Cracks in the Foundation
Words are wind
My belief is not so different from yours. The values and actions that I derive from my beliefs are based on the same foundation as yours. The only difference between a seeker of enlightenment, a philosopher, and the others that don’t stress themselves over these matters of truth and spirit and life and value, is this: We all have cracks in our foundation, the philosopher knows this and tries to do something about it.
The foundation is wisdom. We’re all born with it. Blood and bone never forget their mother. I love wisdom. I love my foundation. Thus I have spent time down at the bottom of my mind, conversing with my blood and bones. I assessed the foundation of my being and found it crumbling.
It’s not that the words that were taught to me as a child were wrong. It’s not that the original teachings of wise-folk and speakers of truth were lies or intentionally misguiding. The problem lies with language and communication. A truth can’t help but be diminished, just a little, when spoken and understood. Language is the wind that erodes the mountain of truth.
Language is just a bunch of names. These names chop up the world into discrete things. Language is a destroyer. The world is whole and unified, until our words slice away at the whole so that we may talk about this or that. God is whole and unified, until we give Him a name and pronouns and treat Her as if It is something separate. Language tricks us into believing that the world really is these discrete things that words are supposed to name.
So first the unity is cracked by the naming of the thing, then the name is spoken. Like an arrow released from the taut bow, like a bullet propelled from a barrel of gun, words spoken are no longer under your control. Try as you may to aim them to the best of your ability. Try as you may to provide the context and meaning of your words. You can never be certain that they land where you wish them. The context and meaning of words is simply more words, more bullets flying through the air.
From the unity of being, to the idea, to the name, to the spoken word, to the understood word, and back to an idea and being, truth is whittled away just a little. We can do nothing about this. No matter how accurately and carefully we use our words, we can never be certain that our intended meaning is the one taken by those who hear them.
This is where the cracks form. Language and communication weakens our foundations. No amount of words from all the wise-folk will ever repair your foundation for you. That is your job and you’re the only one capable of repairing it. It is your mind and your being, after all. One can tell you where to get the tools, but no one can bring them to your mind and fix it for you.
The wise-folk and speakers of truth likely had cracks in their foundations too. They did something about it. We call them wise and hearken to their words because they first fixed their foundations and then they spoke their truths.
Not all who speak, speak from firm foundations. They may believe so, but if they were to be honest with themselves, they’d easily see the cracks, as should we. They speak fear and distrust and hatred of the other. This is how one can determine that a speaker has not tended to themselves. They are using words as their foundation, not the unity of the whole, which is the true foundation.
Those who speak with their feet on solid ground will invariably speak of trust and love and beauty. This is because we are all one, we are all God. God is with us and we are with God. Words make us believe we are separate. God would have us know that we are not. Blood and bone never forget their father.
Tend to your foundation. It is the world. It is wisdom. It is the hard earth on which we plant our feet. It is our gift from God, whom is constantly creating and nourishing it for us, for itself because we are already with It. The winds of words will blow constantly, trying to weather us and our foundation down, but there’s always more earth to replenish and strengthen it.
Blood and bone never forget their mother and their father.
