it’s just this certain feeling that i have
The
Tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
-Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1
"Describing the
indescribable, naming the unnamable, pointing the way to the Way."
I was posed a question a few days
ago that has been running through my head ever since. The question, 'How does
one know love, how can he really be sure?' caught me quite off guard. To me,
the answer has always been quite clear. Yet, it seems the farther you enter
into it, the deeper it is. In order to truly understand it, we must accept the
darkness of not knowing.
In fact, the truth is right before
our eyes; right under our noses; so simple every child understands it. Love is
infinitely marvelous, yet as ordinary as sunlight. Still, it is impossible to know
because none of our senses can perceive it; but we can sense it, and
the less we obstruct that sense the more radiant we become.
This is clear.
The problem is, there can be no
definition. For true love can not be put into words. One can sing a beautiful
song, but you will not be able to hear his love in it. One can paint an
incredible masterpiece, but you will not see his love there. One can write a
story with all his heart and soul, but still you will not be able to understand
his love like this.
Here, words are merely fingers
pointing at the moon; if you watch the finger, you won't be able to see the
moon. Caught in desire to describe, you see only the manifestations. Free from
that desire, you realize the mystery and the definition becomes simply that of
a moment, nothing more. A feeling that just is, and somehow
that is enough.
So, then perhaps we really are
left to define love only by what it is not. Perhaps we can never be sure,
and have only to trust our hearts to define what our minds can not.
The love that can be told
is not the eternal love.
