisfaction of the will.
tis the quenching of what was once dry earth
with the waters of flow that we wield.
understanding joins the unknown with the knowledge
to grow a fuller tree of light.
In knowledge and causal connections
the curious mind finds delight.
Tis the growth of the light we encompass
as we grope our way through the caves
of the vast reality we inhabit
which we unknowingly seek to transcend.
led by forces beyond what is fathomed
we cave dwellers scurry along the tree.
On its branches of lightness and darkness
lighting and mapping our way through.
thus the finding of something that's novel,
a new passageway, corner, or loop,
brings our mapped world to further expansion
and expands who we ourselves are too.
that peak moment of association
the literal electrical spark
carries with it a sizeable current
that can help us the branch better carve.
at first the connection may be a thin strand
that we still barely only perceive,
but the moment one feels it is in there,
it has forever altered what we believe.
this first energy helps to incite us
to carve out the rest of the shape
that lies between the known and the new
so the channel can be made wider
a wider channel
a more effective channel
thus the honeymoon phase of the lovers
is the electric current that peaks upon arc
is that feeling of pure satisfaction
one feels upon attaining reward.
it's a signal that here is true expansion
and here we can learn something new
so allow the flow to move through here
and keep looking in your lighted pursuit.
its signal is what fuels the true hedonist
purely guided by inner delight
for he lets his own inner compass guide him
and regards outer signals false bait.
Tis important, because pleasures and satisfactions have levels
and the path of the light that we walk on
seeks ultimately the subtle and high.
And though dense habit and momentum
can distract us away,
true inner delight
observed with attention
is always true guide.
For the lower delights, they are denser
And can help us to build up low steps
Of reliance, fulfillment, and satisfaction
Upon which we then climb to feel
what's beyond.
Like the candy, which was the child's heaven,
Later holds no more lure for the youth
Thus the glamour that baits the consumer
Becomes gaudy, useless, and crude.
And level by level, by climbing,
Building platforms with attention and skill,
We learn to trust ourselves in the denser
And atop them, to smell and know subtler thrill.
We scale up the pyramid of Maslow
Not to hoard what its mass contains,
But to absorb the truths from each level
Into the trusting self that remains.
Yet to do so one must feel the inkling
That true value is beyond what is known
For among the obvious there's just combinatorics
A closed set: measured, tasted, and worn.
Like our lungs trust there is enough oxygen
As we travel and toil in our days
So our subtler bodies can find comfort
That their vehicles know how to take care.
One tries and trains the bodies, and develops the skill
So they listen and thrive through their own self will.
Once one trusts then comes freedom
To attentively and thoroughly explore
For without fears to rush and distract one
The frictionful, narrow, dark hallways
Open up to reveal full worlds.
Like scuba divers, unfazed by the waters,
Can inquire into the wonders and fractals
Of colorful coral reef life.
The closing of eyelids allow us
To blot out the glittery dense.
While inward, via patient observation,
the light grows slowly intense.
Delight is the name of the feeling
When the darkness is found by the light.
