“And therefore, all of those for whom authentic transformation has deeply unseated their souls must, I believe, wrestle with the profound moral obligation to shout form the heart—perhaps quietly and gently, with tears of reluctance; perhaps with fierce fire and angry wisdom; perhaps with slow and careful analysis; perhaps by unshakable public example—but authentically always and absolutely carries a a demand and duty: you must speak out, to the best of your ability, and shake the spiritual tree, and shine your headlights into the eyes of the complacent. You must let that radical realization rumble through your veins and rattle those around you.
Alas, if you fail to do so, you are betraying your own authenticity. You are hiding your true estate. You don’t want to upset others because you don’t want to upset your self. You are acting in bad faith, the taste of a bad infinity.
Because, you see, the alarming fact is that any realization of depth carries a terrible burden: those who are allowed to see are simultaneously saddled with the obligation to communicate that vision in no uncertain terms: that is the bargain. You were allowed to see the truth under the agreement that you would communicate it to others (that is the ultimate meaning of the bodhisattva vow). And therefore, if you have seen, you simply must speak out. Speak out with compassion, or speak out with angry wisdom, or speak out with skillful means, but speak out you must.
And this is truly a terrible burden, a horrible burden, because in any case there is no room for timidity. The fact that you might be wrong is simply no excuse: You might be right in your communication, and you might be wrong, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter, as Kierkegaard so rudely reminded us, is that only by investing and speaking your vision with passion, can the truth, one way or another, finally penetrate the reluctance of the world. If you are right, or if you are wrong, it is only your passion that will force either to be discovered. It is your duty to promote that discovery—either way—and therefore it is your duty to speak your truth with whatever passion and courage you can find in your heart. You must shout, in whatever way you can.”
― Ken Wilber, One Taste
Sometimes when we have a vision of something higher, we cannot put it into words as much as we might try. For me, as much as I love the written language, I find that art gives me a whole new way of communicating. The english language as it is written and spoken can only go so far at communicating understanding and it is so ambiguous that quite often it obscures more than it enlightens. If it is as necessary for us to communicate understanding as Ken Wilber suggests that it is (and I would have to agree) than it is great that many of us can find other means in which to do it. For some, music may be their best way to communicate their highest understanding and for others dance. Still for others it may be higher mathematics or poetry (using language in a symbolic way that transcends it. We must communicate our vision even if we’re not sure afterwards of its correctness and its great that we have so many ways to do it. At least perhaps until we can become fully telepathic with each other and share our visions directly.
Blessings, G
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Time, Life, Death, The Maiden by G A Rosenberg
