The famous Buddhist koan, "what is the sound of one hand clapping?" An exercise meant to subdue the initial reasoning process and propel one into a state of seeing beyond, thinking outside the box, or feeling outside it, rather? A paradigm? Always a mystery to me, not completely, but as I sit and read about other men explaining it with rationalizations, I do not see that it is meant as an unreasonable exercise, completely set apart. Reason reaches conclusions where two things are equally true and equally opposite, thus a paradox. The amusing thing is that the first step of logic is abiding by the law of non-contradiction, but at it's end, the truth is a contradiction. Enlightenment, using one's brain in a different way, but still, why not reason along the way? Can we really propel our mind outside reason? We do not think anything at all if we do not reason, we must draw distinctions and conclusions even to utilize language at all. Maybe not outside it, but beyond it. Pascal did say something to the effect that reasons last step was to realize that there was an infinite number of steps beyond it.

To see without seeing, to know without knowing, to rationalize without understanding. To just be?

Ah, I look upon my hands and I see openness, and medicine. But moreso, I see the caring of the artist who drew upon my hands. I see the dream to be more wholly myself once again, doing what I was born to do, being who I was born to be. I see hope, I see the marks of suffering, and a desire to embrace it. I see spirituality, a belief embraced and expressed with the intention to help, not to proselytize, nor to hinder, not with egoism at it's base. I hold only good things in my hands.


and if shadows say something
my words then have meaning
when darkness is being
when dreams are still seeing
when walking through the light

make mysteries your potions
make madness your gleening
make reason a bedfellow
he too, retreating