“Éveil” Contagieux – Contagious “Awake-ness”
Lors d’un jour froid de fin d’hiver, nous sommes partis nous promener à trois (Marie, sa sœur et moi) dans le petit village où je vis.
Pendant que nous marchions, chacun d’entre nous a commencé à évoquer les petits « morceaux » de beauté que nous pouvions voir autour de nous : le saupoudrage d’une neige récente, posée délicatement sur les champs labourés comme des millions de petites boules de coton ; le troupeau de moutons grignotant tranquillement l’herbe avec des «bêêê» occasionnels ; la ligne étincelante d’or irisée à l’horizon alors que le soleil jetait sa dernière lumière du jour.
Marie a fait remarquer qu’elle était reconnaissante de faire partie du genre de personnes qui avaient la capacité d’être émerveillées et se délecter de ces petites beautés. Ces images et ces sons apparemment banals sont quasiment ignorés par beaucoup et certains trouvent même stupide que l’on puisse être si enthousiasmé par ces choses « ordinaires ».
Elle nous a raconté que la veille, par exemple, elle avait été émue par un lever de soleil particulièrement magnifique et avait attiré l’attention de sa collègue sur lui. La réaction de son collègue a été un “ouais, c’est joli” sans plus d’impression. J’ai commenté que peut-être la différence est que certains voient un mystère derrière les jolies couleurs, qui nous invite à quelque chose de plus profond, voire un au-delà.
La sœur de Marie a immédiatement acquiescé, disant que ce qu’il fallait, c’était une sorte de « réveil spirituel » pour voir plus que la beauté visuelle. Ce commentaire a rappelé une réflexion presque identique que j’ai entendue de l’un de nos amis il y a quelques semaines à peine lors d’une conversation de fin de soirée autour de la table du dîner.
Vivons-nous ou existons-nous ? Sommes-nous somnambules ou sommes-nous éveillés ? Pour moi, c’est un élément central de ce sur quoi porte ce site Web Nexus ; cela m’aide à rester « éveillé ». Cela peut-il être transmis ? De quelle manière quelqu’un peut-il «se réveiller » et « voir »?
Mon expérience est que cette façon de voir évolue de manière organique à travers les relations. Cette petite idée, que la « Beauté » a un sens bien plus profond et transcendant que juste quelque chose qui plait aux sens, prend racine dans ma communauté d’amis.
—
As the chilly winter day was nearing its end, three of us were taking a stroll near the small rural village where I live. As we walked, each of us in turn began to marvel at the small bits of “beauty” that we were seeing around us; the dusting of a recent snow, sitting delicately on the ploughed fields like millions of tiny cotton balls; the herd of sheep calmly munching away at the grass with an occasional “baa”; the piercing band of iridescent gold on the horizon as the sun shed its last light of the day.
Marie remarked that she was so thankful to be among the kind of people that could be amazed by and revel in these small beauties. These seemingly mundane sights and sounds are all but ignored by many and some even find it silly that one should get so excited about these “ordinary” things. She told us that the day before, for example, she was moved by a particularly magnificent sunrise and directed her colleague’s attention to it. Her colleague’s reaction was an unimpressed “yeah, it’s pretty”.
I commented that maybe the difference is that some see a mystery behind the pretty colours, that invites us into something deeper, something beyond. Marie’s sister instantly agreed, saying that what was needed was a kind of “spiritual awake-ness” to see more than just the visual beauty. This comment recalled an almost identical reflection I heard from one of our friends just a couple of weeks ago in a late-night conversation around the dinner table.
Are we living or existing? Are we sleep-walking or are we awake? For me this is a central part of what this Nexus website is about; it helps me to stay “awake”. Can this be passed on? How does someone “wake up” and “see”?
My experience is that this way of seeing moves organically through relationships. This little idea, that “Beauty” has a meaning much more profound and transcendent than just something that is pleasing to the senses, is taking root in my community of friends.
Doug, Feb 2021
Photo by david Griffiths on Unsplash
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Doug, your way of expressing beauty as something more profound than pleasing the senses opens up a deeper meaning to much of life. I think of the film, ‘Out of Africa’, where landscapes and peoples become memorable in ways that touch the lives of those who realize that they can have the joy of appreciating it for a time. In the film many of the European men seem to hide out in the Country Club and miss the wonder of the place they live. Only a few truly venture outside their comfort zone to ‘see’ the land, and when they do, they seem to have lives that are broader, wider, more awake.
Doug, your comments reminded me of an article I recently read concerning our inward journey. The author described a generalized process that you describe so eloquently in your story. He stated that the inward journey “is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a general process of surrender to that moment” and that we must first allow ourselves to be captured by the goodness, truth, or beauty of something beyond and outside ourselves and then we universalize from that moment to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the rest of reality, until our realization eventually ricochets back to include ourselves! I appreciated your description of this inner dialogue between what we observe and the deeper appreciation that begins to transform our lives.
These days it is so precious to hear a hopeful story about some goodness taking root among some people. Amen to that!
This is a lovely description of your walk in the countryside near your village. It feels like poetry as I read it, as if I’m there walking with the three of you near the fields. Maybe you should turn this experience into a poem!
Saisir la beauté des petits détails. Voilà un énoncé épuré pour une idée que si on l’explore en profondeur, synthétise un programme de vie. Un thème si profond et large qui échappe aux possibilités d’un text bref. Nous pourrons, peut être, en parler dans un futur?
Je n’en mentionnerai que des images qui me sont venus à l’esprit, en lisant ton text. Ils sont totalement différentes, mais pour moi elles garden quelque sorte de connexion. La première est ce que Govinda voit (comprends) quand, déjà vieux tous les deux, embrasse le front de son ami Shiddatha, dans le roman de Herman Hesse du même nom. La deuxième est un scène du film Les sept samouraïs, d’Akiro Kurosawa (1954). Celle ou le sévère samouraï Kyuzu, pendant la garde, reste fasciné devant une fleur, mais il reste complètement concentré dans son être, ce que lui permet d’agir a l’instant quand le moment le demande. Deux images si différents, et pourtant si dans la même veine?
Captar la belleza de los pequeños detalles. Un enunciado sencillo para una idea que, explorada en profundidad, resume un programa de vida. Un tema tan profundo y extenso que escapa a las posibilidades de un texto breve, ¿quizás podamos hablar de ello algún día?
Mencionaré solo dos imágenes que me han venido a la mente, al pensar en esto. Son completamente distintas, pero para mí guardan una cierta conexión. La primera es la de aquello que Govinda ve (comprende) cuando, viejos ambos, besa la frente de su amigo Shiddarta, en la novela de Herman Hesse del mismo nombre. La segunda es una escena de la película Los siete samurais, de Akiro Kurosawa (1954), aquella en la que el severo samurai Kyuzu, estando de guardia, queda embelesado ante una flor, pero también completamente centrado en su ser, lo que le permite actuar instantáneamente, cuando el momento lo requiere. Dos imágenes tan distantes ¿y sin embargo, tan en la misma línea?
You capture the beauty of small details. A simple statement for an idea that, explored in depth, summarizes a life program. A subject so deep and extensive that it escapes the possibilities of a short text, maybe we can talk about it one day?
I will mention only two images that have come to mind, when thinking about this. They are completely different, but for me they have a certain connection. The first is that of what Govinda sees (understands) when, both of them old, he kisses the forehead of his friend Shiddarta, in Herman Hesse’s novel of the same name. The second is a scene from the film The Seven Samurai’s, by Akiro Kurosawa (1954), the one in which the severe samurai Kyuzu, while on guard, is enraptured by a flower, but also completely focused on his being, allowing him to act instantly, when the moment calls for it. Two images so distant and yet so much on the same line?
Alberto
I, too, would love to talk more about this “life program” – how to awaken, how to stay awake, how to, possibly, help others awake (without arrogance, condescension, or manipulation) – in order to see through beauty. I recently heard someone describe it like this: “to bring the head down into the heart so they can read reality together.”