deep

I like the deep. 

At or near the surface, it’s difficult to see. 

Salt water is translucent, so when you open your eyes you can see, but not really.

That’s a problem if you want to see clearly.

It’s dangerous to think you can see when you really can't.

So I like to dive far below the surface, where there is no light, but only darkness. 

In the darkness, you can't use your eyes. 

Your brain wonders what to do, because normally it uses most of its power to process the things we see. 

Immediately, it has to turn its power to hearing and touching, two senses we don't use much in today's world, but that we need to use more, yes?

In the deep, we listen for the whole, not just the part. 

When we think we can hear, we hear only part of a story, then stop listening and fill in the rest with what we think we know. 

In the deep, however, things aren't so easily known. 

We must listen, carefully, til the end of the story. 

Then we must reach out, hold the hand of the storyteller and whisper, “I hear. I’m here.”

It’s listening and holding hands and being here that make us more human, that help us build a more human world.

It’s listening.

It’s holding hands.

It’s being here.