Saturday, July 3, 2010

an absolutely transparent moment

What we think of

as the present

is really made of the past.


The present is

an absolutely transparent moment

that only great saints

ever see,

occasionally.


---W.S. Merwin
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7 comments:

  1. Colleen LoehrJuly 4, 2010 at 8:11 PM

    Stunning quote, thanks Tom. I am not familiar with W.S. Merwin and will have to look up.

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  2. tom sullivanJuly 4, 2010 at 9:18 PM

    Merwin is best known for his poetry. This quote comes from a radio interview which I posted on Facebook. The interviewer didn't pick up on it, but in spite of that, it's a good interview.

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  3. nothing profoundJuly 9, 2010 at 9:27 AM

    Although I love the simple beauty of these words, I hate to think that only great saints grasp that moment, and then only occasionally.

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  4. tom sullivanJuly 9, 2010 at 9:40 AM

    Greetings NP, perhaps Merwin was trying to provoke us into looking, for ourselves.

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  5. AnonymousMarch 11, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    What past is he talking about? It is ever now.
    Memories of the past are freshly accessed or generated in the immediacy of now and they appear to give a context of linear time/space,the enfolded content or story within them.If I ask you about your 'past',you will tell me something that has never happened,because it is recreated presently or should I say created presently.
    Look at any artifact or photo,they are appearances in the present,any associated history recalled is also freshly created memories supportive with contextual storyline.There is no such thing as a past or future and without those there is no present moment either.This is a very subtle point.Yet, the appearance or relative world appears to take place in time/space.Very much like a dream,no?

    Tom,feel free to elucidate or clarify further.
    Thanks - Suki

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  6. tom sullivanMarch 12, 2011 at 7:45 AM

    Hi Suki, the Merwin quote is a bit out of place on this blog - but I liked it.

    It seems to me that he was referring to how we tend to be subject to the momentum of our story and see things through the filter of its residues.

    BTW, most of the interview was about Merwin's own story, and these lines kind of leapt out.

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  7. AnonymousMarch 12, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    I just reread the quote after reading your reply and now I see why you included this quote.
    What we "think" of the present is the filter.
    The transparency remains as it ever were filter or no filter.

    Thanks - Suki

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