When love, virtue and selflessness are allowed to be the navigators on our journey through life, the road often leads to a place of unimaginable beauty and fulfillment.
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Love, Beauty, Sacrafice, struggle and the Sublime - Finding meaning in connecting to the infinite...
"The Edge of Infiity" was inspired by a feeling of sublime peace and belonging that overcame me during a trip to the Hawaiian Islands with my family. While in Maui we rented a car and went on the beautiful, undulating, narrow, coastal drive to the seaside town of Hana. The route was treacherous with steep drop-offs, switchbacks, blind corners, and deceptively dappled light patterns caused by the canopy of jungle covering the road for much of the way. The scenery was indescribable, varying between lush tropical hillsides and the endless green-blue expanse of the majestic Pacific Ocean. Captivated by this transcendent beauty, I completed most of the drive barely noticing how tightly I had been gripping the steering wheel until I pulled the car to a stop at a narrow cliff-top pull-out just a few miles from our destination. Our parking spot was a few hundred feet above where the turquoise waters of the Pacific crashed into the shores of Nua Ailua Bay. I got out of the car and stretched. It was early afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, just a hint of the timeless tradewinds that carry with them the smell of salt and sea and the taste of history, freedom and adventure. Leaning over the guardrail that ran along the pull-out, I could see a shoreline of secluded beaches, verdant flora and rocky outcrops stretching up the coast to a point where land, ocean and sky intersected, and I wondered to myself if much, if anything of what I was looking at, had changed since Captain James Cook sailed past here in 1778. At that moment I felt my existence transcending the endless expanse of ineffable beauty that lay before me into a consciousness I did not recognize as purely my own. This feeling was beyond any empirical measure of sensory perception that I have experienced before, or since, and is something I can only describe as an overwhelming connection of belonging and love, and it is the closest I have ever felt to comprehending eternity. The song "Edge of Infinity" was inspired by this experience, however, I did not understand the sublime nature of it until I listened to Stephen West discuss this concept on his 60th episode of his podcast "Philosophize This".
At what point does spending time searching for meaning, purpose, truth, enlightenment and, ulimately, a sublime experience, interfere with our ability to live our lives as independent, free thinking individuals?
If you have had something similar happen to you, please share it with us!
That's a fascinating question. It seems like true beauty and enlightenment often come from overcoming challenges and learning through our struggles. While we might all wish for a path without obstacles, those very challenges can lead to growth and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world. Sacrifice and struggle often shape our perceptions, making the achievements all the more meaningful. So, maybe it's the journey, not just the destination, that defines true enlightenment and beauty. What are your thoughts? Unlimited coins