#1435 - close to the truth
Close is what we almost always are: close to happiness, close to another, close to leaving, close to tears, close to God, close to losing faith, close to being done, close to saying something, or close to success, and even, with the greatest sense of satisfaction, close to giving the whole thing up. Our human essence lies not in arrival, but in being almost there. — from Close by David Whyte (source)
This beautiful poem by David Whyte came up a few days ago in a conversation when I realised that truth is unattainable; I can only get ever close to it, but I won't find it. And even when I feel I have finally found it, what I have is just the beginning of a new quest.
Yet, even with the awareness that I will never find the truth, there's nothing more meaningful than the quest to find it.
How do you explain this, however? How do you explain that there is meaning in a search for something, even if you know you'll never find it?
That is what we have art for.
Ethan Hawke says in this interview, "Art's not a luxury, it's actually sustenance. We need it."
Art is how we show what we can't define and describe.
Like David Whyte does with his poetry.
We are in effect, always, close; always close to the ultimate secret: that we are more real in our simple wish to find a way than any destination we could reach: the step between not understanding that and understanding that, is as close as we get to happiness.