Being Present

Q. You implied that real understanding or Knowledge “means engaging with number, the ultimate abstract symbol, but not as a mathematician--as a metaphysician”, and said “ Look at the starry sky on a moonless night. Right there is an introduction to number……. And, if you can hold silent, it is a touch of higher emotion.”

I'm not sure I can directly connect, but nevertheless there is something very familiar. For you it's the moonless starry night for me it's the cool ocean fog on the beach in the morning. I can't explain it further; it's just there.

A. Are you present in the cool ocean fog in the morning?

You see, I think the starry sky is the only experience on earth which reliably obliterates the looker. It is our common passport to infinity.

Q. Good question. On the one hand I do feel present, on the other hand there is a timeless quality and a depth that I can't explain and I'm in and out of self-awareness. When I look at the moonless night sky I do feel the infinite but again I am still there. Perhaps I need to explore what you mean by being present vs. not. It seems that there are many times during an average day, when we're engaged in an activity for instance, that we're not aware of ourselves directly.

A. Exactly. You do need to explore what it means to be present.

Under that vast sky, in silence, what is present?

It is the same night sky which has arched over Neanderthal, Babylonian and Banker, from the Arctic to Timbuctoo.

What a sign to be given--nightly!