I've had the occasion today to look over the history of my life again. For those friends and acquaintances of mine who visit this blog, I recommend self-study. "Where are you coming from, and where are you going?" asks Socrates to Phaedrus.
What has strucken me today is the importance of finding a logos for something. The English word I would use is "account." One of the most striking things to ever occur for me, and grounding of some sort, was the discovery of the truth for my last name. It used to be Chow or Chow-Allen depending on an institution's records, and now it is Allen.
During my senior spring semester in the Torrey Honors Program, I participated in the Divine Comedy metatorrey class. Near the end of that semester I was probably more comfortable in the class to speak of deeper personal things, and in one class it happened that our discussion came across the importance of names. What is the significance of a name? This question arose as a necessary tangent to approach a deeper understanding of the Divine Comedy.
Yet, in that discussion, I was fortunate to look at myself at the same time. I have names as well. But in that moment I awoke and was stunned by the presence of truth. I had not thought about that! Who am I? At the time I perhaps should have asked who I was at that moment, or where I was at that moment, but, that stunning yet beautiful moment opened me to the truth.
I spent the next year thinking over this, and had several conversations with friends and family.
I would not trade that moment for anything. Truth is far beyond the food you eat, the car you drive, the rent-money you slave for, and I should say to Eric Matthew Allen, the video games I play. There are many other things of trivial importance.
But, my reader, if you do not see this, when will you see trivial things as really trivial, and wake up? I have no reason to lie to you and I do not want your money or praise. I do not post often because I have no wish to give you trivial things. This is like the treasure which Dante found in Paradise, open to each of us who can make the journey. I do not know Plato and Dante in comparison, but I can say that the darkest night can be the most liberating moment in light of the truth.
But if you do see this, where have you come from, and where are you going?
What has strucken me today is the importance of finding a logos for something. The English word I would use is "account." One of the most striking things to ever occur for me, and grounding of some sort, was the discovery of the truth for my last name. It used to be Chow or Chow-Allen depending on an institution's records, and now it is Allen.
During my senior spring semester in the Torrey Honors Program, I participated in the Divine Comedy metatorrey class. Near the end of that semester I was probably more comfortable in the class to speak of deeper personal things, and in one class it happened that our discussion came across the importance of names. What is the significance of a name? This question arose as a necessary tangent to approach a deeper understanding of the Divine Comedy.
Yet, in that discussion, I was fortunate to look at myself at the same time. I have names as well. But in that moment I awoke and was stunned by the presence of truth. I had not thought about that! Who am I? At the time I perhaps should have asked who I was at that moment, or where I was at that moment, but, that stunning yet beautiful moment opened me to the truth.
I spent the next year thinking over this, and had several conversations with friends and family.
I would not trade that moment for anything. Truth is far beyond the food you eat, the car you drive, the rent-money you slave for, and I should say to Eric Matthew Allen, the video games I play. There are many other things of trivial importance.
But, my reader, if you do not see this, when will you see trivial things as really trivial, and wake up? I have no reason to lie to you and I do not want your money or praise. I do not post often because I have no wish to give you trivial things. This is like the treasure which Dante found in Paradise, open to each of us who can make the journey. I do not know Plato and Dante in comparison, but I can say that the darkest night can be the most liberating moment in light of the truth.
But if you do see this, where have you come from, and where are you going?
