To uncover the layers of yourself,
You must start calmly.
Survey the area,
Don’t prejudge anything.
Pick a spot,
Then bring in the bulldozer.
Tear off the top.
Carry out the rubble.
Now go to work with the spades.
Dig, dig, dig.
Whatever you find here is of no consequence.
Haul it away.
Only when you are certain that there is nothing left,
That you have reached the original ground,
Come in with the trowel;
Delicately.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
What do you find?
Indiscriminable,
Grimy,
Unpromising,
Blackened,
Stuff.
This is your treasure.
Wash it off carefully,
Polish it up,
Observe it from all angles,
And in all lights,
Not forgetting the infrared.
Behold, something new for once.
So old that it’s new!
Hidden in the midden,
But what does it mean?
Can some hermeneutic of stratigraphy be applied?
Can it be understood?
Or, are we alien to the core,
So deep that we have no affinity with our own wellspring?
Is there any depth to our depth?
Or, are there just infinite layers
Of disposable
Emptiness?
I love the concept of mining ourselves for treasure, drilling past the temporary and superficial to the core truth. And self-discovery being something we pull out from us and not search for out there. Very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSelf examination is affective...providing we examine ourselves with the same compassion with which we'd examine others. We are all too often too critical and unforgiving of ourselves.
ReplyDelete... "so old that it's new". Very wise words - I like the whole concept of depth vs. layers.
ReplyDeleteThis is quite fascinating ... and thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Helen, this is very thought-provoking. I esp. love "Can it be understood? Or, are we alien to the core, So deep that we have no affinity with our own wellspring?
ReplyDelete"But what does it mean?
ReplyDeleteCan some hermeneutic of stratigraphy be applied?
Can it be understood?
Or, are we alien to the core"
a whole new angle on "know thy self", self examination is powerful thing, certainly not easy to do, but we all do it. well written graham, i really enjoyed this
"are we alien to the core," - sometimes I think we don't understand ourselves very well.
ReplyDeleteSome many questions that you listed and this is good.
Dig dig dig....scrape, scrape, scrape...that's what I do in the night when I can't sleep. Every worry is enhanced. "Is there any depth to our depth?" Alien to the core? Geez...what questions.
ReplyDelete