Poet David Whyte has an interesting concept of interpreting the world calling it, "conversational nature of reality." Author Paul Millerd in his book, The Pathless Path, expounds, "[Whyte] believes all of us have an ongoing "conversation" with the world... What I've taken it to mean is that we all have things we are meant to find out about ourselves and the only way to discover them is to open ourselves up to the world."
Millerd explains further,
"The conversational nature of reality is most apparent when you are willing to exist at "the frontier" of your current reality. [...] It's an acknowledgment that there are deeper forces at play in the world and we are a tiny little part of all that magic. It's about existing within that magic and still daring to ask questions about what matters or where you fit in.
[...] When you step off the default path, you will be thrust towards the frontier. Almost immediately, clues about your conversation will emerge from what captures your attention and questions will appear that gives you a better understanding of what you're really after."
If someone told me that at the beginning of the lockdown in March 2023 in three years, I would be a national competitor, someone rich in relationships, and who lived in Korea for a month, I would not believe them. At all. I would have even been upset thinking that they mocked me for I will never be in that position. And yet, I did.
My conversation with reality began during the first few weeks after the lockdown. I began asking questions starting with: now with no school and work, what should I do with my life? why am I doing what I am doing? And with everything seemingly felt useless in the face of the global pandemic, what should I focus on?
And the spark turned into a blazing fire when, a year later, my closest friend died. My current reality was heavily disoriented. The questions that I asked before become even louder in my head and with some new ones: what are my intentions? Is this essential? What is the point when I'm gonna die soon anyway?
And the answers did not start coming until I followed my curiosities by leaping into the abyss. In the words of Joseph Campbell, "The cave you fear to enter hold the treasure you seek."
When I thrust myself into the 'frontier' by competing, my world started to become larger. I gained lifelong, deep relationships and answers from the questions aforementioned.
I don't have all the answers at present and I do not think I ever will in the future. I also think that the answers won't stop coming. As Millerd put it, it's an ongoing conversation with the world, wherein the conversations take you to places and bring you closer to people that align with your values and what matters to you.
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