The Webs We Weave

"Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance that he himself has spun."

-- Clifford Geertz

The only change I'd make to Cliff's bon mot of wisdom is to add the prefix "in" to the word "significance." Though we may believe that the webs we weave have some significance, they are, in the long term, highly insignificant. Their only real significance in the here and now may indeed be an unfortunate one -- we believe the webs to be real when they are mere gossamer illusions.

All the stories we tell, the self-images we create, the myths we bow down to, keep us from seeing the essential energy and reality of life. When we start to believe that the pitiful, piddlely little crap we do has objective significance, we are highly deluded. If we sit more and spin less, the webs begin to unravel, and life becomes clear and undisguised.

Then we will see that significance is just a made-up human construct. Our lives are to be enjoyed and shared, nourished and devoured, not judged as significant or insignificant. There is no way to figure out why we are here. There is no way to assign a meaning or significance to life. It just is. You just are.

We have no way of knowing where we came from; no way of knowing where we're going. Now is merely a parentheses in eternity. We are truly in a condition of Divine Ignorance. And that is fine. That is enough. In fact, it's plenty.

Give up the stories of significance. Surrender the search for meaning. Breathe in, breathe out. Watch. See what unfolds.