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Flights to and from Wonder

February 23, 2008

susan_preston_flock.jpg

The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder.

~ Albert Einstein


While searching for a proper quote for this image this morning something strange happened to me. Let me preface this by saying the last few months I've noticed I don't always read words correctly, which could be due to overwork and attention deficit, but it's popping up in my writing too. While scanning back over a couple of emails of late, I've noticed I'm leaving off the last letter of words and switching letters around as if dyslexic. Is there such a thing as late-onset dyslexia? I know the likelihood of a brain tumor is small... I had an MRI about a year ago which confirmed everything was normal, and that indeed a brain was actually in there. I'm not worried, just perplexed is all. Perhaps the tylenol PM I'm taking off and on has something to do with it.

Back to this morning... I was searching for a quote, and when I saw this one by Einstein I read the word "scientific" to be "self" and the word "from" to be "of". I know... far from dyslexic. Perhaps my subconscious mind is taking over and trying to communicate with me, or better yet, what I am interpreting is a reflection of what I have been experiencing internally.

Either way, my switcheroo and Einstein's original version are completely true, and are reflections of each other. Einstein observes if you're all up in your head and linear about everything, life's magic flies out the door. My theory, which is a bit Sophoclean, states that self-discovery brings us *to* a state of wonder.

I've been studying the topic of self-love from a variety of perspectives, gathering quotes from authors, Buddhists, Christians and Hindus and poets. It's for an ongoing discussion I'll be leading for the small meditation group which meets at my place twice a month. Up until this morning, a quote from a scientist was missing from my list. While clacking away on my keyboard, looking for something entirely different, the universe brought this quote to me which I misinterpreted, but in a very good way.

This reminds me of a story one of my favorite meditation teachers, Sharon Salzberg told at a workshop I attended three years ago. She had just given a talk and afterwards a good friend of her came up and told her the content of the lecture was incredibly inspiring and proceeded to explain why. Sharon stood bemused as the friend recounted what she thought had been Sharon's words, but in truth, she hadn't said them at all. Sharon laughed while explaining the message that had blossomed in her friend's heart during the talk was what the friend needed to hear. Even more wonderful is Sharon thought her friend's interpretation was remarkably beautiful, and quite possibly better than than the lesson she had just presented. I love hearing stories like this because it affirms my belief that things like this happen all the time, and if they aren't happening with a good amount of frequency in my life, I know it's because I need to think less and open my heart more.

After realizing I had read Einstein wrong this morning, I could have gone down a linear road of dismissal. I'm so glad I didn't.

When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
When the heart is ready, answers can and do miraculously appear.

Posted by vincent at February 23, 2008 09:01 AM

Comments

You know, this is so true Susan. Depending on what is going on in my life, I hear and interpret things quite differently. I've gone back to look at posts where a certain quote spoke to me, and when I see it again, at a different time in my life, it suddenly means something completely different!

As an aside, I notice more and more that with the blasted comment verification in Blogger, I more often than not, type something very different from what is on the screen in front of me. Sometimes, I kid you not, I type two or three versions before I slow down enough to actually look as I type and get them right! Something about our mid 40's?

Posted by: jayne at February 23, 2008 10:00 AM

I know he was kind of a shit with women in the church and I think he had a lot to do with the crusades or inquisition (sorry, church history mind fart and it's too late to do the research) but Bernard of Clairvaux taught of the 4 stages of love that I have found to be so beautiful. Far too often churches stall out at 2 or maybe 3, but rarely to they ever encourage anyone to the fourth stage - they are these:

In the first degree of love we love ourselves for our own sake. In the second degree of love we love God for our own sake, The third degree of love is the love by which God is now loved for his very self and the fourth degree of love is where we love ourselves for God's sake.

I hadn't heard that until a couple of years ago and when I did it rang deeply in my soul.

Posted by: Heidi Renee at February 23, 2008 09:44 PM

oh - and I'm doing the same thing with words and typing. dang.

Posted by: Heidi Renee at February 23, 2008 09:45 PM