Friday, March 21, 2008

Weave weaver of the wind

Quantum mechanics, string theory, M-theory, all of these advanced physics concepts allude to the existence of multiple dimensions and multiple realities apart from the one we inhabit. We all seem to think (quite logically) that there is a particular reality that exists outside of us that we all partake of from the varying perspectives of our own singularity. Implicit in this view is that there is a singular truth we all have access to but sometimes misinterpret because we are seeing it from such radically different perspectives. But I would invite you to imagine that there is no particular reality but the ones we create individually, and that the common reality we experience is one constructed through our communion with one another. Perhaps we only come to know a shared world through our interaction and communication with one another. This might explain why so many people seem to have such varying accounts of what at first glance appears to be the same event. I am always amazed how stories get told, what is include and what is omitted. Its like the weaving of a tapestry, and the artist decides what parts are important to include and what parts are irrelevant. The picture changes dramatically depending on those choices. Sometimes 2 artists can depict the "same scene" and have those depictions appear to have no relation when viewed side by side. Maybe this explains how White slave owners truly believed that Black slaves were happy in their condition, and why they couldn't fathom why a slave might run away. Or why people on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum consistently interpret that same situation in nearly opposite ways. They are choosing to include and omit different pieces of information thus constructing alternate realities. And because there is no real communication between these constituencies no meaningful shared reality is constructed. So how can we, in the face of all of the evidence, believe there is a single solid reality in place. We are all Athenas, master weavers.

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